Oven-Roasted Planked Salmon
A recipe for those who would like to try planked salmon but don’t have access to a grill. (Plank-roasting is a process by which an ingredient is cooked on the grill—or, here, in the oven—and is infused with woodsmoke flavor as the board blackens.) Salmon has loads of healthy fats and calcium, and in my personal experience is a terrific gateway fish that leads people away from eating the same old flaky white cod over and over. Feel free to double this recipe—adjust amounts accordingly, and up the roasting time as needed. The broiling step, however, should still take the amount of time prescribed below.
I get a certain perverse pleasure out of presenting a recipe with only three ingredients.
1 very fresh salmon filet, skin-on, preferably wild, about 1 ½ inches thick, about 1 ¼ pounds total1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon quarter for juicing
special equipment: cedar board for roasting
1. One hour before cooking, completely submerge the plank in water to soak.
2. After the plank has soaked for an hour, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Rub the entire surface of the salmon with the olive oil. Season both sides aggressively with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Set the salmon aside on a plate to rest.
3. Lift the plank out of the water, shake dry, and place the plank in the heated oven, directly on the grate. Allow the plank to heat for 10 minutes, then open the oven and lay the salmon filet, skin-side down, directly in the center of the plank. (You may want to place a second rack with a baking sheet beneath the plank to catch any drippings.) Allow the salmon to roast for approximately 20-30 minutes (cooking times can vary wildly, depending on the thickness of the filet, the relative leanness of the fish, etc.), until desired doneness is almost reached—in this step I prefer to cook the fish until almost medium-rare, with an interior temperature of 115 degrees, the fish going flaky on the outside but remaining moist and opaque in the center. Overcooked salmon is bad salmon.
4. When the salmon has almost reached the desired level of doneness, turn the broiler to high and place the rack with the planked salmon a few inches beneath the broiler flame—after a few minutes the board will begin to blacken, pop, and smoke. This is exactly what you want—the surface of the salmon will also begin to darken and char in spots.
5. After about 5 minutes of broiling you should have a nicely blackening, smoking board, and salmon that is cooked perfectly (I find that the temperature rises about 10 degrees during this broiling process) and darkened nicely on top. (You should also have a terrifically fragrant kitchen.) Take the planked salmon out of the oven, allow to rest at room temperature for 3 minutes, then squeeze the lemon quarter over the fish and serve immediately, directly from the plank (leave the skin behind on the board as you serve). Add a salad on the side and you have a complete meal.
Yield: 2 servings, with a little snack left over.