If you want to take your salmon to the next level, this Salmon Dry Rub is the perfect place to start. Made with a simple blend of pantry spices, it adds bold, balanced flavor to every bite. This versatile seasoning works beautifully whether you’re grilling, baking, or air frying your salmon. It creates a flavorful crust while enhancing the natural richness of the fish.
Table of Contents
Want the secret to making restaurant-worthy salmon dinners at home? It’s all about the seasoning! Use this easy salmon rub recipe to take all of your salmon dishes up a notch and infuse every bite with zesty and smoky flavors.
What is a dry rub?
A dry rub is a blend of ground spices and granulated sugar used to add extra flavor to meat, like chicken, beef, pork, and seafood. The spice mixture is rubbed all over the outside of the meat before it’s cooked either right away or after it’s left to marinate. After it’s cooked, the dry-rubbed meat should have layers of smoky, tangy, and/or spicy flavors, as well as a caramelized crust around the exterior from the melted sugar.
Ingredient notes
All you need is a short list of simple spices to make this salmon seasoning, such as:
- Smoked paprika – Regular or sweet paprika works, too.
- Garlic and onion powder – These two spices give the rub a baseline of savory flavors. This savoriness, while completely delicious, also helps to balance the stronger flavors.
- Brown sugar – The sugar is key here because when it melts, it forms a crispy, caramelized crust all around the cooked salmon.
- Cumin – For warmth.
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Mustard powder – Mustard pairs surprisingly well with salmon. Drizzling my Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce over salmon adds a divine and vibrant element, as does the mustard powder in this spice rub recipe.
- Lemon zest – This is optional, but it adds a refreshing pop that compliments the salmon so well.
You can use the seasoning on skinless or skin-on, boneless, and center-cut salmon filets.
Look for salmon that has a vibrant orange-red color and moist-looking flesh. As for farmed vs. wild-caught salmon, wild-caught Pacific or Atlantic salmon is always best because of its quality and flavor!
How to make dry-rubbed salmon
Begin by whisking the spices, sugar, and lemon zest together in a small bowl. Either use the blend right away on a salmon filet or store it in an airtight jar in your cupboard for later.
Grilled Salmon: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Place the salmon skin-side down on the greased grill grates. Close the lid and grill for 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillet.
Baked Salmon: Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 125-degrees, then broil for 1-2 minutes to crisp the top.
Pan-Seared Salmon: Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Heat olive in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place salmon skin-side down, and let cook for 4-6 minutes. Once the opaque color has traveled about halfway up the side of the fish, flip. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the internal temp reaches 125-degrees.
Air Fryer Salmon: Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Preheat your air fryer to 400-degrees. Cook the salmon for 8 minutes.
Variations
- Extra spicy – Add a pinch of cayenne to the blend.
- Zesty and tangy – For extra tang and vibrancy, use both lemon and lime zest in the spice blend.
- Sugar free – Omit the brown sugar or replace it with honey.
- Make it a marinade – Stir the spices together in a large bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Pop the fish in the bowl, allow it to soak up the flavors from the marinade for 30 minutes, then cook!
- Add herbs – You can give the spice blend a refreshing element by stirring in fresh or dried parsley, dill, cilantro, or rosemary.
FAQs
You’ll need to use 1 tablespoon of the seasoning mix for every pound of salmon.
How long does salmon dry rub last?
The dry rub can be stored for up to 6 months in an airtight jar at room temperature. Keep it in a cool, dry place or where you keep your other spices.
Absolutely! The wide range of warm, smoky, and tangy flavors in this rub means that it would pair well with my Air Fryer Shrimp and on other types of fish, like tilapia or haddock, for fish tacos.
You’ll know the salmon is done when a meat thermometer registers the internal temperature at 120ºF to 125ºF. If you don’t have a thermometer, press a fork gently into the cooked salmon. The flesh will flake easily when it’s done.
Serving suggestions
This dry rub is especially perfect on grilled salmon dinners but you can, of course, use it on all kinds of salmon recipes. Use it to uplevel any of these salmon dinner ideas:
Once the salmon is ready to eat, serve it with a Tomato Cucumber Salad, Lemon Risotto, or any of these 45 Sides for Salmon.
More ways to season salmon
While these 15 Sauces for Salmon add big flavor to simple salmon recipes, any of these seasoning blends will do just as good of a job and are easier to put together. Give any of them a try when you want to add restaurant-quality flavor to any salmon recipe:
- Lemon slices and fresh dill or rosemary
- Salt and pepper
- Grated or minced garlic
Did you try this salmon rub recipe?
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Full Recipe
Salmon Dry Rub
Equipment
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons smoked paprika (or sweet paprika)
- 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- Optional: Zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk the spices until well combined. Store in an airtight container or jar for up to 6 months.
- Use 1 Tablespoon seasoning for every pound of salmon.
- Broil for 5-6 minutes or until the salmon is opaque and cooked through.
Grilled Salmon
- Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Place the salmon skin-side down on the greased grill grates. Close the lid and grill for 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillet.
Baked Salmon
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 125-degrees, then broil for 1-2 minutes to crisp the top.
Pan-Seared Salmon
- Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Heat olive in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place salmon skin-side down, and let cook for 4-6 minutes. Once the opaque color has traveled about halfway up the side of the fish, flip. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the internal temp reaches 125-degrees.
Air Fryer Salmon
- Pat salmon fillets dry, rub them with oil, and season with the dry rub. Preheat your air fryer to 400-degrees. Cook the salmon for 8 minutes.
Notes
-
Extra spicy – Add a pinch of cayenne to the blend.
-
Zesty and tangy – For extra tang and vibrancy, use both lemon and lime zest in the spice blend.
-
Sugar free – Omit the brown sugar or replace it with honey.
-
Make it a marinade – Stir the spices together in a large bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Pop the fish in the bowl, allow it to soak up the flavors from the marinade for 30 minutes, then cook!
-
Add herbs – You can give the spice blend a refreshing element by stirring in fresh or dried parsley, dill, cilantro, or rosemary.
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