Cedar Plank Salmon in the Oven
Oven baked Cedar Plank Salmon is an easy, healthy, and delicious way to cook salmon. The cedar plank gives the salmon a subtle smoky, sweet, woodsy flavor, and the bake time is just long enough to cook the salmon through without drying it out.We served the plank salmon with a lemony hazelnut vinaigrette that adds a luxurious flavor to the plank salmon.
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Cedar grilling plank soaked in cold water *(see notes)
- 4 tablespoons salt 4 cups cold water
- 4 6-ounce fresh wild-caught sockeye salmon fillets with skin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon course ground black pepper
Hazelnut Vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- 1-1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1-1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 cup light olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted hazelnuts
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Soak the cedar plank in water for at least 2 hours (see notes)
While the cedar plank is soaking prepare the vinaigrette and save for later:
To make the vinaigrette:
- Into a food processor or blender, whirl the lemon juice, shallots, mustard and honey until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil, processing until well combined, then transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Whisk in the hazelnuts and thyme leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat your oven to 400°F
- Place the cedar plank on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven to preheat for 15 minutes.
Brine the Salmon Fillets:
- Dissolve the 4 tablespoons of salt with 4 cups of water
- Place the salmon fillets in a casserole dish, in one layer, skin side down, and pour the salt water brine over them. Allow them to soak for 10-minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the fillets to a plate and pat them dry with paper towels. Reserve until the cedar plank is ready.
Cedar Plank Salmon:
- Remove the baking sheet/plank from the oven and arrange the salmon fillets on the preheated plank, skin side down. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to the middle rack of the oven and cook for 8-12 minutes, depending on the thickness. *See Notes
- After the salmon has cooked for about 8 minutes, check for doneness by cutting into the thickest part of the salmon. Remove from the oven when it is firm and barely opaque all the way through (about 140°).
- Transfer to a serving plate, drizzle with the vinaigrette, garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
- To keep the cedar plank fully immersed, elevate it slightly by setting it on a can, such as tuna fish and place another object heavy enough to keep the plank weighted so it doesn’t float. We placed a jar of marinara sauce on the plank.
- To determine how long to cook the salmon: Measuring at the thickest part, calculate 4 minutes for each one-half inch thickness. Try to purchase fillets of at least 1-inch thick.
- You can purchase cedar planks just about any place they sell BBQ grill equipment but you will pay about $8 for two planks of about 5”x12”. Or…. you can go to your local lumber yard and purchase untreated cedar siding board for about $10 and cut a bunch of them yourself.
- With proper care you should be able to reuse your plank several times before tossing it in the wood stove. Just scrub your plank with coarse salt, cold water and lemon juice. This will help to keep it smelling fresh. Do not use soap, as it will leave a trace of flavor.
- Nutrition values represent salmon only....the vinaigrette will make approximately one cup and provide for every 2 tablespoon serving: Cals, 153, fat, 17.28, sfat, 2.4
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 32g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 6837mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g
