Amazing Oven Barbequed Salmon

Oven barbecued salmon brings backyard BBQ flavor to a sheet pan when grilling weather doesn’t cooperate. Two salmon fillets sandwich a stuffing of sliced lemon, raw onion, and a strip of bacon, then get glazed with a sweet ketchup and corn syrup sauce that mimics bottled tomato barbecue without any of the additives.

The foil packet is the trick to keeping the salmon moist. Sealing it tight traps steam from the lemon and onion, basting the fish from inside while the glaze caramelizes on top. Sockeye is firm and flavorful enough to handle this treatment, but a thick coho or king fillet works too.

Do not overbake. Salmon goes from juicy to dry in about three minutes, so test at 30 with a fork. The thickest part should flake easily but still look glossy.

Chef Tips

• Lay the salmon on heavy-duty foil with extra overhang to seal cleanly around the edges
• Use a quality ketchup, heavy on tomato and easy on the high-fructose corn syrup
• Sub maple syrup for the corn syrup if you want a deeper, smokier glaze
• Open the foil for the last 5 minutes to let the glaze tighten and brown on top
• Spoon the rendered juices over each plate. Do not drain them away.

Variations

• Sub thinly sliced shallots for the onion for a milder, sweeter base inside the packet
• Add fresh dill sprigs inside the packet for an herbal lift
• Drizzle with bourbon before sealing for a Tennessee-style smoky glaze