I wanted to share the success story of my dinner last night. My neighbor went fishing over the weekend and came back home with a good-sized Coho (King) salmon filet that we grilled up for a surprisingly good last-minute dinner. This is how it went:

Not having done any Plank-style grilling yet, I thought this would be a good time to try. I had my wife soak a cedar shingle (leftover from building my backyard shed) in water for about 2 hours before I got home from work. While that was soaking, I found a paste/marinade recipe on "justsmokedsalmon.com" that had some Asian flavor to it, and here it is:

Miso-Glazed Cedar-Planked Salmon
1/4 cup of light miso (fermented soy bean paste, usually in the Ethnic aisle of many grocery stores)
2 tbsp. of brown sugar
1tbsp. of seasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp. of grated fresh ginger
1 minced garlic cLove

After preheating the grill to High (I was shooting for ~550 degrees to start), I mixed together the paste ingredients and smeared it on the filet. Then I lightly sprinkled with kosher salt and let the salmon rest at room temperature.

For the starch component of dinner, I made 3 cups of Jasmine rice, to be topped with a Wasabi-cream-sauce. I made that as follows:

Wasabi Cream Sauce
1/2 cup Sour Cream (NOT Lite)
4 tsp. Wasabi Powder
4 tbsp Water

Finally, for vegetables, I coarsely chopped 1 bunch of asparagus (my favorite), 1 Orange Bell Pepper, 1 Red Bell Pepper, and placed them in a 1 Gallon Ziplock bag. I wish I had some onion to throw in that mix, but I was in too much of a hurry at the grocery store. To season, and stay with the Asian theme, I whipped up this concoction from what I had on-hand:

Asian Vegetable Seasoning
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
4 tbsp soy sauce (not low sodium)
1 tbsp Peanut Oil
2 tbsp Dark Sesame Oil
2 minced garlic cloves

Then, I added the salmon to the grill, inserted a digital probe thermometer, set the temp. alarm to 125, dropped one burner to low, and turned the other two off. The temperature gradually came down to ~350 where I wanted it, and with a little adjustment, hung there nicely. When the salmon's internal temp hit 100 degrees, I dumped the contents of the veggie-ziploc bag onto a grill/wok and let those grill away. After about 35 minutes, the salmon hit it's eventual target temp of 130 degrees, the veggies finished near the same time, and a gratifyingly delicious dinner was had by all. I was particularly happy with the flavor of the salmon, and the amazing tenderness. Of course, the high quality of the fish had quite a bit to do with that, but so did cooking with a probe thermometer. There's nothing quite so tragic as over-cooked salmon. The wasabi cream on the rice was a big hit as well, by the way.

I've screwed up more than my fair share of last-minute dinners w/friends, so it was nice to see one come off really well. I can heartily recommend the plank method of cooking salmon or any other fish, probably. Happy Grilling!!

Now thats what I'm talking about. Thats good living.

Sounds like we need a recipie section on the board now

I agree about having a digi-probe thermometer - especially when cooking for company...nothing worse than having to put something back on the grill! <_< I wouldn't know though, because my little friend beeps at me when the chicken is done.

GearHead - what role did the cedar plank play in cooking the salmon? The last mention of it is when its soaking for 2 hours...

-Ben

Aaargh!!! Thanks for catching that, Ben! Well, as you might guess, the salmon goes on the plank, and the plank goes on the grill. Apparently you can cook over direct or indirect heat, and you can also start the cook with the plank only, to really get it smoking before the fish goes on. I started with high temperature direct (with filet on the plank) to get the underside of the plank smoldering and smoking, and then indirect for the remainder of the cook. Soaking the plank apparently helped to keep the fish moist, and the gentle smoke flavor was a very nice addition.

I can probably get another 2 or 3 uses out of this piece of siding, as it isn't too badly charred on the underside. Now, if I can just get another piece of that Salmon from my neighbor. . .

How do you avoid getting splinters in the fish? Or is it not an issue?

