The Great Cedar-Wanna-Be Salmon Bakeoff

I'm a big fan of cedar plank salmon.  Being a woodworker, I have come across several types of 'cedar', so it got me to thinking -- what kind of cedar makes the best cedar plank salmon.  After a bit of research and many phone calls I found I could only get two kinds of 'cedar' (that I know are safe) in the area -- Western Red and Eastern White.  (I should mention that I was warned against using wood from Cedar hedges due to potential toxicity issues).  Before I go on, I should probably give a bit of a background on the wood, and explain why I keep putting quotes around the word 'cedar'...

About Cedar-Wanna-Be's

There are a lot of types of wood which are called Cedar.  Take for example Cedar Hedges and Cedar Decking.  If you've ever looked at a mature cedar hedge, it doesn't take much to realize that this is not the same type of Cedar used for decking.  A mature cedar hedge has a trunk width of three to four inches -- not enough to constitute a single plank for a deck or a fence.  If you've ever built a deck (and happen to be in North America), you have probably heard of both Western Red Cedar and Eastern White Cedar.  You have probably figured out by now, given the title of the web page, that not all of these are actually cedar.  In fact, none of them are. 

About Real Cedar

Real Cedar is of the species Cedrus.   They grow in the Himalaya and Mediterranean regions.  Needless to say, I couldn't get any on short notice, and thus real Cedar is exempt from my Cedar-Wanna-Be bakeoff...(Apparently, the name Cedrus has been misapplied to may species of trees.  It tends to be applied to woods with a specific fragrance).  To find out more about real cedar, follow this link

The History of Cedar Plank Salmon

Cedar Plank Salmon was first made by Native Americans.  They tacked the fish onto planks of cedar, and held the planks close to the fire.  Now, if you didn't skip over the previous section, you might be thinking 'wait a second... Cedar grows in the Himalayas...  so how could the Indians make cedar baked salmon?' .  And you would be correct -- the Native Americans invented Cedar-Wanna-Be planked salmon, not cedar plank salmon.  The Native Americans used Western Red Cedar (again, a type of cypress, not cedar).  As a result, most cedar plank salmon calls for Western Red Cedar.  I'm not sure why Eastern White is never adopted -- maybe we'll find out at the bakeoff.

The Bakeoff

The plan was to grill salmon on as many kinds of cedar planks as possible, and decide which varieties produced the best result.  As it turns out, this was a bit more difficult task than I anticipated.  I happened to have some untreated Western Red Cedar at home.  White Cedar was a bit more of a problem.  The only suppliers of White Cedar that I could find in the Ottawa Area were bulk sellers -- you had to place a large order to get any.  I only was anticipating 10-20 people, so placing a bulk order was not a good idea.  Fortunately, I knew someone who had just ordered a bunch of white cedar for a shed he was building.  He was kind enough to cut me some planks (he even planed them down to 1/2 inch for me!)

Another friend offered to give me some wood from a cedar hedge he had cut down.  Apparently he had some longs that were three inches around.  However, I was warned that some woods might have toxins in them that could be harmful to people, and I couldn't confirm whether Juniper was one of these woods, so I decided not to use it.

I called around for other varieties of Cedar, even real cedar, but not even the specialty wood shops carried any.  I also tried to get Alder and Mesquite, two other popular cooking woods, but again, no lumber yard carried them, and it was to short notice to order them online.  I happen to have some Cherry at home, which can also be used for cooking, but it's pretty expensive, so that was out as well.

What that left me with was planks of Western Red and Eastern White.

The Recipes

I looked online and found many recipes for Cedar Plank Salmon, but I also found more than one site that suggested that salmon should be served as plain as possible.  This made a lot of sense, especially for a bakeoff.  Some of the best non-planked salmon I have made was done with nothing but some oil and soy-sauce, and a slab of salmon.  So this is the plan -- I will used oil, soy-sauce, and a touch of pepper.  The fish will be served with a side of dill mixed with sour cream.  A recipe with instructions can be found here.  I would recommend avoiding any recipes that do not call for skinning the fish (see below)

The Wine

Consulting some of my Wine-Expert colleagues, I got some suggested wines for the bakeoff.  The suggested types of wine were Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.  Though I saw a Sauvinough Blanc suggested on a website, my friends suggested strongly against it, saying it would not keep up to the flavor of the salmon.

So the wines I got:  

Oyster Bay Chardonnay (vintage):  This is a New-Zealand vintage wine.  This was very highly recommended by my boss who is a big wine connoisseur.  The word 'vintage' means that it was an exceptional year for the winery.

