Technically, grilling season is almost over. But I’m not ready to start cooking inside just yet…you’ve never been in my kitchen in the summer. It is just too hot! So I spent a lot of the summer in the yard cooking. I figured out that meat and chicken aren’t the only thing you can cook on the grill. I decided to change it up a little and make some salmon using cedar planks I picked up from Whole Foods. I’ve never actually eaten plank salmon, and I don’t really like strong smokey flavors…talk about an impulse buy. But since I bought the planks, I had to try it. Turns out, the salmon was great! It wasn’t too smokey, but definitely tasted different and stronger than if it was just cooked in the oven. There was no fishy flavor, and the simple topping imparted the perfect amount of spicy sweetness. I’m definitely going to be using these planks a lot this grilling season.
Make sure you remember to soak the planks in water for two hours, you don’t want them to catch on fire! I used a grill for this, but it’s possible to do it in the oven.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound salmon, skinned
- 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar (I used light)
- Salt and ground pepper
Directions:
1. Soak plank for two hours, drain.
2. Rinse the salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
3. Spread mustard over the top.
4. Crumble brown sugar over the mustard and press it into the salmon
5. Turn the grill on medium high, and leave one side off.
6. Put the plank and the salmon on indirect heat, the side of the grill that is off.
7. Grill for 1/2 hour. Make sure to keep a spray bottle nearby in case of flare up.
8. Serve on the plank and enjoy.
9. Reuse the planks next week – yes, I’ll definitely be doing that!
