Cedar Plank Barbecued Masala Salmon

Cedar Plank Barbecued Masala Salmon

The leaves have finally popped out and the birds are singing.  After a day spent planting flowers in the garden, it was time to put on the barbecue and have something delish.  Delish fish, that is!  This recipe will make the salmon succulent, smoky and spicy.  This would be a great dish to serve to guests, but greedy guts us, we gobbled it down by ourselves!

You can buy cedar planks for this purpose in barbecue stores and at supermarkets, but you use them only once, and they’re very expensive purchased this way.  Instead, we go to a lumber yard, and buy a single untreated cedar fence board for about six dollars.  Husband Person saws it into three pieces, and then we’re set for three fancy meals over the summer!

Put food on after the board has been oiled and heated!

1 cedar board, soaked in water for about four hours
1 tablespoon mustard oil
about 15 scrapes of ginger (I use a potato peeler)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ red onion, very finely diced
½ habanero pepper, very finely diced
2 fresh garlic cloves, very finely diced
2 large fillets of wild Sockeye Salmon (you can purchase rather than catch)
1 teaspoon cumin seed
½ teaspoon coriander seed
¼  teaspoon black cumin seed
¼ teaspoon fennel seed
freshly ground pepper
1 organic lemon, sliced thinly, then halve the slices

Turn on the barbecue to medium high.  When it’s hot, pour half the oil onto one side of the damp cedar plank.  Put it on the barbecue, oil side down.  Let it get to the scorching stage, where it just starts to smell like burning wood.  Use heat proof gloves to take it off the barbecue, and on the oiled side, place half the salt, most of the ginger, onion, habanero, and garlic.  Rub the rest of the oil into both sides of the salmon fillets.  Place the salmon skin side down on top of the onion mixture. 

In a mortar and pestle, roughly grind the spice seeds, then  sprinkle over the fish, along with the rest of the salt and add freshly ground pepper.  Sprinkle on the remainder of the onion, ginger, garlic and pepper.

Put back in barbecue, and close the lid.  Cook for about fifteen minutes, then add the sliced and halved lemons.  Close the lid, and continue cooking for another fifteen or so, till the salmon flakes when touched by a fork.  Because I’m a prairie girl, I like my salmon cooked more thoroughly than sophisticated West Coast types!

Our neighbors became alarmed at the smell of burning cedar, but we assured them all was well.  We cooked vegetables along with the salmon, so the salmon took about ten minutes longer to cook than it should have, as we kept losing heat every time we opened the barbecue to add another vegetable.  Regardless, it was magnificently delicious.  Delish fish!