Cedar Planked BBQ Salmon

A westcoast favourite. When you serve, your house will fill with a great smoky cedar aroma, complementing the meal.

• Find a cedar plank that fits on your bbq top. Best is a thin piece of green cedar (1/2" thick), but a piece of cedar fence board will do (untreated!!!).
• Soak the cedar board in water - overnight is best, but an hour or two will do.
• Heat BBQ to medium heat and cover - you want it nice and sealed in order to bake the fish.
• Cut up salmon filets or steaks to fit on the plank. If thick filets, cut them narrow (1" widths) - this will cook them faster and give more surface area for glazing.
• Mix the marinade: a cup or so of soy sauce with 2-3 tbsp of brown sugar, microwave and stir until sugar melts.
• Liberally brush on marinade throughout cooking. As the fish cooks, the brown sugar will carmelize and glaze, so don't be shy with it, the more marinade, the better the flavour.
• The cedar plank will steam a lot and later in cooking will begin to char. The steam cooks the fish, the smoke adds that beautiful cedar flavour. The glaze will harden to a crisp sugary coating - even kids who hate fish will like this one!
• Depending on thickness of the fish and the heat of the bbq, it should be cooked in 20-30 minutes. You'll know it's ready when it is light pink inside and flakes when forked. Try not to overcook, although overcooking isn't as critical as with other recipes, as the fish will get more flavourful even if a bit dry.
• Final tip: make sure you make twice as much as you think you'll need. Your guests will enjoy this so much, they'll eat all you give them and still want more.

Sooke Fishing Adventures
info@fishingsooke.ca
Phone: 1-250-642-2587