Hi folks – its the weekend and that would require a customary Friday night grilling. Last night’s main – Cedar-Planked Salmon with Honey Glaze, Potato Pancakes (fried on the EGG) and fresh asparagus…
The BGE cookbook has a great explanation cedar planks and this particular recipe – “Grilling on a cedar plank infuses the salmon with a woodsy, smokey flavor while keeping the fish moist. The flavor is boosted by basing the fish with a honey glaze enlivened with citrus.”
The glaze is really easy for this recipe:
1/2 Cup Dijon Mustard
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tsp Grated Lemon Zest (the book calls for orange but I prefer lemon with this recipe…gives a bigger zing!)
1 Tsp minced fresh thyme
2 Tbs EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Make sure you’ve pre-soaked your cedar planks for at least an hour – we’ve used the same plank for 5 or 6 grillings and it’s still remarkably intact. Using a plank that’s seen combat adds an amazing smokiness that you just cant get in a restaurant!
Place the plank on the grid and warm it up for 3 minutes. Flip it over and baste it with olive oil – extra flavor and the salmon doesn’t stick to the plank. Season your salmon with some kosher salt and ground pepper and then brush the fish with a generous amount of the honey/mustard glaze – cover them up nicely. Close the lid and give it a good 15 minutes on 400 F – Our fillets were quite thick and as such, I’d recommend another 3 to 5 minutes if your salmon is as thick as ours – regardless, the salmon comes out incredible every time – planking salmon is nearly fool proof and tastes oh so good!
The potato pancakes were actually done up first but will come second on the blog recipe – I was really excited to use our new cast iron skillet to fry these bad boys up. The recipe is really simple and tastes just like granny used to make (save for the fact that she didn’t have a big green egg!):
4 Large Potatoes
1 Yellow Onion
1 Egg, beaten
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tbs Flour
Ground pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying
Grate the potatoes with onion into a large bowl and make sure you drain off any excess juices. Mix in the egg, salt and black pepper and then add enough flour to make the mixture thick (no more than 3 tbs otherwise you’re making dough!)
Keep your oven on 200 F to keep them warm on a plate but to fry them up, put your skillet on the BGE and fill it with 1/4 inch of veg oil. Close the lid with the temperature set at 400 F – now let the oil get nice and hot otherwise your pancakes will stick to the skillet. Once the oil is ready to fry with, drop about 1/4 cup of mixture into the skillet and flatten it to about 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden brown and flip. Once done, put them on some kitchen roll to drain off some of the oil and then pop them into the preheated oven to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.
Stem and steam the asparagus for about 6 minutes so they’re really nice and green but not mushy and lifeless. Plate up all your food and place a healthy dollop of sour cream with dill for the potato pancakes. Serve the salmon right off the plank and voila…Friday night dinner in less than 30 minutes!
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