March in Cleveland is awfully cold. Wind blowing. Snow drifts up to your waist and the oven is used to cook and then to help heat the house. Until 2012. Global warming? End of the world as predicted by the Mayans? Quirks in the jet stream? El nino or la nina? I don’t care. It was over 70 degrees for 10 straight days here.
I did not believe it the first week. The patio furniture and, most importantly, the grill remained in the protection of the garage. I knew the weather gods were just tempting me to pull everything out just to cover it all in ice and snow for a month. As day six turned into seven, I became a believer. The grill came out and was fired up the first night. Nothing sounded better than some cedar planked salmon.
It falls apart at the touch of a fork.
I had some nice sockeye filets (with the skin on one side). I used dark chili and Guajillo chili powders.
The planks will try to float, so you will have to place something heavy on them to keep the planks submerged.
As I was only spicing one side of my salmon, I was really able to cover the filets.
Placed on the grill.
Cedar Planked Salmon with Spice Rub
Ingredients
Rub:
2 tsp hot or regular paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp brown sugar (use Splenda brown sugar for low carb)
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
Salmon:
2 salmon fillets
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup (omit for low carb)
2 cedar planks
Soak planks in water for at least one hour. Ensure they are fully submerged.
Combine rub ingredients in a small bowl. Preheat grill to medium low heat.
Brush salmon with oil and cover with spice rub. (I covered one side and left the skin on the other)
Place planks on grill and close lid for approximately 3 minutes. Open grill, turn planks over and place salmon on planks. Grill with lid closed for 12-15 minutes. There is no need to flip the salmon (in fact best not to). Remove planks from grill, drizzle with syrup and serve. Remember: salmon will continue to cook after removing plank from grill.
Source: www.fireandflavor.com
