Cedar Plank Salmon That Doesn't Dry Out on the Grill

Soak the plank for a full hour. Not ten minutes while you find the tongs. A cedar plank that's only damp on the outside turns into kindling about eight minutes into the cook, and then you're standing there with a spray bottle and a two-pound fillet you paid real money for, wondering how this went sideways.

An hour in water. Weighted down so it doesn't float. That's the whole trick, and most people skip it.

The planks themselves run about $3 to $5 each at the grocery store in summer, usually near the charcoal, and they're worth it. Cedar smoke doesn't taste like hickory or mesquite. It's softer, a little sweet, more like the inside of a closet in the best possible way, and it gets into salmon in a way no marinade can fake. You also get a built-in serving board. Carry the plank straight from the grate to the picnic table and let people cut off what they want.

One warning before the recipe: buy planks sold for grilling. Untreated, food-grade, kiln-dried cedar. Don't grab a fence picket from the garage. Construction lumber is often treated with things you don't want in your food, and no amount of soaking fixes that.

Cedar Plank Salmon with Maple Dijon Glaze

Serves: 4 to 6 Prep time: 15 minutes Soak time: 1 hour (hands-off) Cook time: 20 minutes Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 untreated cedar grilling plank, about 6 by 14 inches (use two if your fillet is wider than the plank)
• 2 lb skin-on salmon fillet, center cut, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
• 1 lemon, half juiced and half cut into wedges
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley
• Flaky salt, for finishing

Steps

1. Soak the plank. Put it in a deep baking dish, sheet pan, or clean sink and cover it with cold water. Set a full can of beans or a heavy plate on top so it stays under. One hour minimum. Two is better. Add a tablespoon of salt to the water if you like; it slows the charring slightly.

1. Take the salmon out of the fridge about 30 minutes before it goes on the grill. Cold fish straight from the refrigerator cooks unevenly, and the thin tail end overshoots while the center is still raw.

1. Make the glaze. Whisk the maple syrup, Dijon, soy sauce, smoked paprika, grated garlic, and the juice of half the lemon in a small bowl. Taste it. It should be sweet, sharp, and salty enough to make you blink. If it's flat, add another few drops of lemon.

1. Preheat the grill to 425°F. On a gas grill, light all burners, close the lid, and give it 10 minutes. On charcoal, bank a full chimney of lit coals to one side so you've got a hot zone and a cool zone.

1. Set up two zones. Once the grill is at temperature, turn off the burners on one side (or plan to park the plank off the coals). You want the plank sitting over indirect heat with the lid down. Direct flame under the plank is how it catches fire.

1. Dry and season the fish. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels, top and bottom. Rub the flesh side with the olive oil, then the kosher salt and black pepper.

1. Dry the plank and load it. Pull the plank out, shake it off, and wipe the top surface with a paper towel. Lay the salmon on it skin side down. Brush on about two-thirds of the glaze, saving the rest.

1. Grill it. Set the plank on the indirect side, close the lid, and leave it alone for 12 minutes. Keep a spray bottle of water nearby. If you lift the lid and see the edges of the plank flaming, hit them with two or three quick spritzes and close it again. Smoldering and smoking is what you want. Open flame isn't.

1. Glaze again and check the temperature. At 12 minutes, brush on the remaining glaze. Slide an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the fillet, angled in from the side. Close the lid and check again every 3 minutes.

1. Pull it. The USDA recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145°F. If you want salmon on the medium side, the way most grill cooks eat it, pull it between 130°F and 135°F and understand that's below the USDA number. Either way it'll climb about 5 degrees while it rests. The visual cue: the flesh flakes when you press it with a fork, and the white albumin just starts beading up along the seams. If the fillet is oozing white, it's past done.

1. Rest 5 minutes on the plank, off the heat. Scatter the dill or parsley and a pinch of flaky salt over the top. Serve with the lemon wedges, right on the board.

What usually goes wrong

The plank catches fire. Under-soaked, or you put it over direct heat. Both fixable, both avoidable.

The fish sticks to the plank. It's supposed to, a little. Don't try to lift the fillet whole. Cut portions right on the board and slide a thin spatula between the flesh and the skin, which will want to stay behind. Nobody has ever missed the skin in this preparation.

The glaze burns black. Maple syrup has sugar in it, and sugar burns. Keep the grill at 425°F, not 500°F, and don't put the second coat on until minute 12.

The tail end goes chalky. Buy center-cut if you can. If your fillet has a thin tail, fold the last three inches under itself so the whole piece is close to even thickness.

Swaps, make-ahead, and leftovers

Steelhead trout is the best substitute and often cheaper by a dollar or two a pound. Arctic char works. Skinless fillets work fine; just watch them a couple of minutes closer. Out of maple syrup? Use honey, thinned with a teaspoon of warm water. Out of Dijon? Whole-grain mustard changes the texture but not the argument.

The glaze keeps in a jar in the fridge for a week. Mix it Friday night. You can also season the salmon and hold it on a plate, covered, in the fridge for up to 4 hours before it goes on the plank, and soak the plank that morning and leave it in the water all day.

Cooked salmon keeps 3 days in an airtight container. Don't microwave it. Flake it cold into a bowl with mayo, chopped celery, and a squeeze of lemon for sandwiches, or warm it gently in a skillet with a splash of water and fold it into corn tortillas with shredded cabbage.

The plank is mostly one-and-done. If it comes off only lightly scorched, scrub it with hot water and no soap, dry it completely, and you'll get a second, milder cook out of it. Once it's charred through, break it up and use it as a smoke chunk on your next batch of chicken thighs.

Our sister site delicious.com has thousands more recipes if you want something to put next to this. Grilled corn and a sharp cucumber salad are hard to beat, and both cook while the fish rests.

Fire the grill up an hour before people show up. The cedar smoke does the inviting for you.