Prepared: June 28, 2018
The kids are more “vegetarian-ish” than vegetarian. Fish is on their menu; so we picked up a salmon filet for a nice summer meal on the deck. Now, I imagine everyone with a grill has done cedar planked salmon, so I’ll keep this brief. Most importantly make sure you have a plank that is big enough for you piece of fish. I found some – maybe at Orchard Supply Hardware – that are 15″ long by 7″ wide – longer and wider than many I’ve seen at the grocery store.
At least two hours before cooking I put a plank in a tray of water and weight it down with a measuring cup full of water to keep it submerged.
Before and after
We are going for an indirect cook on the gas grill – fast and simple. First I turned all burners to high to heat it up. After 10-15 minutes I scrubbed the grill, turned off the burners in the middle and turned the outer burners to a tad below medium. My target was 350° on the grill hood thermometer. That thermometer is measuring the heat up on the top of the grill rather than down on the grill where the fish is; but it’s a fine indicator for this dish.
I put the salmon filet on the plank, sprinkled just a bit of kosher salt on top then put it over the unlit burners on the grill and close the cover.
The filet just barely fit diagonally; of course, if the filet was bigger I could have cut it in half.
The USDA calls for an internal temperature of 145°
It cooked in a hurry; in just 12 minutes the cedar plank was smoking and the fish was 115°. I closed the grill and waited another minute and it was a tad over my target – which is lower than USDA – so check often.
That smoking cedar plank really enhances the flavor. I brought it in to rest while the final dinner preparations were made.
A chopped salad, crusty french bread, a nice bottle of wine and dinner was served. Serving on the charred plank is a nice presentation – it was cut into portions before I got my camera out.
Everyone loved it; the 4 year old and 2 year old kids gobbled it up.
A fantastic dinner to end a fantastic day. A few years ago our South African daughter-in-law put some chutney on the side to go with the salmon. Delicious! We’ve used many different flavors – today she bought apple and cranberry.
We don’t need a long involved recipe here; put a lightly salted salmon filet on a wet cedar plank over indirect heat at 300° – 350° until it reaches your – or the USDA – desired degree of doneness.
Rating: ★★★★★
You can’t beat this for a nice dinner.
