North Shoal Cedar-Plank Salmon with Maple Mustard
Cedar-plank salmon with a grainy maple-mustard glaze, lemon, herbs, and controlled smoke.
The parts that change whether this works tonight.
- Serves
- 4
- Time
- 45 minutes, plus plank soaking
- Equipment
- An untreated cedar cooking plank, a covered grill, tongs, and a thermometer
- The method
- 9 ingredients · 4 steps
From this recipe’s own yield and timing lines and Kitchen Kit. Nothing here is a guess.
Serve alongside
Cucumber salad or buttered new potatoes. The glaze is sweet-sharp; the side should be cold or plain.
Tools
An untreated cedar cooking plank, a covered grill, tongs, and a thermometer. A plank sold for fencing is not a cooking plank.
Ingredients · swaps in parentheses
Skin-on salmon, whole-grain mustard, maple syrup, lemon, olive oil, dill (parsley).
Magic
Indirect heat. The plank smokes the fish; the grill should not flame the glaze. If you see flare-ups, the plank was too close to the fire.
Gotcha
A dry plank will catch. Soak it as the manufacturer says, and keep a spray bottle of water next to the grill. This is not decorative smoke. It is fire management.
The job is salmon that tastes like wood and mustard, not like a sugar crust with fish underneath. Maple is a glaze, not a dessert topping. Whole-grain mustard keeps it from going candy.
The twist: cook on a soaked cedar plank over indirect heat so the smoke is even and the glaze does not scorch. The rip cord: skip the plank and roast the same glaze on a sheet pan at 400°F if the grill is not happening. You lose the smoke. You still have dinner.
Serves: 4
Time: 45 minutes, plus plank soaking
Ingredients
- 1 untreated food-safe cedar grilling plank
- 1 1/2-pound skin-on salmon fillet
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill or parsley
Method
- Prepare and soak the cedar plank according to its manufacturer’s instructions. Heat a covered grill for medium-high indirect cooking.
- Season salmon. Mix mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice, zest, and olive oil; spread over the flesh side.
- Place salmon skin-side down on the plank. Grill covered until the center reaches a safe doneness and the glaze is set, checking often enough to prevent the plank from igniting.
- Finish with herbs and serve from the plank only if it is stable and safe for the table; otherwise transfer to a platter.
What goes wrong
Direct flame blackens maple before the fish is done. A warped, dry plank is a fire, not a serving board. And a fillet cooked past 145°F because you were afraid of the middle will taste like the plank and nothing else.
Food-safety note
FDA guidance lists 145°F for most seafood. Use only untreated cedar sold for cooking, and follow the plank maker’s fire-safety directions.
Part of Recipes & Technique.
Recipe provenance: Salty & Clever editorial formulation, built from established culinary technique and the traditions identified in the article. No chef, restaurant, family, or firsthand cultural provenance is claimed unless it is explicitly named and sourced. How we write and check recipes
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