ecHow to make cedar plank salmon on the grill with a delicious and slightly lemony honey dijon glaze grilled on a cedar plank board for unbeatable flavor.
Hello, friends! Over the weekend I FINALLY got a chance to try making cedar plank salmon on the grill. I’ve been making it for years in the oven because we previously had an old charcoal grill that I never wanted to operate without supervision. But, since we got a new grill a couple of years ago, I decided to finally try my favorite honey dijon salmon on the cedar planks on the grill.
PS Arizona has a weird grilling season. While summer is typically thought of as grilling season, Arizona people grill all year round, but the winter is preferred in the Shallal household. Mostly just because standing over a hot grill when it’s 120F out is not ideal. (I know people grill to keep the heat outside, but that requires the sacrifice of the person who is outside.) But, standing over a hot grill when it’s a cool 60F out, now that sounds a bit better. So if you wonder why I’m posting a grilling recipe in January, that’s why!
I’d love to hear:
What time of the year do you like to grill? What’s your favorite holiday to grill for?
How to Grill Salmon On Cedar Plank Boards
Step 1: Select salmon and cedar boards.
I order 90% of my meat and seafood from Butcher Box, except their salmon. Nothing against them, I just don’t like Sockeye salmon, and wild-caught coho and other types of salmon I do like are SUPER expensive. (Although, I do sometimes order it from Vital Choice as a treat!) So, instead, I compromise by buying Atlantic salmon from countries with good farming practices like Norway. I usually get mine at Sprouts or Trader Joe’s.
For cedar boards, you just want to make sure they are big enough to hold your salmon fillets. I’ve used these boards for both the oven and the grill, they work great!
Step 2: Soak cedar plank boards in water for at least two hours.
So, this step is important whether you decide to use your cedar boards in the oven or on the grill. You don’t want to put dry would over dry heat #firehazard. I’ve read you can soak your boards and then freeze them to keep them pre-prepared, but, I’ve never tried this. I’ve also read varying times of how long you need to soak your boards from 30 minutes to four hours.
I soak mine for a minimum of two hours because I’m not a risk-taker when it comes to fire hazards, that’s also the most common recommendation.
Step 3: Preheat Grill & Prep Salmon
The glaze is only three ingredients, so whip that up and place salmon on the board. Then, brush the salmon with the honey dijon glaze. If you like your salmon more well done as we do, consider cutting one large fillet into smaller pieces for faster more even cooking.
Step 4. Place cedar plank boards with salmon on the grill.
Just in case, keep a water spray bottle near the grill!
If you need to cook longer than 10 minutes, the edges of your board may start to “ember.” My boards were old, so I’m not sure if that’s why this happened or if this is common. I did soak them for almost 2.5 hours, so not sure, the heat could have been up to high too. In either case, you can remove the board, spray it with water to put out the “ember.” Then, place the board on heavy-duty aluminum foil and return to the grill to finish cooking.
You can remove your salmon from the grill when it reaches 140F. However, I know that everyone likes different levels of doneness when it comes to salmon. We live in Arizona (nowhere near any natural sources of salmon) so, we like to cook ours all the way through. You can also check the flakiness of it in the center.
Once your salmon is done, it’s time to dig in! I noticed that the smell and flavor imparted on the salmon was not as strong as when I’ve cooked this same recipe in the oven. That being said, it was still delicious! Just a more subtle cedar flavor, which I enjoyed paired with the honey dijon glaze! Let me know if you try it!
Honey Dijon Cedar Plank Salmon (On the Grill)
Equipment
- Cedar Plank Boards
Ingredients
For the salmon:
- 1 lb fresh or thawed salmon fillet or fillets
- 1 lemon
- 2 T honey
- 2 T Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Soak cedar plank boards for at least 2 hours in water. (I’ve read that you can soak and freeze boards to use later, but have not tried this method.)
- Preheat grill to 450F.
- Lay salmon on one or more of the board (depending on how many cuts you have.) Mix lemon juice, honey, and mustard. Brush salmon with sauce, and if desired, top with a lemon slice.
- Place board(s) on the grill until salmon reaches at least 140F, around 8-15 minutes*
Video
Notes
- Consider cutting one large fillet into smaller pieces for faster more even cooking.
- If you need to cook longer than 10 minutes, the edges of your board may start to "ember." Remove board, spray with water to put out the "ember." Place the board on heavy-duty aluminum foil and return to the grill to finish cooking.
Nutrition
[…] I worked on getting up my Honey Dijon Cedar Plank Salmon recipe post. I grabbed some prunes at about 445PM before I jumped on another meeting with the Nutrition […]