:D

Cut up the used plank into little chips for smoking?
 

I have a charred up and warped plank from the first use. Has anybody thought of breaking the plank apart or cutting it up into little pieces for use as smoke?

Reason I ask is because I brought some salmon to my friend's place, and he put a bunch of cedar chips on a little foil tray then placed it on the grill until they smoked, then grilled the salmon. The foil tray with the smoking cedar chips gave it some slight flavoring. I figure the plank and the chips are similar, except for size.

I'm thinking of sawing the plant into little pieces and smoking them as flavoring for the grilled salmon.

Yes. I did this with the remnants of what was left over from my planks. I did not, however, re-soak them and I would recommend that be done overnight as they did not last very long without it. Although, if most of the plank is charred, that might be a waste of time as you may not get much moisture sucked up on the really badly charred portions.

Best regards,

William

One of the best pieces of fish I have ever eaten was served to me at a Virginia restaurant's beer dinner a few years ago. It was rockfish (striped bass to some of you), grilled and served on a piece of oak barrel stave that had been used to age first bourbon and then an Imperial stout. The flavors of the whiskey and beer combined with the tannins from the oak to create a just incredible result, especially when paired with a malty, sweetish, port-barrel-aged barleywine.

Wow, that sounds good. I guess the next best thing would be some Jack Daniels smoking chips make from from old oak barrels sprinkled on the charcoal.

that is the way I soak the planks I use.

I also split various poultry (turkey, chicken, duck) and grill them on the planks as well. DELICIOUS.

got cedar planks as a gift once so we used them. didn't realize we needed to soak them beforehand, so we quickly got them in water for an hour... planks ended up getting quite burnt over gas. i would DEFINITELY recommend more than an hour, the longer the better i think. Should be able to get a couple uses out of them.

This podcast below has tips on plank grilling. There's a huge (largest of the century) run of sockeye on the Fraser river this year so I will be going to get fresh salmon today and using a plank that has been soaking since yesterday afternoon.

The process is to steam the fish on the grill and to infuse it with the cedar aroma (aforementioned thujones), and looks like you want to fillet the fish (so skin off). I usually just debone the fish but will fillet tonight as I usually do for blackened salmon (using the cheap Zwilling lachsmesser I got cheap from my favorite kitchenware store in Amsterdam that unfortunately closed 2 years ago).

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/bcalmanac_20100827_37409.mp3

Rotisserie Grilling....
 

I am about to attempt rotisserie grilling.....probably start with a chicken.....tell me your experiences/tips/do's/don'ts, etc., associated with the process.....:)

I find the simplest way is the beer can chicken recipe. The beer (or soda) can makes for a good roasting rack and eliminates the need for a rotisserie.

Put some vegetable oil on your bird and season it up however you want (start with store-bought poultry seasoning if you're not sure how to create a "rub", or use the internet-thingy to get a decent "rub" recipe).

Pop open a can of beer (or cola), pour out about 1/3, then stick the can into the cavity opening so your bird is "standing" upright. Put this on your grill and cook low and slow until done. I've never had this technique fail to yield great results.

What is this "internet-thingy" of which you speak? :D

Pour out about 1/3 of a can of beer? Isn't that being very wasteful? Shouldn't one drink the beer, rather than wasting it? Or, at least use it to water the grass, if it's cheap beer. :D

Not a lot to recommend, but I basically followed Alton's recipe for gyros meat and had it turn out pretty well. Though, without the motor on the rotisserie, I haven't been really interested in trying it (or further experimentation) again.

Well, I meant "pour it out" into a glass and consume it, but I should have been specific.

I can't tell you too much about the "internet-thingy". It's over my head.

LOL, I'm all for consuming beer while cooking. :D

Darn--this internet-thingy is over my head too. :D

I have a friend who works at some place called Google (supposed to be big on the internet-thingy) and he keeps trying to explain it to me, but I don't get it. Something about algorithms and a web and stuff. Too much science makes my head hurt. I need beer.

Too much of almost anything makes my head hurt, especially science. I always need a beer! :D

1. Pull out the grill plates. You don't want your bird/meat to be scraping against the grill.

2. Use a drip tray. Lots of fat/juices come off and you don't want any flare ups.

3. Don't over butter the bird. I do a lemon/herb/butter chicken on the grill but have always done it in a roasting pan. The first time I did it on the rotisserie I ended up with flaming chickens. Skins completely blackened but once I pulled off the black skin it was the most tender bird ever:D

4. Use a thermometer.

5. Some grills get pretty hot so if necessary get some airflow. I put a rock between the lid and grill to manage temp.

6. Prime rib is the absolute best on the rotisserie.

I love drinking while cooking. Though the drinking most of the time for me does not involve alcohol.

