Here is a quick and refreshing recipe for Cedar Planks Salmon! Combining the simple ingredients of Apricot jam and fresh squeezed orange juice will create a glaze that adds a fresh sweet citrus tang to the incredible flavor of Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon. A perfect grilling recipe for a quick meal when time is an issue but flavor cannot be compromised. The longest task time for this recipe is soaking the Cedar Plank!
You need three ingredients to make this grilling recipe:
2 lb Salmon Filet
2 tbs Apricot preserves or jam
1/2 fresh orange
1/2 tbs olive oil
Preheat your grill to 350° F
First add the fresh squeezed Orange juice to the Apricot jam. No fuss no muss, just squeeze it out of the orange!
Give it a quick mix till the Apricot jam and the juice from the Orange is blended. Set aside and prepare your Cedar Plank.
After soaking your Cedar Plank in water for about one hour, place it on the grill to char on the smooth side.
It will take a few minutes to get to this point and you will hear the wood crack and pop.
Remove the Cedar Plank and spread your oil over the charred surface of the plank.
Place your washed and dried Salmon Filet on the Cedar plank.
Brush the Apricot Orange Glaze over the Salmon.
Place your Cedar Plank Salmon over direct heat and cook till done.
You can tell when the Salmon is done by inserting a fork into the middle and pull the Salmon flesh upward a bit to see if it pulls away from easily. It should just pull away slightly and be flaky but not dry.
Add more glaze if desired – I saved my extra glaze for eating with the finished Salmon.
My 2 lb Salmon filet took about 15 minutes as a guideline.
Keep a water squirt bottle nearby to prevent flare-ups.
Salmon on the grill is a grilling experience I anticipate with eagerness and curiosity. My curiosity, fueled by all of the amazing grilling techniques that are available to grill Salmon, runs wild with the thought of how I am going to prepare one of my all time favorite fish. There is an abundance of grilled Salmon recipes available and everyone fuels even more grilling creativity and culinary experimentation. My anticipation is from the experience of devouring many a fine grilled Salmon over the years.
One of the truths I live with, is my love of Cedar planked Salmon. Cedar planks and Salmon is a paring that just blends so well together, rich aromatic smoke from the Cedar planks cooking the pink flaky flesh of fresh wild caught Salmon, creating a perfect blend of grilling nirvana for fish lovers everywhere.
I prefer to catch my own Salmon but when fishing is not an option, finding fresh wild Salmon at the local market is my back-up plan option. There is plenty of farm raised Salmon available but I am not a fan of “food coloring” to enhance the look of my Salmon. Fortunately, some fresh wild Salmon was available and I purchased a 3lb piece of a whole Salmon for this recipe.
For this recipe, I used three of my favorite pieces of grilling equipment, Camp Chefs Big Gas Grill and Cedar Grilling Planks from Grilling Planks Super Store and ManPans cookware. All of these grilling tools make my outdoor kitchen just perfect for grilling Salmon.
Preparation and grilling this recipe is very simple and only involves six basic steps:
Prepare Cedar Plank by soaking and then heating the cooking side.
Prepare Spinach and Feta cheese stuffing.
Wash, dry and season Salmon before stuffing and grilling.
Stuff Salmon and grill.
Prepare side dish (I made rice)
Admire your grilling skills and eat until you explode!
Salmon is ready for the grill! I washed and dried the Salmon, lightly coated all surfaces with E.V.O.O and liberally applied coarse salt and fresh ground coarse black pepper before stuffing with my spinach and Feta cheese mix.
Here is my stuffing recipe:
Spinach and Feta Cheese Salmon stuffing recipe
2 cups Baby leaf spinach
1 tbs cream cheese
¼ c fresh Parmesan cheese
½ c crumbled feta cheese
1 tbs diced dried tomatoes
2 tbs bread crumbs
1 tbs chopped pine nuts
¼ c chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients together and stuff into cavity of the Salmon.
Cedar plank was prepare by soaking for one hour, then placing the smooth side down on the grill to pre-heat and burn of any microbes that may be lingering on the surface of the cedar plank. I generously coated the cooking side of the grilling plank with E.V.O.O. to keep the Salmon from sticking to the Cedar plank while grilling.
