Cedar Planked Salmon

How to pick your Salmon?

For this cook I am using some of the best Salmon that you can buy. This is Alaskan King Salmon from Salmon and Sable. These are wild caught salmon that go right from the water, straight to the fish shack for filleting. Everything is done by hand and attention to detail every step of the way. Regardless of where you purchase the Salomon from, make sure that you know where it came from.

What is the Best Method?

There are so many ways to grill salmon. My go to method is to use some cast iron to get that great sear and lock in the flavor. For this cook I wanted to try something a little different.

Why Cedar Plank?

I wanted to add a smoke flavor but not overpower this beautiful piece of salmon. To soak or not to soak the cedar plank in water? I know most people soak the wood plank to avoid the plank from burning. I am using a thicker cedar plank and I want to plank to burn. Your probably thinking… what? Yes, I want the plank to burn to add that touch of wood smoke.

The Prep

Take an orange and slice 1/4” thick. Place them on the plank as shown above. I used 2 slices for each piece of salmon.

Season your fish with your favorite spices. I used Meat Church The Gospel rub for that great color and then added a layer of their Garlic spices. This adds a nice savory flavor.

You can use some Rosemary between the salmon for some added aroma.

The Cook

Fire up your grill and get the temperature stable at 350 degrees F. We are going direct heat for this cook. Take your planked salmon and place it on the grates. At this point you will want to leave the grill alone and monitor the temperature.

When I cook salmon I aim for a final internal temperature of 125 degrees F.

To add some extra flavor I like to brush or pour on some Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup when the internal temp of the salmon is around 120 degrees. This way the syrup sets before its ready to pull off.