Salmon is a very versatile fish and can be baked, broiled, pan seared, grilled, and smoked to name a few methods. Here, we are grilling a salmon filet on a cedar plank. Cedar planks can come in red or white cedar, either is fine but I used a red cedar plank for this cook.
This is my personal favorite way to prepare salmon, especially if wanting to use a grill.
Fast Facts
Category: Seafood
Cut: Salmon Filet – Center Cut
Weight: 2 Pounds
Grill: Dyna-Glo Grill
Heat Source: Gas
Type of Wood: Red Cedar Plank
Spray: N/A
Estimated Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Actual Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Time of Cook: N/A
Estimated Cooking Temperature: 500 degrees
Actual Cooking Temperature: 500 degrees
Location of Purchase: Chula Seafood - www.chulaseasfood.com – local fish market
Cook Date: June 17, 2020
Ingredient List
2 pound salmon filet (I used fresh Faroe Island salmon from my local fish market - shout out to www.chulaseafood.com)
1 tablespoon honey
½ tablespoon coarse salt
½ tablespoon coarse pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
Supply List
Cedar plank - you can also try a variety of woods in this pack which is fun
Instructions
Step 1. Soak cedar plank in warm water for a minimum of an hour but the more the merrier. No need to soak more than 4 hours.
Step 2: Rub the salmon with the honey, coating the filet
Step 3: Mix all dry ingredients in a seasoning shaker and mix thoroughly. Season filet to your preference.
Step 4: Prepare your grill for indirect cooking. This means, you want a portion of your gas grill to have no heat being produced. In short, turn half your grill on high and the other off leave off. Place the cedar plank with the seasoned salmon on top of the portion of the grill on HIGH heat, close the grill. Yes, that is correct, place it on the high heat portion but you need to pay attention. You want to keep it there for about 5 minutes. The plank will char a bit but if it’s not holding enough water, it can catch fire and burn the salmon. So, again, pay attention to this step.
Step 5: After 5 minutes on high heat, your plank should have a little char to it. Move it over to the indirect side and close the grill. If you have a thermometer on the grill, it should be around 500 degrees. Cook for 10-15 more minutes pending the width of the salmon. If you have a center cut, it may be a bit thinker than the tail end.
Step 6: Pull and let rest a room temperature for 5-10 minutes to set.
Enjoy!
Lessons Learned (Note: I will update this section to include your lessons learned from the comment section)
When working with a plank, you need to pay attention at all times when over direct heat. It just takes a few second for the plank to catch fire and torch a portion of your fish.
Another trick I learned was to pre-char the plank the bit and put the fish on the charred side of the plank and cook indirectly the entire time. We'll have to try that another time.