Just a little tip for though of you who like to use Cedar planks on the BBQ. I know Fred Meyer and other stores sell the plank for about $5.99 for two 12" chunks.. Rip off! Go to Lowes, Home Depot what ever and just buy the 6' Cedar fence board for about $1.99 each and cut up your own... That's they way I have been doing it and it is awesome...

For those of you that haven't cedar cooked yet.


Cut about a 10" piece of cedar soak in water (completely covered)for about an hour.

Pour on your favorite olive oil on the side of the board you plan on cooking your fish on. I let it set for about 15 min to soak in.

Put on the BBQ, side down without the oil. Put the fish on skin side down and cook till finished.

Pretty simple and I can say it will be about the best salmon you EVER had!!!

I usually just season with some lemon pepper, dill, celery seeds, lemon or orange slices and a little butter on top... Have fun, experiment!!

Thanks for the tip PM. Curious if you have tried this with alder also. If so, what were the results and did you prep it the same way. Also, how many times do you use a plank for before it becomes to skanky.

Thanks.

Thanks for the tip PMartin. I have been meaning to pick up a chunk or two of wood. Maybe one piece of Cedar, one piece of Alder.

A person in my office reports he's tried both and likes the alder plank a bit more. I'm sure both are great.

I just tried a cedar plank last night. I will get some from Lowes, thanks for the idea. What happened to mine was after about 15 mins or so the planks dried out and the bottom caught fire. It got going pretty good, lots of smoke. I lifted the planks and sprayed the fire out and then closed the lid and let that smoke roll around in there for about 15 minutes and then lit the Q again and finished them up. It was absolutely wonderful. My daughter hates fish but had three helpings. The cedar smoke really cut the fishy taste out and made for some real nice mild fish. I may do this every time!!

I have only used cedar so far but have been trying to get my hands on some alder. I would also like to try Cherry and Apple. I suppose a person could just cut some rounds about an inch thick with a chain saw?

If the Alder or any of the other wood is better than I am down with that!! A few people have said the same about Alder, I just haven't got my hands on any . With he Cedar it is already kick A$$!! And I am all about eatin some good food!

The main reason for the post was I have been hearing and seeing people wasting their money on the boards at the grocery stores and you get 8X as much wood for a 1/4 of the price at your local hardware store.

Thanks

PS. I only use the boards once and toss them

I was under the impression that all wood in a hardware store, and especially cedar for fencing has been treated in some way and is therefor unsuitable for cooking. Could someone with more knowledge than I either confirm or deny this....cause yes the grocery store planks are a rip-offf and yes cedar smoked salmon is AWESOME!

I can't imagine why they would treat cedar fence boards unless they're staining them, but I don't have any direct knowledge. I wouldn't worry about it personally unless they're calling it treated.

I like that cedar or alder rounds idea, pmartin!

You wouldn't have to soak them...just trim them up a little to make a solid span (and remove the bark!) and let 'er rip!

Chovis, Actually the whole deal with cedar is that you DON'T have to treat it...Pretty much why back in the day everything around here was made out of cedar. I did ask just to be sure though and it's all good..

Sky, exactly. Have a nice round of a few different types of wood right by the Q. Ask you guests, which wood would you prefer today? Bust out the saw...RRRRRrrrrrr toss her on the grill and there ya go. I would pay to see the persons face the first time you did that.

Sky, I saw ya out there the other day. I recognise your boat in the pics on your post. I'm in a 21' trophy with two flags on the ant... Give a shout sometime. I'll be out there today around 3

I have heard that soaking the plank in white wine is good to. Has anybody tried it?

So why did Steve's board catch fire? Is this common?

PMartin's post sounded so easy that I thought I would give it a try tonight with this morning's humpy, but I would like to avoid the flames

Good thing you were keeping an eye on that fish Steve!

Can't help but catch fire. Soaking the wood only does the trick until the flame dries the wood out and it catches. Just keep a spray bottle of water by the grill and if the smoke really starts pouring out. Open it up and give it a squirt.

Best salmon I ever had was planked.

Sounds good. I'll call home and have the wife fell that cedar out back, buck it up and get it soakn'.

Thanks for the Post Pmartin. I would have likely gone all summer just wondering about plank cooking - I'm a little slow.

JD

Sorry to be the contrarian, but after a lifetime of eating salmon and steehead, I've got to say I prefer mine not plank cooked. The cedar plank method is good, just like the plank salmon at Ivar's, but I think it overpowers the natural flavor of the fish. If you don't like fish, I guess that's OK, but I like fish and want to savor its specific flavor. Garlic, olive oil, a little lemon and salt and pepper is all I need. To prevent the flame on, by the way, put the cover down on the BBQ...

Haven't tried it with wine. Sounds like that might ad a little different twist..

You do need to keep a spray bottle handy though. If the filets aren't to think you should be alright before the board catches... but a spray bottle by the q is just one of my tools that I always have near by. The other way to stop the wood from burning is to just watch it! You ever notice the SECOND you take you eyes off the grill it flames up?? What's up with that?

Oh ya, the other thing. When your done you will be king of the grill so you have to play it off like you knew what the heck was going on the whole time! Be ready to be cooking a lot of salmon after you prepare your fist batch. I think we are upto four days a week now!! My wife and daughter can't get enough of the stuff

Good luck and good eats!

Belly,

Going down to my propert on the cow this weekend. Think I will ut one of those old growth cedar bolts to work by splitting off a few boards.

Cedar plank summer run with a lot of cold beer.

Western red cedar has a natural preservative called Plicatic acid in it which makes it insect and rot resistant. This is released in the dust when cutting , that causes trouble with respiration and acts as a irritant. My question is by soaking and then heating are you releasing Plicatic acid into your food? Not trying to start a battle just asking a question. By the way I always use Alder planks, Dunn Lumber sells it by the board foot.

As for treated wood, make sure you buy fence planks and not deck material. Cedar does get treated with a process called Wolmanizing. This is a salt-based preservative with some other chemicals in it that probably would not be the best idea to eat off of! You can usually tell treated lumber by the incisor marks on it with look like rows of 1/2" slits. This machine perforates the wood surface about 3/4" to allow the chemicals to penetrate to about 1" deep, thus ensuring a good treatment. Fence planks generally are raw, some are kiln dried, but no chemicals.

I plan to tell everyone that the secret to my fish is to let the planks catch fire! That way it looks like I meant it to happen. Boy, it sure turned out good!! The thin planks warped pretty good, some 3/4" planks should stay pretty flat.

Thanks PMartin! Glad to hear it! I wasnt plankin much cause of the cost of those fancy boards, now that I can get the cheap stuff and know its ok, that wails!

Here's what I was thinkin.....
Take some Bratwurst, boil em in beer and onion. Meanwhile soak your cedar plank in beer for at least 2 hours. Then smoke those bad boys on the plank to finish em off. Beer/Cedar smoked bratwurst!

pmartin, that must be Sky-Guy you're talking about seeing. I'm strictly a fresh water banky...well, I was until I got a drifter two weeks ago.

I haven't had the chance to use it yet and it's killing me!

I tried this last night with a Pink I caught yesterday. It turned out great! My 6 year old daughter, who said she was tired of Salmon, loved it and asked for more. Thanks for the quick and easy explanation Pmartin!

It was an entirely different flavor with the smoke, - very good. I used 5/4 X 8" board which did char on the bottom, but didn't actually catch fire. I tried to keep the lid closed as Salmonbelly suggested, that may have been the difference.

I just got my $ worth out of this board!