Firecracker Baked Salmon in Foil
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The best way to eat baked salmon in foil — glazed with Firecracker sauce! This recipe is so easy to make and pulls together in less than 30 minutes. Salmon is always so flakey and tender when you bake it in foil!
What better way to start the week than with the most delicious salmon recipe in the world. Yes friends. I am beyond obsessed with this salmon in foil recipe that is drizzled with my homemade firecracker sauce. I’ve been putting this sauce on everything lately.
When a simple idea like a sweet and tangy yet slightly spicy and addicting firecracker sauce gets stuck in my head on an endless loop, I find new ways to put it on everything.
As always, i’m going to urge you (more like borderline harass you) to start off with good quality salmon. Say it with me friends. WILD-CAUGHT. WILD-CAUGHT. WILD-CAUGHT. Did you want to close your eyes and hold hands with people and chant it in a group? Nope, just me? I find that using ‘pink salmon’ will leave the fish wet and just not very good. The sauce will definitely become runny as the excess water from the fish will thin it out. It’s not the recipe, it’s the salmon. I encourage you to use Sockeye or Coho salmon for best results. The flavor of wild-caught salmon just really takes this recipe to new levels.
Okay, i’ll get off my soapbox now. ????
This recipe is super low maintenance like most of my recipes for salmon in foil. It also has just 10 basic ingredients — that’s counting the salmon and salt and pepper. It’s simple enough to pull together on a weeknight and make everyone in the family happy. Unless they don’t like fish. Can’t help you there. ???? But maybe they will once they see how delicious it can be drizzle in the most amazing sauce in the world. And please, friends, I don’t throw that title around easily. Believe me when I say this, you are going to be addicted to that sauce.
Let’s talk ???? firecracker sauce????
We’re using hot sauce (I suggest something like Louisiana Hot Sauce or Franks regular hot sauce), some brown sugar, red pepper flakes, apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion powder, and a big pinch of salt. It’s simple guys. Toss it all in a sauce pan and let the sauce come to a boil then simmer for 8-10 minutes. If you’d like to serve the salmon with extra sauce, I HIGHLY encourage you to double the ingredients for the sauce. We always do. Extra sauce in a must in this house.
This baked salmon recipe takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. And my most favoritest part of all is that the clean-up is a BREEZE. In fact, I suggest you volunteer to clean up when you make this recipe because it’s literally rolling the foil into a ball and taking your best aim at the waste basket. All that’s left is the saucepan full of goodness. Which will practically lick itself clean.
Remember to line your baking sheet with plenty of foil, this will help make clean-up super easy. Place the fish on the foil and drizzle it with half or all of the firecracker sauce. We doubled the sauce recipe, poured half on the salmon and kept half to drizzle on veggies and such with the rest of dinner. Pack the foil up tight so the salmon can steam and cook up nicely. Into the oven it goes, the most delicious smells are about to erupt from your oven. The next 12 minutes of life are going to be tough.
You can totally make this salmon in foil on the grill in the summer time too. Just place the foil packet on the hot grill and let it cook up for about the same amount of time give or take a couple of minutes. Just feel for firmness. Open up the foil for the last few minutes of cooking time so the color develops on top. Barbecued salmon topped with firecracker sauce is where it’s at yo.
I served this baked salmon in foil super simple. Just some steamed broccoli, a salad, and a little quinoa. Obvi, I drizzled that firecracker sauce all over everything. But that’s just how I like it.
Firecracker Baked Salmon in Foil
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ pound sockeye or coho salmon (preferably wild-caught)*
- ¼ teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, optional
FIRECRACKER SAUCE:
- ¼ cup hot sauce (such as Louisiana hot sauce or Franks Original)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. (see notes)
- In a saucepan, combine the ingredients of the firecracker sauce over medium high heat, allow to come to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes.Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool for 3-5 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools so don't worry if it looks a little thin.
- While the sauce is simmering, place the salmon filet in a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. I used multiple pieces to keep the sauce from leaking in the baking tray to make clean up easier. Place the salmon with foil on a baking tray. Season the salmon filet with salt and pepper.
- Using a brush or spoon, brush the salmon with the firecracker sauce. Cover with foil so that all sides are properly closed so the saucee does not leak. Bake the salmon for 12-14 minutes or until the salmon is firm to the touch in the thickest portion of the fish. Open the foil and allow the fish to broil under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, keeping a close eye on it so the fish does not burn. Remove from oven, top with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
- I suggest using a good quality salmon for this recipe. Try to avoid using 'pink salmon' as this type of salmon is quite watery and will release lots of water in the baking process causing the fish to be wet and not flakey.
- The sauce is just enough to coat the salmon before baking. If you'd like additional sauce for veggies/salad dressing etc. I'd suggest doubling the ingredients for the firecracker sauce. Cooking time may vary (allow at least an additional 2 minutes or so).
- PLEASE NOTE: baking time may vary slightly due to thickness of fish. Feel for firmness on the thickest part of the filet to make sure your fish is cooked through.
- The salmon can also be wrapped in foil and barbecued at 375ªF for about the same amount of time give or take a minute or two. Allow the salmon to 'broil' the same way you would in the oven, by opening the foil and allow the fish to dry out for just 1-2 minutes.
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE, YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Salmon Burgers with Cajun Remoulade Sauce
Blackened Salmon Tacos with Jalapeño Lime Crema
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10 Comments on “Firecracker Baked Salmon in Foil”
What sides do you normally pair with this dish?
I’m a little confused as to how to wrap the salmon in the foil, and it’s stopping me from making thIs dish ? (Unfortunate, because is sounds delish!). Do you wrap the fish like a present, or cover the entire baking dish with foil? Thank you!
I apologize for the confusion, you’d wrap just the fish like a present (but keep the seam side up so none of the juices leak) hope you enjoy it!
I tried this recipe absolutely delicious have saved it to make again
Oh, and RIBS, can’t wait to finish some smoked ribs with the Firecracker sauce!!!
Just gotta rant & rave … I made a jar of the stuff (double recipe, I think, filled an 8 oz canning jar) & put it in the fridge. Tonight, I took a 6 oz salmon fillet, put my cast iron skillet in the oven & heated it to 350. Salt & pepperd the salmon, put a tablespoon of coconut oil in the skillet, set the fillet in, coated it with Firecracker sauce, covered that with chopped pecans, & baked it until done.
It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! We LOVE the hot, sweet, & sticky sauce! Can’t wait to do oven bbq chicken with it!!!
Made a couple of minor changes to your recipe … Used sriracha for the hot sauce, used 1/2 tsp granulated garlic instead of the fresh, and used 1/8 tsp cayenne powder instead of the crushed red pepper flakes. Also, cut the resulting recipe in half because we only cook 6 oz salmon fillets for the 2 of us to share.
I tasted the sauce as it was cooking and the taste continued to get hotter and hotter after putting just a drop on my tongue. I thought it was going to kill me (& I make my chicken soup with habanero peppers!). But, when I put it on the salmon and cooked it & broiled it to finish, it was amazing! I did overcook the sauce and it had a consistency of taffy when I was ready to put it on the fish, so I added a tblsp of water and heated it back up. That made it pourable and spreadable, and it cooked up perfectly. In fact, tonight, I made just the sauce and tossed in shrimp and cooked them on the stove top in the sauce to make Firecracker shrimp. It was awesome! Thank you for posting this!!!
This sounds awesome but I’m wondering do you have any suggestions for substituting the sugar?
I don’t unfortunately. This would require further recipe testing.
Try Swerve or Stevia instead of sugar. Or just leave it out altogether.
Just made this tonight! It’s was delicious! Thanks for sharing!