Planked Salmon

Fish and wood. We usually think of them together in the outdoor grill or smoker.

But there's a simpler way to wed the whiff of the wood to the flavor of the fish: use a plank of aromatic wood as an organic baking sheet. It's surprisingly easy to prepare at home and ideal for entertaining, and the hardwood can be used over and over to infuse its subtle flavors into the fish.

A perfectly cooked planked salmon with herb-seasoned butter and tiny potatoes will be a headline act! Guests will delight in the delectable fragrance of the salmon mingled with the aroma of the heated plank.

Native peoples of the Pacific Northwest first devised the method of cooking salmon on hardwood over a fire of driftwood. Our modern dinner party entrée, however, is easily baked in the oven.

The Plank

Step one is selecting the plank. Most chefs prefer alder or cedar, but other non-resinous hardwoods such as hickory, maple or oak also work well. Some chefs are planking with oak staves from old wine barrels, so that a lingering flavor of wine, usually red, also permeates itself into the fish. Avoid resinous woods such as pine; you don't want acrid sap seeping into the food.

Naturally, the plank should be clean and unvarnished. It should be at least an inch thick and large enough to generously accommodate the fish and its cooking juices. Store-bought cooking planks usually have an indented cooking area or grooves to keep the juices from spilling into the oven, and some have steel rods to stabilize the wood and prevent cracking. Ordinary slabs of alder from a lumber mill are inexpensive, but they generally have to be replaced after three or four visits to the oven.

Don't worry about the wood igniting; 350°F isn't even hot enough to char it. Cooking times will be longer than with a metal or ceramic baking dish because the wood doesn't conduct as much heat to the food (see recipe). What's nice is that the wood plank helps moderate the oven's temperature and cook the fish evenly.

The Fish

As with grilling, any relatively firm fish fillet or steak can be baked on a plank; salmon, striped bass, trout, pike, bluefish, and even halibut are good examples. It should be at least 1-inch think. Avoid very soft or thin fillets, such as sole. Leave the skin on a salmon fillet for baking, then remove it before serving. One additional tip is to rub both the fish and wood with olive oil to help mingle the flavors and prevent sticking.

Not only does a wood plank add delicious flavor and aroma to the fish, but it also doubles as an unusual and attractive serving platter. You can carry the steaming fish to the table right on the plank. With complements of simple boiled potatoes, caramelized onions and maybe a few decorative sprigs of herbs, it blossoms as a feast for the eyes, nose and appetite.

A Trio of Herb Butters

Flavored butters are an easy way to add flavor to a simply cooked piece of fish, as with planked fish. They are also delicious served on grilled fish. Ideally, the butter should be set on the fish while it's still warm so the butter can gently melt. Any one recipe is enough to serve 8; if you want to serve a variety of butters you will have extra, which can easily be frozen.

If you are using salted butter, additional salt may not be needed for seasoning.

Recipes

• Planked Salmon
• Dill-Lemon Butter
• Caper Butter
• Sun-Dried Tomato Butter