OPTIONAL SALMON SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

In a saucepan, melt 3/4 cup butter and then add:

3 cloves crushed garlic.
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce.
1 1/2 Tbsp. dry mustard.
1/3 cup good sherry.
3 Tbsp. catsup.

This optional salmon sauce is from Chuck Erikson and is "pungent rather than sweet and offsets the already sweet taste of the salmon", quote Chuck Erikson.

Four (4) hours or more prior to preparing the cedar planked salmon, soak your cedar plank or board in water submerging with a weight.  Prepare your honey mustard dressing ahead of time and refrigerate until a few minutes ready to serve your salmon. Preheat grill to 350 degrees.  Gently rinse salmon filets in cold water and pat dry.  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over both sides of the salmon.  Apply a generous amount of Wild Bill's Dry Meat Rub or your favorite rub mixture to the flesh side of salmon and let set a few minutes while you dry your cedar plank or boards. Add lemon slices to the salmon filet if you desire. Remove cedar plank from soaking and place on grill for about two minutes on each side.  Have grill set for indirect heat.  Place salmon filet on cedar plank skin side down placing plank between the grill burners or to one side for indirect heat.  Cedar plank will smoke after a few minutes and if it ignites move farther away from the direct heat.  Grill for about 20 to 25 minutes until salmon is begins to flake and internal temperature is 135 degrees F.  Remove from cedar plank directly onto serving dish and serve with your favorite sides.  Drizzle the honey mustard dressing onto salmon filet.

NOTE:  I researched the internet and found a lot of different recipes for grilling salmon on a cedar board or plank and liked the recipe that Scott Hargrove has on his website at:  www.scotthargrove.blogspot.com  There are a few modifications to his recipe, mainly the rub and the grill temperature and grilling time.  My grill was not able to get up to 450 degrees as he recommended;  either low tank pressure or an obstruction in one of the burner lines due to ever present "dirt dobbers" and didn't want to take the time to trouble shoot the problem, therefore used the lower grill temperature and increased the grill time.  I did fire up the center burner and walked away and in a few minutes the cedar boards were actually flaming at the edges.  There is much to be said for using indirect heat and following instructions.  Grin if you must. The cedar plank smoldering does add some flavor to the grilled salmon and is definitely worth doing this excellent recipe.

Below pix of the Cedar Planked Salmon by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 03-08-09:

The above cedar planked salmon tasted outstanding and was very moist and not over cooked!  Below a few sequence pixs taken:

For all my wood working and call making friends, I will "fess" up right now and say that I used one cedar plank and one black walnut plank simply because I didn't want to cut a good piece of call making wood up and the piece of cedar plank/board that I used was scrap wood.  I could smell a different between the salmon from the cedar plank versus the salmon from the black walnut plank.  Taste wise, I really couldn't detect any perceivable difference.  I expect a good piece of apple wood would also impart some additional flavors to the salmon as well.  This was another fun recipe to do and did pull a rabbit out of the hat so to speak since I almost nuked the salmon;  another grin is in order.  Remember, "Indirect Heat".