Useful Links

audreyh1 · 09-01-2009, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB

red cedar, more than 1/2" thick, has to say untreated
longer soaking
preheat one side, then use the other
keep the temp below 375
find a good retailer - like Audrey's link.

BTW - Amazon sells the Fire&Flavor planks in bundles of 3 pairs for the price of 2 pairs. That 33% off discount sure helps! They carry the Maple, Alder, Cedar and Cedar 6x6 inch squares (which come in a 4 pack).

On the cedar - it has to be Western red cedar. My book made a big deal out of this. I think there many be other types that are still called red cedar.

Audrey

audreyh1 · 09-28-2009, 12:50 PM

Finally! It took me almost a month to do this again! We have had to wait out a lot of rainy weather. But the real constraint was finding good salmon. We finally got to a big enough city (Little Rock) that had gourmet grocery stores that carried nice looking fresh salmon. Coho salmon seems to look the best right now.

This is 1.2 pound Coho Salmon filet marinated in a pineapple juice concentrate/soy sauce marinade (with sesame oil, garlic and grated ginger), and then topped with sesame seeds. I put the green onions on the top after placing it on the grill. This is the second use of the alder plank, which is why the surface is already dark. I soaked the plank for 5 hours. It took 23 minutes to cook.

DH raved about it.

I wish I had left the green onions off. They were nice, but where they touched the salmon they also kept the salmon surface from forming a nice dark glossy flavorful patina. I want the entire surface to develop that patina from the marinade.

Also, next time I'm also going to "pre-slice" the filet into serving sizes. I've seen a TV show and a book do this - cut down to but not through the skin. This makes serving easier.

Audrey

audreyh1 · 09-28-2009, 01:02 PM

Oh - and speaking of gourmet grocery stores, I also couldn't resist the Chesapeake Bay lump blue crab in the fish counter. $25 a pound! but the most beautiful crab I've ever seen. I had to make crab cakes using a recipe I had done once before.

Crab Cakes to Die For - Perfect Crab Cakes With Green Onions - All Recipes. This is a very "minimal filler" crab cake recipe - just incredibly intense crab flavor. Served with remoulade sauce (store bought) and greek salad on the side.

They were literally the best crab cakes I've ever had. Pappadeaux restaurant comes real close - as their $$$ crab cakes are made with all lump crab.

The recipe is by Pam Anderson (no, not that Pamela Anderson). She is a food columnist for USA Weekend, and former executive editor for Cook's Magazine. She is one of the most trustworthy recipe authors IMO. Her cookbook Amazon.com: How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart: Pam Anderson is my favorite cook book of all time. I do not say that lightly!

OK - now I gotta run. I'm grilling eggplant and peppers this afternoon for antipasti.

Audrey

heyduke · 09-28-2009, 04:58 PM

.... grilling some nice chicken breast fajitas myself ... after all this is Texas...

Martha · 09-28-2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

Oh - and speaking of gourmet grocery stores, I also couldn't resist the Chesapeake Bay lump blue crab in the fish counter. $25 a pound! but the most beautiful crab I've ever seen. I had to make crab cakes using a recipe I had done once before.

Crab Cakes to Die For - Perfect Crab Cakes With Green Onions - All Recipes. This is a very "minimal filler" crab cake recipe - just incredibly intense crab flavor. Served with remoulade sauce (store bought) and greek salad on the side.

They were literally the best crab cakes I've ever had. Pappadeaux restaurant comes real close - as their $$$ crab cakes are made with all lump crab.

The recipe is by Pam Anderson (no, not that Pamela Anderson). She is a food columnist for USA Weekend, and former executive editor for Cook's Magazine. She is one of the most trustworthy recipe authors IMO. Her cookbook Amazon.com: How to Cook Without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart: Pam Anderson is my favorite cook book of all time. I do not say that lightly!

OK - now I gotta run. I'm grilling eggplant and peppers this afternoon for antipasti.

Audrey

Oooh I love crabcakes. I'll try out the recipe. What is " Chesapeake seasoning, such as Old Bay®?"

audreyh1 · 09-28-2009, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha

Oooh I love crabcakes. I'll try out the recipe. What is " Chesapeake seasoning, such as Old Bay®?"

