Bourbon Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
Looking for easy, healthy dinner ideas? How about a brown sugar and bourbon marinade for salmon. The bourbon glaze uses a few pantry staples and this simple glazed salmon is ready in only 20 minutes. Great for busy weeknights.
I did a Facebook poll a while back and asked my Facebook friends what their go-to weeknight dinners were. Aside from pasta (a solid #1) and baked or rotisserie chicken (#2), it turned out that salmon was a favorite. No surprise — it’s versatile, healthy, and can come together in minutes. Perfect for a hectic weeknight.
That’s why this bourbon glazed salmon is a regular on our dinner table too! If I’ve got extra time, we’ll soak a wood plank and smoke it on the grill or crust it in an avalanche of spice and pan sauté with some tender-crisp veg. But for the super-quick I-need-to-get-dinner-on-the-table-NOW kind of meal, this is my go-to!
Table of Contents
4 Ingredients For Bourbon Marinade For Salmon
- Brown Sugar
- Soy Sauce
- Garlic
- Bourbon
Just whisk these pantry staples together for this easy bourbon glaze. It’s that quick.
Preparing Glazed Salmon
- I like to slice the salmon into portions before cooking because it’s easier to flip and manage in the pan.
- Season the salmon and heat a skillet with olive oil.
- Cook one side of the salmon for a minute or two, then flip it and add the sauce.
- Cook for another minute or so — I tend to undercook the salmon just slightly to keep it moist in the middle, but if that’s not your style — keep it on the heat a little longer.
Serve the bourbon glaze over a bed of brown rice with glazed salmon perched on top of the rice. Oh-ma-Gawd! The sauce is sweet and savory with a smoky bourbon backnote — I know! Sublime! And it’s ready in minutes! It’s dinner’s holy grail!
More Quick and Easy Seafood Recipes:
- Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad
- Hoisin Maple Asian Glazed Salmon
- Pesto Salmon
- Easy Cajun Skillet Jambalaya
- Spicy Caribbean Mahi Mahi
- Crispy Baked Fish Tacos
- Mussels Recipe with Sausage,Wine and Garlic
Tried this recipe? Leave a rating and review.
Your comments and shares are invaluable to me and the thousands of readers who use this site daily. If you've made the recipe, leave a star rating and review. We want to hear how you liked it.
We'd love it if you shared the recipe with your friends on social media!
Bourbon Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
- ovenproof skillet with a tight-fitting lid
INGREDIENTS:
For The Glaze
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 1 large clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons bourbon
For The Fish
- 12 oz salmon fillets
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Garnish
- green onions sliced
- cilantro chopped
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the glaze and set aside.
- Sprinkle both sides of the fillets with salt and pepper.
- Place the pan on the stove and turn on the heat to medium-medium high. When the pan is hot, but not smoking, add the olive oil and rotate the pan to cover with the oil. Add the salmon fillets and cook for one minute. Remove from heat. Carefully flip the salmon and spread each piece with the glaze. Cover with the lid and place in the oven for 5-6 minutes or until desired doneness is reached. Spoon glaze over the fish. Garnish with cilantro and green onions. Serve.
NUTRITION:
Pin “Bourbon Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon” For Later!
Delicious. This one’s a keeper. I’m always trying new bourbon salmon recipes.
I made some changes. I added butter to the olive oil. I cooked the salmon in the glaze on the stovetop.
We’re not big salmon lovers because it tends to be overwhelming in density, but this bourbon glaze may just be what we need to take away the heavy oiliness. Do you only use wild salmon? If so, which one?
I’ve never found salmon to be overly dense – however, if it’s overcooked, it can be dry. I always undercook the salmon — knowing that after I take it off the heat, it continues to cook for a minute or so — leaving a very flaky, moist fish. I prefer wild salmon (sockeye and coho are our favorites) but they’re in season in the summer… so I confess, this was an Atlantic farmed fish — but still quite delicious!
I’ve seen brown sugar salmon but never with bourbon- what a genius idea! I bet this tastes amazing- I really need to make this!
I think bourbon has a great flavor – so I use it in several recipes. Check out the blog for more by typing bourbon into the search bar!
Ugh, love, love, love salmon (and love love love bourbon). Easy and delish, I love it!
Thank you, Melissa!
Can’t go wrong with your recipe. I don’t know if I’ve ever combined bourbon and cilantro. Sounds very interesting with the combo of outher ingredients.
Trust me, it works!
We love salmon. This is such a beautiful meal. Twenty minutes is less time than it takes to go through the drive-thru for fast food or order a pizza. Take out doesn’t even come close when it comes to taste, nutrition and eye appeal. 🙂
I agree on all counts, Amanda!
Such a great quick meal! Definitely what I need after the heaviness of holiday cooking. Absolutely love your photos!
Thank you, Tara! We’ve been trying to lighten up after the last few weeks of indulgence — and of course there’s a few more celebrations to go. The key, as always, moderation!
Gosh, tonight I’m making salmon… from Whole Foods. Any tips on how to buy good salmon? What to look for?
If you’re getting it from Whole Foods, it should be good — just smell it to make sure it doesn’t smell fishy. It should smell like the ocean.