Cedar Planked Steelhead, Maple Planked Humboldt Fog, and Cherry Planked Peaches!

Cedar Grilling Plank Rosemary and Lemon Salmon

Guest Blog by Cheryl D Lee Check out more of her beautiful recipes at blackgirlchefswhites.com

Gas grills are for wusses. Oh all right, that’s not really true, but I have been a charcoal grill user since day one. Way back in the stone ages when I was a child, my father was the king of the Weber kettle in the backyard, cooking up burgers and hot dogs and chicken and hot links for all! Inside the house, mom would handle the baked beans and potato salad.

And where would little Cheryl be? Outside helping dad with the grilling, which meant being a go-fer girl when he needed something. I told you he was the king, and I was a mere servant girl. Although a servant girl would imply that I was being paid, and lord knows that was not the case! But I learned how to start the charcoal, how to spread the coals and how to grill.

Grilling over hardwood coals imparts the best flavor in my opinion, which you just don’t get with a gas grill. Of course, this is not to say I would never own a gas grill. I can imagine they come in handy, since you do not have to wait for the coals to be ready. In fact, I have been lusting over this Combination Gas-Charcoal Grill from Char-Broil. But I am happy still grilling on my father’s trusty Weber kettle grill. And I plan on teaching my daughter the proper way to BBQ, when she is old enough.

When you grill your foods on a wood plank, it stays moist and the wood imparts a subtle flavor.

The planks were soaked in water, although I bet you could soak them in other liquids to impart even more flavor. Of course anything highly flammable would probably not be a good idea. You know, something like 151 proof rum.

I like to buy my salmon in a whole fillet, which is one complete side of the fish. I then cut it into smaller pieces, and freeze them for future use. I had some wild salmon with the skin on to use, so I made a simple marinade of olive oil, Meyer lemon zest, salt and fresh ground pepper.

Salmon has such a strong flavor it can really stand up to other strong flavors. Many types of fish would just get overpowered if you paired it with fresh rosemary, but not salmon.

I laid some large, fresh rosemary sprigs onto the soaked cedar planks, then put my marinated salmon on top. That is three different sources of flavor: the simple marinade, the rosemary and the cedar. And then you add the hardwood smoke from the BBQ, and you have a really special salmon fillet.

When preparing your grill, set the coals up for indirect heat.  That means put the pile on one side of the BBQ only, as you can see in the picture.  The cedar grilling planks are then set on the side without the coals, so the wood does not get completely incinerated by the heat.

Once the salmon is on the grill, cover it up and let it go for about 15 minutes, until it is done to your liking.

My cedar grilling plank did not catch on fire, and the rosemary began to dry out a little, releasing its oils into the salmon.

The salmon was moist, tender and flaky with hints of lemon, rosemary and smoke throughout. If you are worried the salmon would taste like a cedar closet, have no fear. The cedar notes were very subtle and lent a distinct and lovely flavor to the salmon.

Cedar Grilling Plank Rosemary and Lemon Salmon by Cheryl D Lee

Grilling salmon on a cedar grilling plank imparts a subtle flavor while helping the fish retain its moistness.

Ingredients

• 2 large wild salmon fillets
• 1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• to taste sea salt
• to taste fresh ground black pepper
• 6-8 fresh rosemary sprigs
• 2 cedar grilling planks, soaked per manufacturers instructions

Instructions

Prepare your grill for indirect heat cooking.Place you salmon fillets onto a plate or platter. In a small bowl mix the zest, oil, salt and pepper together. Rub the marinade onto the fillets and let it sit at room temperature while your grill is getting ready. Divide the rosemary sprigs between the two soaked cedar grilling planks. Place one salmon fillet onto each grilling plank.Place the grilling planks onto the grill rack on the side without direct heat, then cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the salmon is done to your liking.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: 2 salmon fillets

Salmon Wrapped Sea Scallop on a Cedar Grilling Plank

It's been a busy couple of weeks, but even when there are more things to do than time in the day, a girl has gotta eat. When things start to heat up in life, it's time to heat up the grill because using cedar grilling planks is quick, easy, and best of all, creates NO dishes. And I made this week's recipe even easier on myself-  to the local Yokes Fresh Market I went to grab something out of their cold case.

Yokes called this item their Salmon Wrapped Sea Scallop and were charging $9.99/lb.  So basically, I just spent  $2.62 per person... who says seafood has to be expensive?

And just to be fancy, I garnished with some green onions, basil, and about a teaspoon of butter.

Ingredients

Salmon Wrapped Sea Scallop (Salmon, Scallops, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes)

Green Onions

Basil

Butter

Salt / Pepper

Directions

First: Soak Outdoor Gourmet Cedar Grilling Planks for and hour or more.

Next: Preheat grill to Medium-High (400°), and place Salmon Wrapped Scallop on plank,  top with butter and garish with onion and basil.

Then: Close lid of grill and allow to smoke and smolder for about 12 minutes.

Finally: Carefully remove plank and entree from grill and enjoy on a paper plate. Doing dishes is sooo overrated.

Welcome to your weekend. -KB

Cedar Planked Salmon with Blueberry Reduction Sauce

I've got more blueberries and peaches than I know what to do with- I've canned, cobblered, and just plain gorged myself into oblivion on these hot-weather delicacies and there is still fruit to spare. But hey, if that's all I have to gripe about, things must be going pretty well.

I've only consumed 5 servings of cedar planked salmon this week, down from my usual 8-9 weekly servings. Fortunately, just about everything goes with planked salmon and where there's a grill, there's a way!

This week's recipe is Super-Summery Salad with Planked Sockeye topped with a Blueberry Balsamic Reduction, but first, a quick a brush-up on planking technique.

Here's how it works:

First- soak your cedar grilling plank in water. An hour or two prior to grilling will work just fine, but a longer soak time permits the plank to absorb more moisture. This allows for more cedar-infused water vapor to be released during the grilling process.

Then- get your grill up to medium heat, 350-400 degrees. Place the wet plank on the pre-heated grill and heat plank for another 5 minutes before adding the food. This allows the plank to begin to smolder and smoke.

Next- place your seasoned salmon on plank and close grill lid and let cook for recommended time. The average fillet takes between 14-18 minutes, depending on thickness. No flipping, turning, or tweaking is needed. Once cooked, remove from the grill and enjoy!

So, for my salad, I used mixed baby greens, but just use whatever you have fresh in the fridge or from the garden, toss with a little olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper and top with hot salmon, blueberry balsamic reduction and freshly slice peaches!

Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 cup Fresh Blueberries, plus extra for fresh garnish

- Macerate berries until juicy and then add vinegar. Let the berry juice and pulp meld with vinegar for up to an hour.

- Pour blueberry and vinegar mixture through cheesecloth or very fine strainer to remove pulp and seeds. Bring strained blueberry vinegar to a simmer, whisking constantly.

- Reduce vinegar down until desired viscosity- I like it pretty syrupy. Mix in fresh blueberries and top salmon with your hot Blueberry Balsamic Reduction!

Welcome to your weekend! -KB