Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon with butter, lemon and spices is a simple, easy way to BBQ outside on hot, summer days! 
We’ve been enjoying much warmer than normal temperatures (can you say HOT???) in the Pacific Northwest this summer. Hot temps (in the high 90’s) have meant that I don’t use my oven as much to fix meals, so I don’t add to the heat in our home, PLUS it has meant more time outside on the deck, bonding with our Weber BBQ at dinner time. This Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon was our dinner last night.
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Last night my hubby (the “Grill-Meister”) grilled a salmon fillet on a cedar plank on our BBQ, and man oh man, it was so good! I typically pan-sear or bake salmon inside, in my kitchen, but there’s just something about grilled salmon in the summer, with the smokey smell from the BBQ and the cedar plank that you cook it on, that makes everything right with the world.
I had to remind my husband to put the lighter fluid on the charcoal briquets and NOT in his glass of wine, but after we got that sorted out, he took over the grilling duties! We cooked the salmon on our Weber BBQ on medium heat (lid closed, top vent open); if you are using a gas grill, be sure the flames don’t reach the cedar plank or you might catch it on fire!
Have you ever grilled salmon fillets on cedar planks on your BBQ? Yum. It’s SO easy. First you buy a package of cedar planks at the grocery store (most stores carry them by the fish counter). They look like this, and usually a package contains 3-4 planks.
How To Prepare Cedar Plank So It Won’t Burn
You will need to soak the plank you are going to use in water for at least 30-40 minutes before putting on the grill. (I weigh mine down with filled pans of water in the sink, then cover board completely with water).
The wood plank needs to be soaked this long, so it doesn’t catch fire on the grill. As the fish cooks, the cedar board smokes and infuses flavor into the seafood. Makes sense, right?
Time To Cook the Salmon
Once it is done “soaking”, you place a fresh salmon fillet on it SKIN SIDE DOWN (we used one of two wild sockeye salmon fillets we bought at good old Costco).
Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter all over the top of the salmon. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the top, also. I like to “garnish” the salmon fillet with thin slices of lemon while it cooks.
Once you have that done, you simply put the entire plank on the hot BBQ grill (with the top little vent open). Put the lid on the BBQ, and let it cook covered for about 35 minutes, until salmon is done (flaky). That’s it! No need to mess with it at all.
This is what it should look like when it is done. See? The soaked cedar plank didn’t burn up!
Serving Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon
Remove the entire plank from the BBQ, take it inside, and cut salmon (not the cutting board!) into serving pieces (4-5 out of this piece of salmon). See how easy that is? When you realize how much 4-5 servings of cedar plank grilled salmon would cost in a restaurant, it REALLY is an inexpensive and easy way to make it yourself!!! Why not?
I served the salmon with some grilled mixed veggies (including yellow squash and peas from our garden), and we had a wonderful, healthy dinner that was incredibly delicious! AND we have a couple extra pieces of salmon for leftovers, too!
We really enjoy cedar plank grilled salmon; I have several other delicious recipes for this fish on my blog! You might want to check out the recipes for Salmon in a Lemon Butter Herb Sauce, Orange and Rosemary Glazed Salmon, or Pan-Seared Salmon with Cilantro Lime Sauce, to name a few. There are additional salmon recipes which you can find in the Recipe Index at the top of the page. YUM!
Hope you will give this easy cedar plank grilled salmon a try this summer! Throw it on the grill, sit back and relax with a refreshing beverage, and let your BBQ do almost all the work for you! Don’t forget to check out my Recipe Index, to see ALL my recipes. It’s located at the top of the page. Have a great week!
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↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
- 2 pounds fresh salmon fillet (with skin on bottom)
- 2 Tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 lemon (juice of)
- 5 slices lemon (thinly sliced)
Soak the cedar plank you are going to use in water for at least 30-40 minutes before putting on the grill. (I weigh mine down with filled pans of water in the sink, then cover board completely with water). The wood plank needs to be soaked this long, so it doesn't catch fire on the grill. As the fish cooks, the cedar board smokes and infuses flavor into the seafood.
Once it is done "soaking", remove from water. Place a fresh salmon fillet on it SKIN SIDE DOWN. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter all over the top of the salmon. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Squeeze some lemon juice over the top, also. Garnish the salmon fillet with thin slices of lemon.
Once BBQ is hot and ready, place wood plank directly onto BBQ rack. Cook salmon on medium heat (on our Weber grill we cooked it with lid closed, top vent open); if you are using a gas grill, be sure the flames are set low enough to not reach the cedar plank directly or you might catch it on fire! Cook salmon (with lid on BBQ) for about 35 minutes, until done and fish flakes easily.
Remove the entire plank from the BBQ, take it inside, and cut salmon (not the cutting board!) into serving pieces... serve, and enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!