I was skeptical ofcedar-plank salmon. I thought it was just another grilling gimmick, and I justknewit wouldn't be better than my favoriteslow-roasted method.
But my friend Jonah changed my mind by serving me cedar-plank grilled salmon in his Brooklyn backyard on a breezy summer night. It was great. Better than great. And because I can't help but spy on everyone's cooking techniques (sorry, friends), I saw that it was also surprisingly easy to pull off.
For my own maiden voyage as a planker, I pulled outthis Gourmet Magazine recipe从2009年开始。但在我之前,我必须买一些wood. You can grill salmon (and anything else you please) on any plank of untreated wood. The most common choice is cedar, due to its piney aroma, but you can play around—different woods impart different flavors. The best way to explore is to buy avariety packand try them all out.
Once you settle on a favorite, buy yourplanks in bulkto save a little cash. Check the size of the planks before you order them: if you plan on grilling a whole side of salmon, you're going to need a plank that's at least15 inches long. I chose just such a side of salmon for my first planking venture, because that's what my Gourmet recipe told me to do, and I'm a very good student.
I wasnota good student when it came to leaving plenty of time to soak my plank, though. So please learn from my mistake and note that you need to get your plank submerged in water about two hours before you toss it on the grill. (I didn't realize this the first time I tried to plank some fish, and it put me way behind schedule.) Make sure the plank is fully submerged in water; place a weighted object like a drinking glass on top of it to keep it from floating. Whatever you do, don't skip this step. The point of soaking the plank is to keep it from catching fire when you throw it on the grill. We're not trying to start fires today.
Grilling the salmon on my well-soaked plank was one of the best fish-grilling experiences I've ever had. That plank of cedar protected the delicate fish from direct heat, and allowed it to slowly roast while being infused with the flavors of charred wood and summery smoke. And the whole process was hands-off—no flipping, no fussing. I just set my planked salmon over my medium-heat grill, covered it, and set my timer.
What emerged was a salmon that was meltingly soft and tender, just like that slow-roasted salmon I love so much. There was just enough chopped rosemary in the recipe to keep it sophisticated, and enough honey to give the salmon a nice caramelized crust that kept me coming back for more little bites.
So now I've stocked my kitchen with a whole pack of cedar planks. Because summer and grilling season aren't over yet, and I'm not skeptical of cedar-plank salmon anymore.