You know Old Bay Seasoning surely? It's a widely available herb/spice mixture that comes in a yellow tin with a red top. It's a great general purpose seafood seasoning mixture. A staple, kind of like Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce - lots of seafood recipes call for it:

Their website - OLD BAY®

Audrey

heyduke · 09-29-2009, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

You know Old Bay Seasoning surely? It's a widely available herb/spice mixture that comes in a yellow tin with a red top. It's a great general purpose seafood seasoning mixture. A staple, kind of like Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce - lots of seafood recipes call for it:

Their website - OLD BAY®

Audrey

Looks like a tin of another old staple.... SPAM

Martha · 09-29-2009, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

You know Old Bay Seasoning surely? It's a widely available herb/spice mixture that comes in a yellow tin with a red top. It's a great general purpose seafood seasoning mixture. A staple, kind of like Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce - lots of seafood recipes call for it:

Their website - OLD BAY®

Audrey

Never heard of it.

But I am not a cook. And not from seafood country. Herring anyone?

audreyh1 · 11-03-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

Finally! It took me almost a month to do this again! We have had to wait out a lot of rainy weather. But the real constraint was finding good salmon. We finally got to a big enough city (Little Rock) that had gourmet grocery stores that carried nice looking fresh salmon. Coho salmon seems to look the best right now.

This is 1.2 pound Coho Salmon filet marinated in a pineapple juice concentrate/soy sauce marinade (with sesame oil, garlic and grated ginger), and then topped with sesame seeds. I put the green onions on the top after placing it on the grill. This is the second use of the alder plank, which is why the surface is already dark. I soaked the plank for 5 hours. It took 23 minutes to cook.

DH raved about it.

I wish I had left the green onions off. They were nice, but where they touched the salmon they also kept the salmon surface from forming a nice dark glossy flavorful patina. I want the entire surface to develop that patina from the marinade.

Also, next time I'm also going to "pre-slice" the filet into serving sizes. I've seen a TV show and a book do this - cut down to but not through the skin. This makes serving easier.

Audrey

I realize now that the two photos didn't post!

Audrey

Gone4Good · 11-03-2009, 07:18 PM

Have you had a chance to try this out with thicker cuts of meat? Finding a way to grill stuff that needs indirect heat would be really helpful.

kaneohe · 11-04-2009, 07:33 AM

I suspect this wouldn't work w/ indirect heat very well since removing the plank from direct heat would remove the source of heat required to keep it smouldering/smoking. I suppose you could separate the plank from the meat so the plank is direct and meat is indirect but it might be better then just to use (cheaper, I would guess) wood chips instead. I know you can do that w/ briquets. Not sure about the fancier grills.

audreyh1 · 11-04-2009, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by . . . Yrs to Go

Have you had a chance to try this out with thicker cuts of meat? Finding a way to grill stuff that needs indirect heat would be really helpful.

I haven't tried it, but the recipes on fireandflavor.com have some larger cuts.

Here is one for pork loin which I think of as being a large cut that needs indirect heat: Fire & Flavor: Cedar Planked Orange Pork Loin. Note that the meat gets seared first before placing it on the plank. She does that will all the red meats.

I am not a pork loin fan. I much prefer pork tenderloin which can be grilled directly or indirectly.

I ordered this book used via Amazon: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor - Ron Shewchuk. It had the best reviews by far. Maybe it will have more clues as to what is possible/recommended.

Audrey

kaneohe · 11-04-2009, 08:12 AM

Audrey, I don't see a reference in that recipe being for indirect heat. As far as I can tell, it says nothing actually about the method which I would interpret as being for direct heat.

audreyh1 · 11-04-2009, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe

Audrey, I don't see a reference in that recipe being for indirect heat. As far as I can tell, it says nothing actually about the method which I would interpret as being for direct heat.

Kaneohe - we are saying that the presence of the plank between the grill grate and the meat/fish makes it equivalent to indirect heat grilling. It really is - it takes quite a bit longer to cook the food than having the meat/fish directly on the grill grates.

Audrey

kaneohe · 11-04-2009, 10:11 AM

Ok, that makes sense. Agree w/ the longer required times w/ plank. Thanks.

audreyh1 · 11-04-2009, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe

Ok, that makes sense. Agree w/ the longer required times w/ plank. Thanks.

Yeah - basically my delight in discovering plank grilling was that it actually allows me to simulate indirect grilling on my single burner grill, in addition to the other cools aspects such as the elegant presentation and the great smoky smells.

Audrey