Salmon and smoke wood?

Jeepster47

Salmon on the egg last night.  Little mayo, Penzey's lemon pepper, raised direct at 350*, with one piece of pecan for smoke.  Cooked for ten minutes skin side down, and then, slid a soaked cedar board under the fish to finish the cook.  Glazed with butter five minutes before pulling the fish.  The missus said it was "okay" ... which is her code for "try again dummy."  She likes a milder smoke favor on all protein, thus the big stack of Rockwood in the basement.

1) Do you add a smoke wood?  If so, what and how much? Surfed back a couple of years and it seems that @stemc33 is one of the few who mentions smoke wood ... apple chips one time and orange another.

2) @pgprescott mentions the "kiss of cedar" ... is he being poetic or does it flavor the fish?  Remember that I had the fish skin side down on the plank and the skin was left behind during the consumption process.

RRP

adler or guava are my choices

lousubcap

No smoke wood here with salmon but suspect the combination of pecan and cedar is what drove it over the top.  I'm guessing one or the other and you would be okay.  But ....
In the Pacific Northwest (PNW) the main event with salmon (at least for tourists) is alder smoked salmon...done over a wood fire thus the fish can take some smoke...FWIW-

Ozzie_Isaac

You are like a girl asking if I like your dress.  I say yes, then you change anyway.

I told you no smokewood, just the cedar plank.  If you must have smoke flavor then char the plank and set the fish skin side down on the charred side.

Jeepster47

@Ozzie_Isaac ... Well, do you ... like my dress I mean?

I asked you after the barn door was left open ...

YukonRon

I used sugar maple with my salmon cook. It was delicious. First time out and used a cedar plank as well.
I did not use a lot, but I cooked a rather large amount, 4-6 servings.
I definitely recommend it.

DoubleEgger

I bought a variety pack of plank "seconds" online (dirt cheap). Alder seems to be the mildest of the bunch. You might give that a whirl. 

Jeepster47

@YukonRon ... we have a Sugar Maple farm about 50 miles away ... will have to see if they'll let me help clean up their woods.

Alder?  Will look to see if anyone carries it locally.

YukonRon

I use a maple syrup based glaze. So I thought I would toss in a couple small chunks of sugar maple. Worked out pretty well

blind99

I do the cedar plank thing if people tell me they like it.  the presentation is kind of cool.  but it tastes like turpentine to me most of the time.

Angela

alder wood

Jeepster47

blind99 said:

I do the cedar plank thing if people tell me they like it.  the presentation is kind of cool.  but it tastes like turpentine to me most of the time.

@blind99 ... that was one of my fears.  At least you know what wine will compliment the turpentine/resin taste ... Retsina would seem the perfect compliment.

Never could understand how the Greeks could make such a good product like Ouzo and then such a bad product as Retsina.

RRP

Tom,
Here's the link for guava wood, which I keep on hand. BTW this fellow is an egger himself.
http://www.hawaiiguava.com/guava-smoking-wood.html

As for alder H & P has stocked it before - worth a call to check first at 691-5959. Believe it or not Menards used to carry it, but I haven't seen any there for a while.

Jeepster47

@RRP ... no alder at H & P ... or, so says the gal.  As for guava ... maybe later ... think I picked on you for importing in from Hawaii, so ... we'll see.

RRP

Jeepster47 said:

  As for guava ... maybe later ... think I picked on you for importing in from Hawaii, so ... we'll see.

Importing? from our 50th state?  

pgprescott

Alder would be my distant second choice. Lots of people prefer the alder to the cedar though. If you don't consume the skin, I would discard it prior to cooking. Fwiw, raging river is great on salmon. 

Ragtop99

I cook salmon on the grate and find peach or apricot impart a little smoke without overwhelming the salmon flavor.  It's a one chunk cook.