Cedar Planked Salmon

[Tom Linderholm]

Cedar Planked Salmon:

First I start by soaking my ceday planks in a bourbon/water mixture roughly 30% bourbon to 70% water. Allow those to soak for at least 6 hours, 24 being preferable.

Lay Salmon skin side down on cedar plank, we use a 5"x7" plank for an 8 ounce filet. Season with salt & pepper or whatever seasoning you prefer, next place on hot grill. (you really want your grill going good to get the steam going from the cedar plank) We have ours set to about 650 degrees.

When the Salmon is nearly done to medium or so I brush the top with honey, sprinkle about 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar on it and toss a tablespoon of soft butter on top of that. When the butter melts an hits the cedar plank the board will ignite, allow this to go for a good minute covered to add a little smoke flavor to your fish.

Easy recipe and takes about 10 minutes (minus the soaking), Cedar planks can be found at your specialty food stores watch it though they can be expensive. Mine come in case lots and basically look like something right out of a lumber yard.

Enjoy!

[BAIT956]

Great Cheffrey! Exactly what I wanted. I'm on it.

Many, many thanks.

[HC Eye Hunter]

Cheffrey,

I am always looking for different ways to prepare fish. Is it because of the oil content in the fillet that the cedar plank method works so well with salmon? Would the cedar plank method work for other species of fish like catfish?

[Hotspotter]

Cheffrey:

Did a little research through a buddy at the lumberyard, but have a question regarding the thickness of the plank???

Can get roughsawn untreated cedar (same thing I'm almost positive) in a 1"X8" board up to 10 feet long for $1.07/lineal foot. I'm guessing that this thickness might be a bit much or thicker than what you're using?

Joel

[G_man]

The cedar grilling planks I bought from a store are about 1/2" thick.

[Hotspotter]

Thanks G-man, was looking some stuff up yesterday about grilling vs. baking planks. Baking ones up to 1", and most of the grilling ones were b/w 3/8" and 1/2".

1X cedar is a true 7/8", so would this work? Drawbacks? Any thoughts? I could run a power planer over it for cheaper than I could buy 4 planks for $15!!!

Joel

[Tom Linderholm]

Jnelson, when I get back over to Larsmont I will see if I can take a pic of one for you. I am paying roughly $1.25 a piece for them now. If I had to guess I would say they are 3/8" thick. I do believe they are also kiln dried to a reduced moisture content. Not sure what percentage it is though. I think for grilling you want to keep with the thinner plank so it evaporates the moisture fast enough to keep up with the cooking process.

I think the fat content in Salmon lends it better to the cedar, however there is no reason to think that any other fish wouldn't be worth a shot. Give it a try and let us know.

[hawkeye43]

Thats all I used, 1" board. The salmon was a total hit in our house. I know we will be doing it more often, may even try some different things to it.

[Hotspotter]

I went ahead and used 1X8 cedar, which is a true 7/8" thick.

The salmon was phenomenal. Note that that cooking time will be a bit more with a grill that won't do 750 (mine), and thicker/larger chunk of salmon than 8oz. (12oz seemed common in supermarkets).

Also note that you should go with cheaper bourbon if soaking a bigger board like that. I used Evan Williams, decent, yet cheaper than even the more commercial bourbons like Beam.

Good luck!

Joel

[fishin magician]

Did my first cedar planked salmon last night on the grill. It was what I call redonkulous.

Thanks for sharing you recipes.

Andy

[loosegoose]

Are the cedar planks reusable or are they a one time use only?

[Tom Linderholm]

Typically a one time deal, you really want the cedar to smoke and burn to enhance the flavor of the fish.