Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with Lemon, Garlic & Fresh Herbs

Plank grilling, also known as planking, is a method in which food is placed on a wooden board that has been set over direct heat on a grill.

Plank grilling on a cedar plank is especially great for fish as it adds a smokiness and earthy flavour from the timber when coming into direct contact with the salmon.  This direct contact extracts the unique wood aroma and transfers it to surface of the salmon, releasing a flavour combination that is out of this world!

Salmon works greats as its rich and flaky flesh cooks very quickly and it effortlessly takes on any flavours that you throw on it. It’s also packed with Omega-3 fatty acids so it makes for a healthy meal as well.

For this recipe, we want the cedar planks to work their magic with the salmon without overpowering it with further heavy flavours. To achieve this, we make use of a simple blend of fresh herbs, garlic and lemon that is so easy to make!

If you love cooked salmon, you must try plank grilling it – you’ll love it!

 

Prep Time:  20 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Resting Time: 0 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Ideal Internal Hero Smoker & Grill Temperature: 180 °C

Ideal Cooked Serving Temperature: 60 °C (medium)

Recommend Cooking Method: Direct, medium to high heat

 

Course: Main Dish

 

Servings: 4 people

 

Ingredients:

 

Salmon:

• Firesmiths cedar plank(s) for grilling
• 4 x pre-skinned and portioned salmon fillets

Lemon Garlic Herb Marinade:

• ½ x cup olive oil
• ½ x tsp ground sea salt
• ½ x tsp ground black pepper
• 1 x tsp lemon zest from fresh lemon
• 1 ½ x tsp freshly chopped rosemary
• 1 ½ x tsp freshly chopped thyme
• 2 x Cloves garlic, minced
• Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions:

1. 1 hour before your planned cook start getting the cedar planks and salmon ready
2. For the cedar planks, fill a large bowl or sink with water. Soak the cedar plank(s) under the water for 1 hour.
3. In a baking dish large enough to hold all the salmon, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, rosemary, thyme, and garlic. Mix well.
4. Add the salmon and turn to coat evenly with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Place the heat diffuser inside the Hero with the charcoal basket on top
6. Light the coals using firelighters or hot coals from a chimney starter.
7. Take out the salmon whilst waiting for the fire to light all the coals properly.
8. Once the fire is ready, place the charcoal basket on top of the heat diffuser followed by the cooking grate.
9. Take out the cedar wood planks, pat dry and place on the cooking grate until it begins to smoke and lightly char.
10. Once the planks are lightly charred and smoking, take out the heat diffuser and place the charcoal basket at the bottom of Hero. Replace the grill grate and place the salmon, skin side down, on the cedar wood planks.
11. Close the lid, and let it cook for 30 to 35mins or until salmon is done to your liking. Take note you do not need to flip the salmon fillets.
12. Serve the salmon right off the planks on a platter with some lemon wedges.

 

 

 

Firesmiths note:

1. When soaking the cedar planks a heavy wine, beer bottle or just a glass filled with water will help to keep the wood from floating to the top. The water that is absorb helps to make the plank smoulder and not catch fire.
2. Charring the planks before cooking is important as the wood will then transfer more smokey flavours before the salmon starts to smoke.
3. To check for doneness, insert a Firesmiths instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the fish. Salmon is great when cooked to a medium doneness (60 °C) but you can cook it further depending on how you like it. If cooking it longer, just be sure to check it every few minutes so that it doesn’t dry out. You can also use a fork to separate the centre of the fish to see if it can easily flake apart – then you know it’s ready!
4. You can reuse a cedar plank, if it’s not too heavily charred, but it will have a less intense flavour output as some of the wood’s natural oils get used up from the previous cook, making it drier. However, this can be partially remedied by lightly oiling the surface before cooking. We prefer to discard the planks after use because the salmon skin tends to stick to the board more once it’s been used and of course you lose some flavour, but the choice is yours.
5. Plank grilling other freshwater fish such as trout, seafood (fish or shellfish), chicken breasts, pork chops, fruit (pineapple) or sliced vegetables is fantastic as well. Try them out.