Cedar plank grilled salmon

By daviddsg

This is really about heating up the plank and roasting the salmon on the hot wood - so keeping the hood closed is very important. The only material that touches the grill is the cedar that has been heated by the grates and will release flavors into the salmon as well as conduct heat.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets that have been trimmed to uniform size (excess belly flesh removed)
• 1 Tbsp Olive, Grape Seed, Walnut or Hazelnut oil per fish fillet
• salt and pepper to taste

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from charbroil.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation
Have the fish monger filet the salmon and remove the heat, pin bones and fins
Soak the plank in water for at least 3 hours to ensure it’s well hydrated.
That afternoon remove the salmon from the packaging and trim the strip of thin belly flesh away from the side, you can cook this separately on the grill or in soups, or freeze for another day.
Cut the trimmed salmon into equal portions and rinse under cool running water. Dry with paper towels and season the flesh with a bit of sea salt and pepper. Brush on clarified butter or olive oil and let rest to come up to room temperature.


Method
Pre-heat your grill on HIGH
Place the plank on the hot grate and leave it until there is a smell of smoke, usually about 2 to 4 minutes.
Turn the plank over and immediately place the salmon fillets on the now hot and somewhat charred plank top.
Turn the burners OFF beneath the plank and any other burners on low (should be a constant 225F - 250F degrees.) and not directly beneath the edges of the plank.
If you wish you can add an aluminum foil tent over the fish and plank - and place additional herbs on grates where burner(s) are on low setting - the smoke from the burning herbs will be trapped (along with heat) in the aluminum foil tent and serves to ensure added flavor as well as even cooking.
Close the hood and cook until the internal temperature of the fish reads 125F degree. Transfer the salmon and plank to a platter, cover and allow to rest for a few minutes whilst you're preparing the plates for service.
Serve when the internal temperature is a minimum of 135F degrees.