Plank Cooking Tips

BobS · April 2007

When I was at the Salisbury, BBQ Cook off yesterday, I met some nice folks, including the people from Smokinlicious (second picture in the set I posted). They were from Canada and were selling all sorts of wood for smoking as well as these planks for cooking.[p][p]I have never cooked anything on a plank, but I now own two of them, so I am fixin to try them! [p]Here are some of the observations I picked up from them.[p]-- Any kind of wood that you smoke with is good wood to use for planked food and the kind of wood definitely has an impact on flavor. My planks are wild cherry.[p]-- Planks are not just for fish -- they cook chicken, beef, pork and everything else. Basically anything that you want to cook indirect and give a subtle flavor.[p]-- Not sure if it is a gimmick or the real deal, but they put shallow holes in the surface, as you can see from the picture, and this is to load up with whatever flavoring you want to go with your cook. Could be orange juice, wine, or marinade.[p]-- They had another, longer board that was for whole fish, but the interesting thing was that they had several sets of parallel holes (3/8"), with different spacing on the width of the holes, that were designed to hold about 4" pieces of dowel. The idea was that you could stand the fish up between the pegs (looks like it is swimming) and the heat would get to both sides. This board also had the shallow holes to hold the flavoring.[p]-- In a related are, they also used the plank technique (more or less) to cook things like cornbread on the grill. Basically they had a square box made of wood that was just nailed together -- it was about 8" square and 2" deep. When they were ready to cook, they lined it with some parchment paper and baked away![p]-- They do not preheat their planks. They soak them (they actually do that in the cooking liquid -- wine, orange juice, etc.), add the meat and throw them on the grill. It seems to me it would work just as well to soak in water and then fill the holes with the cooking liquid and that would make the planks a bit easier to clean. [p]I got my planks for $4.50 at the competition and that is a lot cheaper than their WEB site. Come to think of it though, that could be Canadian $.

Richard · April 2007

BobS,[p]This site has some interesting recipes.

[ul][li]http://www.westcoastlifestyles.com/recipes.html[/ul]

Spring Chicken · April 2007

BobS,
I had to read your post a couple of times before it really sunk in. I'm thinking "why not?" We enjoy the smoke flavor from smoking wood and even sap from Maple trees. I already know I like cedar planked salmon. So I think I'll try one or two of the recipes in your link. If nothing else, it will be fun.[p]Also, I like the idea of the holes or pockets drilled slightly into the wood to hold seasonings, etc. I can do that myself. And the stand-up fish is interesting. Never thought of that.[p]Thanks. You did good posting this info.[p]Spring "Still Learning After All These Beers" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

gdenby · April 2007

BobS,[p]Let me second Spring Chickens congrats to you. I've been looking at plank cooking for awhile, and the extra hints you gave have made it something I will definately try soon.[p]gdenby

egret · April 2007

BobS,
That's good info. Thanks for posting that. As a matter of fact, I'm cooking some salmon tonight on planks for the first time.
Are you back in the states now?

thirdeye · April 2007

<p />Planked fish ..... love it. Planked shrimp and scallops .... love those too. But one of my most favorites is Chubby's planked brie. Great to make at home and it gets unbelievable raves when taken to a cocktail party. Here is a "guest pit boss" how-to from my cookin' site.[p]~thirdeye~
[ul][li]Planked Brie[/ul]

BabyBoomBBQ · April 2007

BobS,[p]Try burgers on them. We made Gorgonzola cedar planked burgers a few years back and they were great!

Spring Chicken · April 2007

thirdeye,
Thanks for posting that recipe, along with your comments. Now I'll have to try it. Sure looks good.[p]But Spring Hen and I are curious as to: "Scrape rind off top of each wheel of brie to expose cheese and set aside." What happens to the rind top?[p]Spring "Often On The Other Side Of The Road" Chicken

Grill With Bill · April 2007

Here's a ceder plank salmon I made for mothers day. Click To Enlarge.

I got the plank from the lumber yard. It was significantly cheaper than buying from the overpriced cooking stores. I bought a 12 foot piece of lumber and when I want to cook with a plank I just cut off as much as I need. Then I plane one side of the wood to get rid of the dirt, and soak it for a couple of hours and I'm good to go.

Don't waste your money buying planks from an over-priced retailer.

Bill

BobS · April 2007

egret,
We moved back to Wilmington, Delaware, in February. I have been without my Egg since then, because we are linving in an apartment while our house gets built. I actually ended up selling my BGE in Mexico, to a friend that wanted one, but did not want the hassle of bringing one into the country. A friend and I are going to Waldorf to pick up two demos.[p]I never even thought about my profile -- how do I change it?

BENTE · April 2007

thirdeye,
i was going to to that for cinco de mayo get together we are haveing. i want to know what is on the one on the right it looks like cranberries or cherries. it was not on the sight you linked. also i have to find maple planks i have ceder but that sounds like i might overpower it.
your thoughts?
thanks
tb

BobS · April 2007

Spring Chicken,
The cook gets to eat it!!! LOL

BobS · April 2007

BabyBoomBBQ ,
That thought kind of reminds me of ClayQ's post on slow cooking burgers. He was not using planks, but the whole point of slow cooking food is different from classic grilling.[p]Sounds like another must do, to me.

thirdeye · April 2007

Spring Chicken,[p]Hey, Chubby wrote this ... LOL. You scrape the rind off of the face that you are adding the toppings to and set the wheel aside while you prepare the topping. As for the scraped off rind, I just throw it away.[p]On that top picture, those are 1# wheels. I took a serrated knife, wet it, and sliced the wheel in half. The toppings went on the fresh cut faces of each. Being a little thinner they cooked quicker but you got more topping with each dip.[p]~thirdeye~

egret · April 2007

BobS,
Look me up at Waldorf. Look forward to meeting you....Just create a new profile and it will override the previous one.

egret · April 2007

thirdeye,
Are you still going to get the plank flavor if you put fish on a bed of lemon slices?

thirdeye · April 2007

BENTE,[p]Wow, Cinco de Mayo is my 28th wedding anniversary. [p]The brie on the right is a cranberry orange relish because I made that one for Thanksgiving. But for Cinco de Mayo, definitely make one with Chubby's topping and I would also recommend a Santa Fe cranberry relish. It has onion and jalapeno peppers. It's great with a smoked turkey breast.[p]I'll have to add those relish recipes to the bottom of that page, the cooking technique is the same. But here a link to Ocean Spray. Type "relish" in the search box. Tickle the recipes as you see fit, they are after all just a guideline.[p]~thirdeye~

[ul][li]Ocean Spray[/ul]

thirdeye · April 2007

egret,[p]You bet. The smoke does not come from below the fish, it sneaks around from the sides of the plank, bathing whatever is on the plank. It's pretty wild to see.[p]~thirdeye~

BENTE · April 2007

thirdeye,
thanks!! and i also believe that a recepie is only a guideline to a delicious meal. i was kinda thinking of doing a spicy and a sweet one. now i have to decide which kind of sweet one to do i like the orange idea tho not to happy with cranberries they are always too sweet or to tart. maybe mixed with some strawberries and walnuts would work
tb

Plank Cooking Tips

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