Cedar Plank Salmon
 

Just finished grilling some.....that stuff is awesome!:cool:

Fair enough. I'm happy to grill it straight up though. Tried the cedar plank variety on my last trip to Alaska. I didn't get the big deal.

U got a recipe?
 

U have a recipe? The last time I had this was many years ago in a restaurant in Seattle. It was just delicious. I have never been able to replicate the flavors of it, however.

I use maple planks. Better than cedar. I also use coals underneath. Better than gas.

We do this a couple of times a year in the summer when the salmon returns to spawn. Find that the planking method easier to keep the salmon from overcooking. While I love the smell of the smoking cedar plank, I don't find it infused into the salmon as much as I would like though.

In terms of a recipe, we normally do a simple light coating of dijon mustard with brown sugar crumbled on top along with a bit of salt and pepper.

Shoyu (soy sauce), brown sugar, and grated fresh ginger root.

Wife can't take spices, so I just coated the salmon with olive oil and sprinkled some lemon juice on it....then I sprinkled sea salt and lemon pepper on it when it was on my plate.....

Just an update. I have to retract my comments about reusing planks. They definitely lose the thujone flavour and taste after 1 use.

An 18" piece is about right. 24" is the width of my BBQ grill so doesn't allow heat to rise as much if there are two planks inside.

Our preferred sauce for salmon is much the same: soy sauce, brown sugar, grated ginger, a little dry mustard. I do it in the oven or on the grill. I serve it with white rice, and something green to balance the dominant orange/brown color: green salad, or spring peas, or grilled asparagus.

Read this thread. Reminded my lady that we got some cedar planks as a gift. She did salmon over charcoal at home. Excellent.

Then she tried the same with fresh trout on a gas grill at our mountain cabin. Alas, the burner rot in the old gas grill became really apparent when planks that need even heat didn't get it. Planks burned. She used bad words.

So now I am on the hook for a new gas grill.:p

Mazel tov! ^

To add more flavor of the smoke you can add soaked woodchips into the fire/coals rapped in foil with a few holes.

+1 - Done this as well for years. You can hit it once or twice with a sander if necessary.

an update as I this evening I grilled a split turkey (that I had brined) on cedar planks.

STILL DELICIOUS, we and our guests ate all of it which I was pleased to see but now I'm realizing that there won't be leftovers!!:eek::(

Nice one! I never thought beyond salmon. This thread is an eye opener.

I was shown this in Germany, using scallops, salmon, and a thick steak.

Interestingly, one of the planks was soaked in White Wine + water, while the other was soaked in American Bourbon+ water. Both were soaked all morning.

The fish was fantastic as was the steak. Memorable in fact.

Wouldn't the steak end up more like baked or roasted, without much if any exterior char?

No, the steak was excellent.

It had no charing at all but tasted like a thick grilled steak, wood flavoured. The center was rare.

Bourbon is not exactly common here, so it was a new experience. There was a side sauce of some type but the steak did not need this.

Note that I did not rush out and buy any of this equipment. We cook, steam, and bake on our gas grill when the weather is good, but not with soaked planks.

I have soaked cedar plank in a 50/50 mix of water and bourbon. Then on a charcoal grill seared beef filet steaks 1 minute, turn 90 degrees, then 1 more minute, then flip and repeat (so four minutes total to char). Then the remaining six to eight minutes on the smoldering planks to medium rare.

Awesome!

agreed, I can't wait to try some of the 'seasoned' plank ideas the above posters have mentioned.^

For those FT members interested, I did a little homework.Well, a phone call or two, actually.

I placed a few calls to Germany today to my friends that did the plank cooking for us. I asked them if they had learned this from an American, or while visiting North America. The answer was surprising.

No, I was told, we saw here in Germany. Really ? Yes, on YOUTUBE. ( Here is the Video )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x932ma2kgAY

If my link is not good, you can go to YOUTUBE, and type or paste in the following search:

BBQ Brothers Grillen auf Zedernholz (Jack Daniels): Testsieger Thüros II Grill Planking

Please note that this is in German, but very good (HD) and easy to understand as that video goes through the process step-by-step. There are other equally interesting videos where they test and rate BBQ equipment, and try cooking different grilled dishes. In fact, I was getting hungry again just watching the videos tonight !

I hope this is helpful.

I have started to preheat the planks on the grill for 3 minutes, then turn over and put the chunk of fish on the plank. Mrs. K prefers Alder. I prefer fence pickets. I think the first time I had planked fish was at some fish joint in Seattle. They seem to have a lot of fish there. I do not try to reuse the planks. And my gas grill works just fine - although it would be fun to try this on my big green egg.

Happy grilling and smoking all!