Thursday, June 23, 2011

Grilled Maple Plank Salmon

I got my dad these fun wooden planks for grilling meats for Father's Day, and I decided to get one for myself as well.


I know most of the time you see Cedar Plank Salmon, but I decided to try my luck with the Maple.  So the directions say to soak the plank in water for 2 hours prior to use...I'll come back to this later on...I'll advise soaking it for 2 days, but we will get to that later.

I bought these beautiful, wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon filets (kinda a splurge, but totally worth it when it is prepared well).

Remove the skin and lay fish on the water-soaked plank.  Season well with salt and pepper and then cover with spicy mustard.


Next, sprinkle generously with light brown sugar.


Then place plank on a pre-heated medium-high grill...


OK, everything looks great huh?  Right...I leave the fish on the grill...come inside for 10 minutes...start smelling a delicious maple smell.  Really it smelled awesome.  It reminded me of a campfire at my grandma's house in the fall...

Well, I thought I would go outside to enjoy the smell a bit more...and I opened my balcony door to a huge cloud of billowing BLACK SMOKE!!!  I couldn't even see the grill.  I opened the grill to find 2 foot high flames.  I immediately turn off the heat and run inside to get water.  I came back out and threw the water on the flames, shut the lid and slammed the door. 
So at this point we are like, ok...time to order a pizza...

Eventually I go out to retrieve the salmon and the plank...the edges are still burning...


SO I think, I might as well try it...see what it would have tasted like...


It was PERFECT!!  No, seriously, some of the best tasting salmon I have ever had!


So, I am not advising that you catch your grill on fire to produce the salmon, but really, I think I will give these maple planks another shot.  They give the fish such a delicious smokey taste.  Next time I will soak the plank overnight...heat my grill to medium, and stand over my fish the entire time with a cup of water in case it catches fire. 

Anyway, I wanted to share this recipe to show that not all recipes come out just the way you planned, but if you branch out a little bit, sometimes the outcome is totally worth it!

2 comments:

  1. Can't wait for Don to try these, but maybe I will stand by with a fire extinguisher....! We love cedar plank salmon!

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  2. Who would've thought it would catch on fire...that is hilarious! You are too fun with all of your new recipes! Can't wait to come anv visit so you can cook for me too!

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