[Bob in St. Louis]

Bob, your (wife's) secret is safe with me.  Looks like a tasty recipe. Thanks!

Terry, Good advise about leaving the skin on. That's another thing I was wondering about.

Also, do you guys tilt the wood, leave it flat, or does it matter. I've heard both storys.

Bob

[PhilNYC]

You betcha!  It's a little tricky at first. I still goof it up sometimes though my lovely wife always says "no, it's good".   

The "not cooked enough" is easy to spot, remedy is easy - cook more.  "Too cooked" can't be fixed but the texture turns more like chicken instead of the creamy goodness that an ideal cook will provide.

Have fun with it and try a few times, perfect salmon is one of life's great rewards.

Btw - IMHO, it's important with cedar-planking to get to a point where you aren't checking the done-ness manually (and just get to the point where you've got a good idea of how long to leave the salmon cooking covered on your grill).  One of the main things about this method is that you have to keep the cover of your grill closed, so that the smoke from the plank stay confined.  Because you're only cooking for 10-15 minutes, there isn't much time for the smoke to really infuse into the food, especially if you keep opening the cover...

On a side note, I tried cedar-planking some shrimp this summer and it came out pretty good...the cedar really brought out the sweetness of the shrimp...

[miklorsmith]

I'm not a planker and certainly won't refute that.  It's a quite different preparation than I usually do and I'm sure the techniques differ as well.

A "real" expert probably doesn't need to check direct-grilled fish either, my notes are for the common man (like me).

[TheChairGuy]

Damn you, Mike...fresh salmon all year round in Seattle 

Copper Canyon, Coho, Sockeye and all the rest.

Hur-umph 

John

[miklorsmith]

You don't have it so rough either John, San Fran has its own terrific cuisines AND fresh fish.  We do NOT have the world-beating sourdough breads you do for instance.  We have great beer though!  Oh wait, you do too.   

[TheChairGuy]

You don't have it so rough either John, San Fran has its own terrific cuisines AND fresh fish.  We do NOT have the world-beating sourdough breads you do for instance.  We have great beer though!  Oh wait, you do too.   

San Fran is living on an undeserved reputation as a gastronomic capital...the Upper Northwest is what San Fran was 20+ years ago.  It's too pricey here now....true artists simply cannot afford to live here. You cannot take chances as it is too risky to do so.   

What was the last super music group that came from San Fran (as opposed to how many came from here in the 70's)?  'Nuff said.

It's got some great food, but most cities over 250,000 inhabitants do too, but it has a LOT of miserable, overpriced food, too. I'd put 8 or more cities in North America above it for food creativity and value.

My unbiased take as a 6 year resident and migrant to the area and a frequent traveler to many others (worldwide)....Seattle and Portland romp, on average, over San Fran in food. 

We do have a teensy better weather, tho 

John