Splinters were a non-issue. I used the smoother of the two sides of the wood for the fish, and it was a filet with skin, which is pretty darned tough. So even if there were serious splinters, it wouldn't end up on your plate.

You can also purchase cedar planks designed for grilling (No splinter potential )

I've heard about those! My neighbor told me about an Alder plank he got as a gift that's thick, like 3/4", and it has screws in the sides to adjust for splitting and warping. Sounds like a cool concept to me.

I've just been taking them off of my neighbors roof

LOL bluesin!!! If you do not want to risk neighbor relations...or your neighbor has asphault shingles like mine...Try this site for Cedar or Alder Planks:
http://www.justsmokedsalmon.com/planks.htm

one thing to watch out for, is that the planks are untreated wood. the guy at the local Home Depot did not seem to get that I planned on eating the fish, not building it as part of the deck. It works great and no preservatives(in the food or wood) would be wanted or needed

What do you do to clean the plank after use to get ready to use again?

Eric D

A scrub brush and warm soapy water seemed to do the trick for me. Nothing really stuck to the plank, but then again my filets had the skin on.

The WalMart Grocery store in our area carries cedar planks in the kitchen gadgets area. There are four of five planks in a box. Don't remember the price though.

Bob

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to check this out!

Coho is another name for Silver salmon. Chinook is another name for King salmon. Chinook get much larger than Coho. Small point, but worth knowing.

Thanks for the clarification, hogboy. You're right, I should have said "Silvers", it was definitely Coho. That reminds me, I need to make this Salmon again soon!

GearHead,

Your plank recipe sounds almost like the one we had years ago for saltwater drum. The only basic difference is once your finished cooking the drum gets thrown away and you eat just the board since drum is not always the best tasting fish. Back then it was always so easy to come home with an ice chest full of red fish or speckled trout that the drum caught were not usually kept.

I just tried this 3 nights ago... and WOW, I am not that big on Salmon( except smoked) But I love all other types of saltwater fish... Cooked or Raw, , But now I am a believer in cedar plank salmon, we coat a little dijon mustard all over the fillet, then mixed dried dill and brown sugar on the fish, preheated the grill and plank (that had soaked in water for about 4 hours) filpped the plank over and cooked on indirect heat for about 25-30 min... MMMMMMM it was fantastic I would have never thought to put Brown Sugar on fish.. and the cedar taste that the fish asorbed ... I now like grilled salmon...

Paleale

Glad to hear the salmon came out well. There are many ways to cook it on the grill. One of my favorites is to salt, pepper and olive oil it and then sear on both sides until it has some crispiness to the outside. Then, finish with indirect heat until the inside is fully cooked. This is placed on the plate and topped with a lemon butter sauce. Very good stuff!

Eric D

Wasn't sure where to put my wish to all of you for a Happy Father's Day but since I'm planning on some planked salmon to celebrate, I'll put it heres HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bill b @ Jun 17 2007, 07:02 AM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Wasn't sure where to put my wish to all of you for a Happy Father's Day but since I'm planning on some planked salmon to celebrate, I'll put it heres HAPPY FATHERS DAY!! [/quote]

BTW, The local Costco is now stocking 6 pack of Cedar planks for salmon! at $8.99 a pack, i need to stock up.... on salmon and cedar planks..

Edit : plus they have recently marked these as a non restock item with at least to palets of them in stock....

I am stalking... for a lower price then I wil Stock up!

Made cedar plank salmon tonight, with rice and grilled peaches with carmamel sauce.

Salmon start - Click to view attachment

Salmon cooking [the burgers are for my wife and middle daughter, they don't like salmon] - Click to view attachment

Salmon done - Click to view attachment

Easy and good ...

Billy Goat in WV

Billy Goat: Looks fabulous! You certainly have a flair for preparation! Nice combination with the peaches and caramel sauce! Now, tell me you also had a little Peach Schnapps to go along with it! Mike