The most recent America's Test Kitchen episode we had seen was about grilling salmon, and they emphasized that grilling salmon tends to almost always result in leaving a good amount of fish on the grill. Their solution was 10 coats of vegetable oil applied to the hot grates, and we fully intended to do that until we found a cedar plank in the kitchen and figured it would not only taste good, but ensure that all of our pricey deliciousness made it to the plate instead of getting left behind on the grill.
We fired up only one side of the grill, leaving a "cool" side on which to cook the salmon so the plank wouldn't catch fire and the salmon would have a nice, even, gentle heat. I patted the salmon dry with some paper towels, sprinkled on a little kosher salt and some lemon garlic powder, and headed out to the grill.
I can't really say how long it took (maybe 15 minutes?), but we pulled it when our Thermapen registered 125ยบ.
It was, hands down, the best fish we have ever cooked at home. So buttery and moist, just a light garlic/lemon crust, perfectly done with a touch of smokiness from the cedar plank; not the least bit fishy. It disappeared so fast I didn't have time to get a picture (well that and I was too busy eating it myself!) We had actually cut off a piece to enjoy ourselves later in the week, so we cooked it up in the same fashion tonight and it was just as delicious, two days later. I might become a seafood lover after all!
It was 100% worth the cost, and I think we will be going back and getting more while it's around (I think the season is May/Juneish)!
