Cedar Plank Cooking 101

Cook's notes:
Plank grilling gives salmon the flavor imparted by a smoker with the convenience of a grill. It is a simple and elegant technique for cooking salmon.The fish steams gently in the heat of the grill, staying incredibly tender and moist. It also picks up smoky flavors from the grill and woodsy flavors from the cedar, along with whatever was used to soak the planks. You can find the planks at some grocery stores with well-stocked grill sections, cookware stores or your local hardware store. 
The meal was served with a side of wild rice and a fresh garden salad.
What You Need
A grill
Several cedar planks

Plank Tips 101:Be sure to prepare your wood properly to increase moisture for cooking and prevent burning. Take these steps to prepare your wooden grilling plank:

• Rinse the plank with water to remove any dust.
• Fill a sink or other large container with water.
• Submerge the plank in the water, placing a weight on top of it. Soak the plank for 4 hours. I used several heavy bowls to weight the planks down.
• Enhance the plank's flavor by adding 1 tablespoon salt to the water. Further reading suggested you may also stir in 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, wine, citrus or berry juice, or flavored liqueur to add more flavor. I will admit when I read the wine part I quickly decided serving wine with dinner was a much better plan than soaking a plank in it! But just my opinion:) I went with plain salted water. 
• The planks were patted dry and olive oil rubbed on both sides. Planks were placed directly on grill racks. 
• 350 was a good temperature and 12 minutes a side worked well. The fillets were basted with an Asian BBQ Sauce.  
  

Ingredients:

• 1 piece Alaskan Wild Salmon (check out Costco)

Asian Sauce

• 2 tablespoons each ketchup,hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon each soy sauce, sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons Asian chili garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
• Sprinkle of sesame seeds

Directions:

• Pat salmon dry and brush with olive oil.
• Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small pan and heat on low 1-2 minutes to thicken slightly. Transfer mixture to a small bowl to use for basting.
• Heat grill to medium 350 degrees heat. Place salmon skin side down on foil or cedar planks. Baste and cook 12 minutes a side. Turn once during the cooking time. Baste a second time.   

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