Barbecue'n On The Internet - FAQ's - Salmon Cooked on Cedar

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Topic: Salmon cooked on cedar . . . . From: DEMMICMAZ,
Subject: Re: Salmon Cedar Plank Cooking

Hi!
Great page.
I'm looking for a recipe for cooking salmon on a cedar plank in the BBQ.
Can you help?
Thx

Hey DEMMICAMAZ,

Yes, don't!

All cedars are aromatic, some more than others, and may cause an allergic reaction in some folk.

The best, and easiest way to do salmon, is on the grill. You can put it on a board later for presentation. You can leave skin on the down (grill) side or filet it out and butter (olive oil) it well before putting it on the grill.

The technique of cooking on a board works best when you 1. use a less pungent wood - oak, ash, maple, birch. 2. The heat source is on the salmon side, not the board side, i.e. an overhead heat source. In the beginning, the fish was attached to a board and placed beside the embers so that it caught the radiant heat.

Baste with lemon and butter with your favorite seasonings. Don't overcook.

Good luck and good eating,

Smoky

AND

From: Mike,
Subject: Re: Grilling Salmon.

Read your grilling salmon. In the Pacific northwest where he probably got the idea at one of the indian reservation cooking displays they use Alder wood and not cedar...

Mike

Hi Mike,

You are probably right. Alder, of various sorts and members of the same family, are available over most of the US. But so many other woods work just great. It is interesting, however, that some Scandanavians use juniper (cedar) for smoking their salmon.

Hope you enjoy the site.

Thanks,
Smoky

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