Cedar Plank Salmon
by Sam Larsen
I think cedar grows in the same places salmon like to live and that's why they go so darn well together. There will be a theme on this blog where we take fatty meats and smoke them coated with sweet and tangy glazes. This is a fish recipe but it fits with the theme. This an especially festive dish because the cedar plank is such a conversation starter -- is this how early humans cooked their costco salmon fillets? Second, I use the sushi-chef-secret to do a very light quick cure on the salmon which, along with the gentle heat of plank-cooking, keeps the white albumen from seeping out of the fish and ruining our nice presentation. I used wild king salmon from Alaska for this particular batch, man that is special stuff, you could just as easily use costco farmed salmon for a third of the cost.
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon cut into 2 8oz fillets (I take the skin off because it doesn't get crispy in this recipe)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 lemon, zested, couple of nice presentation slices cut out of the middle, and then wedge up the rest for serving and putting in a seltzer
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 tsp chopped rosemary
- kosher salt
- granulated sugar
- cedar plank, start soaking this in water now, soak for as long as you can
Method
- Soak that plank if you haven't already started.
- Coat the salmon fillets in a light coating of sugar and salt. You're going to rinse off any excess so don't overthink it. After coating, put them on a plate in the fridge.
- Light up the grill and get a medium heat fire going.
- Combine the honey, mustard, lemon zest and rosemary in a small bowl.
- Fill a bowl with ice and water. Gently rinse off the salmon fillets in the bowl of water and pat dry with a paper or tea towel.
- Arrange the salmon fillets on the soaked cedar plank. Spoon the glaze evenly over the salmon fillets. Place a lemon slice or two on top of each fillet.
- Set the cedar plank on the grill and cover. Cook until the salmon reaches 125°F for farmed salmon and 120°F for wild salmon.
- Carefully remove salmon from the plank (I wouldn't bring the on fire plank inside as I did here, I just wanted a picture and the sun had set), serve with lemon wedges.