CEDAR-PLANKED SALMON ON THE GRILL

It's that time of the year when I start using up the food that was placed in the freezer during the fall fishing season. I learned my lesson last year and packaged my salmon well to prevent freezer burn. The best decision I made last fall was to give away more fillets to family because the reality is we really don't eat that much salmon anyway. If we lived like our last frontier Alaskan friends then it might be a different story. 

This past weekend I wanted to make some dinner and so I decided to go with cedar-planked salmon. I used an old recipe but this time I modified it more to my family's prefrence. Another change was that i only had skinless fillets. After each fishing trip I had all my fish cleaned locally instead of spending  another an hour or two cleaning it. Another change was pulling the grill out in the dead of Upstate NY winter and cooking outside. 

The ingredients are as follows:

Marinade/Dressing

2    tbsp fresh lime juice

2    tbsp rice vinegar

2    tbsp honey

1    tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

1    large salmon fillet (with or without skin)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1    untreated cedar plank

Use a cedar plank as close to the size of fish that you have. It doesn't make sense to use a bigger size than the fish itself. Soak the plank in hot water for at least one hour before grilling.

Combine all of the dressing/marinade ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth (oil doesn't separate)

Twenty minutes before grilling season the the flesh side of the salmon with salt and pepper. Season both sides if using salmon without skin.

Remove the soaked plank from the water and immediately place it over direct medium heat until the edges start to smoke and char. This process may take up to 10 minutes.

Place the salmon skin side down on the plank. If using a salmon with skin removed, make sure to place the skin removed side to the plank.

Pour about have of the marinade/dressing over the flesh side and distribute it evenly with a brush. 

Grill until the salmon is just slightly pink in the center and brown on the edges. This may take 20-25 minutes.

Remove the plank and salmon to a heatproof surface. Serve warm with the remaining dressing/marinade. 

Makes 6-7 servings.