Grilling with Cedar Planks
Grilled on June 9th, 2006 in Accessories, Grilling Tips
Grilling with cedar planks is another step up the rung in your ladder of success to becoming a grill master and it’s remarkably easy and cheap to grill with cedar planks. You can get a set of four of them for under $15 (pictured is a set by Smith & Hawken) and all you need to do is soak them in water, put them on the grill and put your meat/fish/veggies on top and grill as usual.
Soaking in water is key because it serves two purposes:
1) Plank Protection - The grill heats up the water (and the plank) instead of burning the cedar plank.
2) Flavor Transfer - The steaming water will carry the essence of cedar and infuse a hint of it in the food you’re cooking.
I personally think this a great way to prepare a light flavored fish like salmon because the plank doubles as your basket (except this basket has no grate holes) and because you can really taste the complementary cedar flavor in fish as opposed to a meat of some kind. Lightly season the fish with some salt and pepper (don’t use a strong marinade or you’ll overpower the cedar) and let the cedar do the rest. If you want, you can lightly brush on some honey afterwards because that flavor works well with cedar as well.
I’ve done salmon, pork chops, shrimp, and portabella mushrooms… the mushrooms need direct flame though. The salmon came out great… perfect texture!
Also picked up maple planks… going to see how well those work with steak and chicken.
I have used hundreds of grilling planks and personally I love the way veggies come out on them. The inderect heat cooks them soft without scortching or burning. Often I place a few branches of fresh herbs on the plank before the veggies or meats to help with even more great flavors in addition to the infused aroma of the woods. Better yet, try some planks with herb pots milled into the food side of the plank. Then all you need to do is mix up a small amount of olive oil and your favorite dried herbs and press the mixture into them. WOW!!
More plank cooking tips on web site http://www.grillingplanks.biz.