If you haven't tried planking (and I don't mean the kind of planking that the young people do :), it's an outdoor cooking technique that can give your meals a WONDERFUL flavor.  While salmon is a popular choice for grilling on cedar planks, you can also grill boneless chicken breasts or thighs, as well as vegetables, hamburgers, and much more.  Grilled salmon on planks is especially delicious and is so easy to do.  Imagine the surprise of your guests when you serve them some delicious salmon right on a cedar plank!  Talk about being an outdoor cooking rock star!

Grilled Salmon on Planks

Cooking salmon on a plank was first done by the Indians of the Pacific Northwest.  They fastened salmon onto planks of cedar and then propped the plank up close to the fire.  You can do it in a similar way, except you'll put the plank of cedar right down on your grill and put a fillet of salmon on top of it.

To get started, you'll need a cedar plank, a fillet of salmon, and, if you desire, some seasonings.  You might be able to find cedar planks for grilling in your local stores, you can also get them here.

The first thing you'll need to do is get your planks soaking.  They'll need a good hour, so make sure you allow enough time.  I used a cooler, since the planks can be 13 to 15 inches long and the cooler was long enough.  I added a few inches of water, and put the planks in with something on top to hold them down.  I used an empty Gatorade bottle filled with water.  If you want to get fancy, add some apple juice, or other liquid to the water for extra flavor!

While your planks are soaking, you can get your seasonings ready.  You don't have to be exotic with the seasonings--some simple coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, and some freshly squeezed lemon juice will do just fine.  But if you want to sample something a bit fancier, try this rub that I used:

Mix the following in a bowl.

• 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

After mixing, rub this mix all over the filet of salmon.

When you are ready to start cooking, get your grill heated up to 350 degrees.  Put the planks on the grill.  If you purchased the plank, there should be a smooth side and a rough side--put the smooth side down. Now close the lid to your grill and let the plank heat up.  This should take no more than a couple of minutes.  Don't leave while you are doing this!  You'll end up with a pile of ashes.  When the plank starts to smoke and crack, it's done.

Use a pair of tongs to flip the plank over and brush the top side with a light coating of olive oil.  This will help keep the fish from sticking to the plank.  Put the salmon fillet on the plank.  If the fillet is too wide, trim it and lay the trimmed pieces on the plank to cook.  You'll have an extra treat when all is done!

Now you want to turn down the flame of the grill burners to the lowest setting and close the cover.  Let the salmon cook for 8 minutes.  Please don't open the grill during this period to check!  You'll just lose all that delicious cedar smoky flavor and you definitely don't want that.

At the end of the 8 minutes, open the grill and check your salmon.  Hopefully the plank is not burning!  If it is, use a spray bottle of water to put the flames out.  You need to continue to grill the salmon until it is flaky.  That usually takes about 12 -15 minutes, but will depend on the temperature of your grill. When done, if the plank is still intact and not too charred, you can serve the salmon using the plank, or cut portions of the salmon right on the plank and serve from there.

Using cedar planks is an absolutely delicious way to add some fabulous flavor to your grilling.  You can pay big bucks for salmon on a cedar plank in a restaurant and now you know how to do it right in your own backyard.

What have you cooked on planks on grill?  Let me know in the comments.

P.S. Find out how you can get more outdoor cooking magic tricks!