Cedar-Planked Salmon
I’m sure you read the recipe on the package of your fresh cedar planks. No? Oh dear. Good thing then, because I ignored it almost completely!
This has become a staple in our house for how to eat salmon – I’m sure when I move to do a whole salmon this will not be the case, but for filets I don’t like anything better… yet.
(eyeball proportions to taste and take note this is grilling, not smoking, so use direct heat.)
You need:
1 plank of cedar, soaked in warm water for 1 hour AT LEAST – I liked it at 2 hours because it left more for me to reuse.
4 Salmon Filets (~4oz a piece)
Kosher Salt
Lemon Pepper
Pepper Grinder
1 Large Orange
Dill Seed
Honey
I did these from frozen (I know, I know), but I also know the salt helps break down the frost. Go ahead and start your grill – light the coals and get busy by salting the salmon and let sit for a minute or two – this is a good time to grab a beer and have a few sips. Apply a nice layer of lemon pepper and pepper from the pepper grinder, not too heavy, and then let sit again (Think of the sitting as letting the frozen salmon focus the chi of the ingrediants you are adding. A little boost here and there, and time to reflect). Really, you should take this time to slice up the orange, leaving the rind on (Eat the small slices and keep the big ones. You want 1 slice per filet). Sprinkle the Dill seed over the fish and then apply honey by drizzling over the fish – zig zag as you please, but not TOO heavy. Lay the orange slices over the chicken and drizzle another layer of honey (I’d guess about a total of 2 tbsp total per fish in this recipe). Congrats! The fish is done, let it hang out for a small bit while you confirm the fire is hot.
I use the Char Griller with the grates oiled and over the coals. I make sure the thermometer reads AT LEAST 300 before I start. Take the plank out of the water, shake the excess, and place over the grate for 3 minutes, flip the board and place the fish directly on the plank. Close the lid and bank on about 15 minutes before you check it again. The fish is done when it flakes by fork. DO NOT OVERCOOK. I have found that you can tell it’s getting done when the white “fat” bubbles out and the edges turn brown a little bit. Now I use a leave-in thermometer and don’t worry about it.
Here’s the half-eaten beauty (in this pic we used lemons, but oranges are MUCH MUCH better).
As you can see, rice with mixed vegetables works great. I think in the future I’m leaning more to a possible fruit-like glaze to use for the whole salmon. That’ll be a fun experiment.
Enjoy!