Maylee at Beyond Gumbo 
I just cooked the best salmon entrée in my air fryer. Surprise! “Salmon with Asian-Inspired Glaze” is the perfect dish for a small air fryer. The salmon turned out to be moist and flavorful and the glaze — really a BBQ Sauce — added just the right amount of flavor “pop.” I used four small, thick salmon fillets and marinated them in an easy-to-mix up sauce including hoisin sauce, ketchup, molasses, sriracha sauce. Then I cooked the salmon in my Air Fryer for just eight minutes. Salmon is such a healthy seafood; it is good to include in our diets. Salmon is low in saturated fat and total fats and rich in heart healthy fats. Because it is so low in fat; the salmon can turn out to be dry and disappointing if overcooked. But my salmon turned out “just right” in the air fryer; I was so pleased.
Air Fryer Logic
In my opinion, the term, “air fryer,” is so misleading. This appliance does not “fry” — it is simply a small convection oven which speeds up the cooking process. Essencially, the air fryer bakes the food item. Air circulating around the food speeds up the cooking time. To “fry,” a person must actually coat the item being cooked with oil. Once I wrapped my head around this concept, things became much clearer. “Thumbs up” for cooking some foods in this appliance; other foods get a resounding “thumbs down.”
Air fryers come in all shapes and sizes. My air fryer is a small, inexpensive ($49.00) Chefman appliance which I purchased on Amazon. I seem to remember that it is the 6-quart version.
The air fryer has a fan in the top of the appliance which circulates hot air around the basket to cook the food item. The handle pulls out to reveal a small basket with air vents. You place the food in a single layer inside the basket (with grate in the bottom of the basket). The hot air blows downward around the basket.
The disadvantage to this air fyer is that it can only hold a small amount of food in a single layer. The advantage is that I really don’t need to cook much at a time. The small appliance is easy to use; and easy to store on my counter. It heats up immediately. Larger air fryers can cook larger batches of food. And even larger air fryers are really counter top convection ovens with a fan in the back. The disadvantage of these appliances is that it takes a while for the “fryer” to heat up.
Salmon in the Air Fryer
Some foods turn out great when cooked in an air fryer. Other dishes get a resounding “thumbs down.” I find that re-heating frozen or leftover foods is a good use for my appliance. I love baked potatoes made in the air fryer. However, I actually don’t use this appliance for frying foods. The food does not crisp up unless coated in oil.
Salmon is one food which cooks well in an air fryer. When cooked correctly, salmon is cooked to the “medium” stage (120 – 130 degrees) — just enough for salmon to flake when the top is pressed with a fork or your finger. The flesh inside should be semi-translucent in the center. The salmon is juicy and succulent.
It doesn’t take long for four (4 oz) salmon pieces to cook in my air fryer. Just 8 minutes. Don’t overcook; or the salmon will be dry and crumbly.
Recipe
The marinade for the salmon is a simple Asian-inspired glaze. It includes Hoisin sauce, ketchup, molasses (for a “southern twist”), rice vinegar. soy sauce and ground ginger. For a bit of “hot,” I added sriracha sauce — “or rooster sauce.”
Here are the ingredients for the BBQ sauce.
For the salmon, I found a one-pound thick salmon fillet at the seafood market. A thick slab of salmon works better for this recipe – and it fits into the air fryer (when cut into smaller pieces). It didn’t dry out when cooked.
To make the recipe, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Cut the one-pound salmon fillet into four pieces.
Coat the salmon pieces with the marinade, cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
Take out the salmon and let the marinade drip off — reserving remaining marinade in the bowl. Place in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Coat with the reserved marinade and cook for 3 additional minutes.
This salmon literally fell apart when I took it out of the air fryer basket. I served this with rice and broccoli spears for a complete meal.
This is an easy and tasty salmon entrée. I really enjoyed the Asian-inspired glaze. It added just enough flavor to the salmon. And hurray! Another use for the air fryer. I give this recipe a “thumbs up” air fryer cuisine. And, the glaze — or BBQ sauce — could be used in so many other recipes– chicken or pork. It was the “surprise” of this recipe.
Enjoy this healthy meal.
Salmon with Asian-Inspired Glaze in the Air Fryer
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boneless salmon fillet(s)
- 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- cooked rice and broccoli spears (or vegetable of choice), for serving
Method and Steps:
- If the salmon is one large piece, cut the salmon into 4 small pieces. Pat dry. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized non-metallic bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients — hoisin sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, sriracha sauce and ground ginger.
- Add the salmon fillets and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for one hour.
- Remove the salmon from the marinade and let excess drip off. Reserve the excess marinade.
- Arrange the salmon in the air fryer basket (with grate) in a single layer.
- Air fry at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, until the salmon is mostly cooked through. Brush with the reserved marinade and let cook for 3 additional minutes until the glaze caramelizes. The internal temperature, when tested with a quick read thermometer, should be 120 – 130 degrees. The salmon should flake when gently touched on top.*
- Serve with rice and broccoli spears or vegetable of choice.
*NOTE: Air fryers vary greatly in cooking directions. Always follow manufacturer’s instructions, including pre-heating the air fryer if indicated.
Looks really flavorful!
Yes, I do enjoy salmon when cooked properly; the sauce adds flavor and the salmon is amazingly easy to cook in my air fryer!
I appreciate the ideas for air fryer. We finally broke down and bought one of the countertop oven style units and we still fumble a bit trying to decide what to make. The sauce on your salmon sounds awesome, with sweet, savory, sticky AND spicy! Love it.
Yes, a countertop oven-style unit air fryer would be great; I could see muffins; french toast, baked cod, salmon, pizza, bread????, perhaps some tempura veggies, yum — I tried that idea in my air fryer but no luck; the small size is really a hinderance. Yes, the sauce/glaze for the salmon is great; can’t wait to try it perhaps on some ribs. Hey, now that’s an idea for a table top air fryer! Wonder how that would work out. Might splatter alot. Hum.