Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

Okay, let’s discuss cedar planks and cooking

Is it a gimmick? Nope.

Does it add anything to the food that’s cooked on it???  Yep.

The cedar, when handled well imparts a subtle smoky and woody flavor which can really add to certain dishes

The key is to soak the plank in water from a minimum of 1 hour or up to 2 hours

The more it soaks, the less it burns up and the more flavor you gain from it.  In fact the more it soaks the longer it lasts, so you can actually use it again

I read some cool tips for the planks as well.  Did you know you can soak them in a half water and wine or beer for more flavor?

You can also soak it for a couple of hours and then freeze it so it’s ready to go when you need it (pretty cool, literally)

So place the plank in water and walk away

Let’s work on the salmon

We have roughly 2 pounds of filet

I’m going to trim the belly fat off of it (our pup will be very happy with the cooked scraps)

This happens to be skin on salmon, which in most cases is fine.  For this particular application I want to remove the skin

Carefully cut between the skin and the flesh with a long sharp knife

Grab hold of the skin and as you slice forward with the knife (away from your body) pull the skin gently from side to side to release it

One…

Two…

Three!

Next cut the salmon into portions

We will need 1 lemon, 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, 1 garlic clove, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons of Red Hot and 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper

We are going to use the lemon in 3 ways

Zest the whole thing, then cut out 4 slices, then juice the rest

In a food processor add in the garlic, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice and Red Hot

Pulse until well chopped

Lay the lemon slices out on the pre-soaked cedar plank

Lay the salmon over the lemon slices

Then evenly top each filet with the parsley garlic mixture

Next sprinkle each filet with kosher salt and ground black pepper

Then top each one with a sprinkle of lemon zest

Preheat your grill to 400 F direct heat, but with the middle burner on low

So a Medium, Low, Medium configuration

We still want some direct heat working on the cedar plank, but we don’t want to burn it up

Place the salmon in the center and cook for 15 -20 minutes or until a knife inserted into the thickest part goes in and comes out easily

Let the salmon rest a few minutes before serving

Enjoy!!!

Simply Bamboo Cutting Board

KitchenAid 3-Speed Hand Blender

TrueFire Gourmet Cedar Grilling Plank

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