Grilling temperature was 350° F
Cooking time for my stuffed Salmon was one hour. You can use a temperature gauge to check internal temperature, looking for a 155° – 160°F temperature for a fully cooked salmon. I pulled my Salmon at that temperature range; your Salmon will continue to cook for a few degrees more once removed from the heat.
My Camp Chef Big Gas Grill is a multi-tasking workhorse allowing me to grill my Salmon and prepare a rice dish to compliment my recipe. I am using my cherish ManPan on the Big Gas Grill.
This Cedar Planked Stuffed Salmon recipe was delicious, the stuffing complimented the cedar smoked Salmon nicely, none of the flavors where over powering and blended nicely. Served on a bed of rice, the Salmon just flaked apart with its rich smoky cedar flavor accented by the salty Feta cheese and spinach with a crunch of pine nuts, a perfect outdoor meal prepared the Cooking-Outdoors way!
Place on grill and heat the cooking side of the plank until you hear the cedar plank pop and start to smoke.
Prepare Spinach and Feta Cheese stuffing recipe by combining all ingredients (except olive oil, coarse sea salt and coarse ground black pepper at end of ingredients list), mixing well.
Wash, dry Salmon before stuffing.
Lightly coat salmon with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Sprinkle all surfaces of Salmon with coarse sea salt and coarse ground black pepper.
Stuff Salmon with Spinach and Feta Cheese stuffing.
Apply cooking oil to heated side of cedar plank to coat.
Place Salmon on Cedar plank.
Grill at 350° F until internal temp reaches 155° F.
Remove from grill and rest for 5 minutes.
3.1.09
Note: Full disclosure, Camp Chef/OutdoorCooking.com is a sponsor of Cooking-Outdoors. Camp Chef, ManPans and Grilling Plank Super Store provided product at no charge and with no stipulations. All comments, opinions and reviews are my own. Gary House
This recipe was inspired by my new Camp Chef Outdoor Camp Oven that arrived recently from my friends at www.OutdoorCooking.com and a Fish plank recipe contest over at The Grilling Plank Super Store Facebook page. After playing around with my new Camp Chef Outdoor Camp Oven, baking a few goodies and getting to understand how it works, I was curious to see if I could bake with a Cedar Plank in my new oven. The Fish plank recipe contest was all of the inspiration I needed!
The Camp Chef Outdoor Camp Oven is a perfect choice for plank cooking with inside dimensions of 16″ x 8.5″ x “10″, my cedar plank slide right in with ease. I started out my recipe with pre-heating the oven and Cedar plank at the same time, serving two purposes at once. It is very important to soak your plank first, for at least an hour, then heat it up in the oven to remove any bacteria or microbes on the surface.
Safety note: Never walk away from the oven with a piece of wood inside! Be prepared to remove the plank from the oven immediately if it starts to flare up.
I pre-heated my oven and cedar plank for 10 minutes, then removed the plank to start the recipe.
Cedar Planked Orange Pesto Salmon Recipe
1 Salmon filet
Cedar plank
2 oranges
6 tbs pesto sauce
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chili pepper flakes
1 tbs olive oil
Oil the food side of the plank and start layering you food.
Slice several 1/4 inch thick slices of orange and place on prepared cedar plank.
Place salmon filet on top of orange slices. (Seasoning is optional)
Prepare orange pesto sauce (make you own or use store bought) add garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper flakes, 1/2 pealed orange and puree (if blending by hand – mince garlic and use the juice of whole orange) Pour orange pesto over salmon filet and bake till flaky at 350 degrees F.
Time will vary depending on the size of your salmon filet. Mine cooked for 20 minutes.
When done, squeeze juice remaining orange over cooked salmon and serve!
This recipe is quick and easy for camping and can be cooked in an outdoor oven , foil packet (no plank) or on the grill.
This recipe combined some great flavors with the salmon filet, a hint of citrus and smokey cedar flavor blended with a delicious pesto sauce, baked in the Camp Chef Outdoor Camp Oven.
