Cedar Plank Salmon

Recipe from The Founding Farmers Cookbook by Nevin Martell, Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013

To add a rustic flourish in the spirit of campfire cuisine, we cook wild salmon on a cedar plank. This imbues the fish with a softly smoky flavor, while adding a little char and a deep caramel glaze. We recommend using each wooden slat only once (don’t throw it away, though; it makes great kindling). You can, of course, grill the salmon on the planks on an outdoor grill as instructed on the cedar planks, but we are giving you an indoor option for rainy days and apartment-dwellers. You must soak the wood for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours before it goes in the oven, so it won’t catch fire. The plank will still smoke, so make sure to disarm your smoke detector — unless you’re soothed by the sound of Klaxons blaring. Not in the mood for salmon? This recipe works well with most any high-fat, steakstyle fish, such as swordfish, grouper, mahimahi, wahoo, and halibut. You will need 2 cedar planks for this recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 177° C/350° F.

   Combine the preserves, maple syrup, Dijon, cumin, cayenne, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the lemon juice in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

   Remove the cedar planks from soaking, shake off any excess water, and place the planks on a baking sheet. Brush the salmon fillets, generously, with the olive oil on each side and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt and the black pepper. Place 2 fillets on each plank. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil and bake for 4 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, discard the foil, and turn the oven to the broiler setting. Brush each fillet generously with the glaze. Place the pan back in the oven on the topmost shelf. Broil for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and glaze the fillets once more. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes longer, until the glaze is caramelized. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges.