Canadian Cedar Planked Salmon

Fantastic! This was easy and delicious. I didn't change a thing. The plank didn't catch fire, either.

Delish!

Amazing, easy gourmet meal. The smoked flavor along with the peppercorn was delicious. For the cedar plank: I spoke with a lumber yard owner, and was told the following: cedar is untreated as a whole, since it is quite a dense wood and doesnt require chemical treatment for carpentry. My plank was not heartwood (center of tree), so it was not quite so dense (great for soaking water). Also, it was not planed (pretty rough), and I think that caused it to ignite more often. Totally controllable, just keep the lid on and it doesn't feed the wood with enough oxygen to create a blaze. Basically, a cheap plank from a lumber yard did the trick! I also found that the lemon slices on top of the salmon while it cooked caused it to absorb some heat, making the salmon less cooked under the areas. I would recommend squeezing the juice onto it for cooking, then adding slices for serving. Served with steamed spinach, rice, and wine. I prefer red wine entirely, so I paired the salmon with a sweet pinot noir. The smokey, peppercorn flavor along with the spinach really brought out the light, sweet flavors of the wine. This is one for the index cards!

This a great basic recipe to use as a baseline, especially if you've been out fishing the majority of the day. I prefer to substitute the Olive Oil with a high quality garlicky vinaigrette containing all natural ingredients. I've found, depending on the size of the fillet (cooking time), that a plank (Red Cedar) soaked anywhere between two to four hours is suitable for the job. I also like to sprinkle some Kosher salt (or Hawaiian red salt) on a lightly oiled (Olive Oil) plank before topping it off with the fillet skin side down. This followed up with some small slices of onion (I prefer Sweet, but use what you like) and a few slices of lemon provides not only an exquisite taste but a very impressive presentation. The fresher the fish the better, the picture I've provided was of a Western Washington Coho caught, filleted, put on ice in a container (stored in the refrigerator, drain the water as the ice melts occasionally to avoid letting the fillet to soak up water) and planked the same day. No matter how long you've soaked the plank I'd suggest you always keep a squirt bottle containing water to eliminate any flare ups.

This was such a good recipe. It was so simple to make but tasted like it took hours. I made it for my husband as an early Valentine's dinner and we both ate everything on our plates.