Table Talk
Cedar-Plank Salmon
It is blistering hot here in Denver. It is barely summer and we have already tallied 12 days of above-90 temperatures. And yet, it IS summer, which means ripening cherries on the cherry tree, fresh rhubarb, herbs in abundance & having long leisurely dinners out on the deck. And those dinners begin to focus on the freshest ingredients, the simplest preparations, abundant produce, cool drinks.
One cooking method that has become popular in recent years is cooking on planks. A cedar or alder untreated piece of wood is soaked for hours in cool water before being heating on a grill. The fish is then placed on the wood, which blackens and smokes. Last night I did our first plank-cooked salmon of the season. I marinated it in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, fresh marjoram, chives & thyme, sea salt & fresh ground pepper. It was then smoked on the plank for about 15 minutes until barely cooked, turning out very moist, with a hint of smoky flavor along with those wonderful herbs and a little lemon. It was melt-in-your-mouth, as my husband likes to say. The rest of the menu: grilled garlic rosemary bread and mixed greens with blueberries, feta, & almonds.