Batch 65 Chardonnay:  Recommended by both my brother, and by the guy at the wine store, this Australian wine is apparently always on back order.

Cooper Creek Pinot Noir:  Another vintage wine, highly recommended.

Inniskillin Pinot Noir:  I needed another Pinot Noir, and this was the first I came across.

Kettling Ridge White Zinphadel: (sigh...) my wife made me get it.

Preparation

Thursday Night

It's Thursday night, and I have to soak the planks.  Unfortunately, the planks don't fit into my pots.  I have one glass serving plate that's big enough to soak two pieces, but with 11 expected guests I'm going to need a bit more.  Off to Zellers to pick up something up...

Ok, the aluminum foil baking trays seem to be very good for this.  For $4.00, I got a basting pan big enough to put in most of my boards.  I figure $4.00 compared to the cost of the wine and the salmon is a drop in the bucket.  I put the wood in the two pans.  I added some thin slivers between the boards, to ensure that all areas of the boards were exposed to the water.  I then weighed down the boards -- one I weighed down with a couple of full glasses of water, the other with a pot full of water.  I've heard it suggested that you use a brick, but this is much easier.  In my glass container, I put a liberal amount of salt in the water.  This was suggested in one web site, so I thought I would try it to see if it made a difference.

With that all done, it's time to clean the house.  The wife already vacuumed the pool, and did some outdoor stuff, so I don't have to worry about the outside.   So all I have to do tomorrow before the guests arrive is to pick up the fish, and prepare it.

Friday

Everything is ready.  My wife has picked up some salads, and I have picked up the fish.  I have skinned the fish, and all is ready to go.  Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating.  It is overcast with a light drizzle.  So it will be an indoor party.  There are a few last minute cancellations which brings our number down to nine.  I decide to freeze one of the fish fillets.

I set the wine out on the table, and decide to uncork a few bottles.  I have one of those fancy corkscrews, which comes with a cutter to cut the foil around the cork.  I go to use it on the Cooper Creek Pinot Noir -- I cut the 'foil', and peel it back only to find no cork...  A closer inspection shows me that this was in fact a twist on cap, not a cork!  Oops...  Luckily, we drank the whole bottle so it wasn't an issue.

The guests arrive and I start by putting a plank of red Cedar in the Barbeque, and a plank of white cedar in the oven.  I brush each with a thin layer of oil.  I then add the salmon, and let them bake for about twenty minutes.  Twenty minutes pass by, and I take them out.  I should note that steam was still coming out of both boards -- neither had completely dried before serving.  After tasting them, it appeared as though neither soaked the cedar flavor as much as I'd like.  So for the next batch, I do not brush oil onto the plank before cooking.  I also reverse it such that the red cedar plank is now in the oven and the white is on the Barbeque.   The second batch soaked in much more flavor from the boards, so not brushing the boards with oil seemed like a good idea.

The Results

The results were mixed.  Most people preferred the red-cedar salmon ( 6 to 3 ), but everyone enjoyed both.  Almost everyone agreed that not brushing the planks with oil seemed to make the fish absorb more flavor.  Also, most people preferred the fish done in the Barbeque over the one done in the oven, but there were two exceptions, who felt strongly the other way.  The wine went quite well with the fish, and we all had a good time.

Recommended Preparation Method

Soak the plank of cedar in water overnight.  Ensure that it is completely submerged.  Remove the skin from the salmon.  Preheat barbeque.  When Barbeque is ready, place cedar plank on barbeque, and let it heat up for a few minutes.  Place the salmon directly on the cedar plank, with what was the skin side down.  Rub the top with oil and soy sauce, and let cook for about twenty minutes

Don't overcook the salmon.  The salmon is done when it is opaque and flaky.  If the center is still a little raw, then this is a good time to remove it from the flame.  The center will finish cooking itself off of the flame.

Skinning the Salmon

Many cedar-plank salmon recipes call for placing the salmon skin side down on the plank -- this does not make sense as the skin of a fish in impermeable, and thus it would prevent the cedar flavor from soaking into the fish.

To skin a salmon fillet, cut the meat of the fillet (but not the skin) about an inch from the tail.  Use a sharp knife to separate the skin from the meat for a few inches after the cut.  Poke a hole in the skin with the knife for a finger grip (The skin can get quite slippery).  With one hand, grab the meat.   With the other hand, hook your finger through the hole in the skin, and simply pull the two apart.