Cedar-Plank Braided Salmon with Apple Butter Sauce

By akselden

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• One side of fresh Atlantic or Pacific salmon, 3 to 4 lbs., skin off and pin bones removed (your local fish market should do this at no charge)
• 1/2 cup dark or amber maple syrup
• 1/4 cup Canadian rye whiskey or maple liqueur
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup maple butter (available at farmers markets or maple syrup farms)
• 2 to 4 tbsp granulated maple sugar (available at farmer's markets or maple sugar farms)
• Fresh thyme or sage sprigs for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat barbecue to medium heat, or oven to 350°F. Some grilling advocates advise soaking the plank in water so it doesn't burn, but Colleen chooses not to soak the plank -- she likes the smokey taste that the charring wood imparts to the salmon.
2. Oil the cedar plank and place the salmon on it. Keeping fish intact at narrower tail end, start cutting, about one inch in from the tail end, lengthwise through the middle section (where the backbone would have been) straight to the opposite end. Repeat this motion to cut a total of seven strips that are each about 1/2" to 3/4" wide. Where the fish is intact at tail end, strips will be narrower.
3. Measure out half of the maple syrup and reserve. Combine remaining maple syrup with whiskey. Brush whiskey mixture all over salmon strips to generously coat. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To braid, mentally label the strips -- starting from the left-- as numbers one through seven. Starting with strip number four, lift it over strips one through three so that it is now on the outside left-hand side. Next, take strip number three and lift it over strips five through seven. Now start again, renumbering the strips from one through seven; again lift (the new) trip number four to the far left and (the new) strip number three to the right. Continue in this manner until you have braided the whole length of fish. Pat the braided fish into one compact length (it should look something like the braided breads in bakeries). Either skewer the loose ends together or simply press together to keep in place. At this point, the salmon can be set on a baking sheet, covered and chilled overnight.
5. To finish the salmon, pour the maple butter and reserved syrup generously over the salmon, especially into nooks and crannies. Season with salt and pepper.
6.To barbecue the salmon, place the plank on the grill, on the upper rack if your barbecue has one, over medium heat; close lid (or cover salmon with foil roasting pan). Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork ,and internal.