While we were up in Seattle for the Summer, Brad’s dad grilled up some salmon on a cedar plank and blew my mind. I couldn’t believe how much flavor the wood imparted to the fish and how evenly it cooked. I came home determined to recreate the experience. The difference between me and Brad’s dad, however, is I’m incredibly lazy and a little bit cheap. Er, frugal.
The frugal part was easy to satisfy. I found these cedar planks on Amazon for less than $2 each – each one is large enough for a one pound fillet.
Most importantly, though, I wanted to be able to make these without having to go outside, walk down the stairs, and clean the spiders off the grill. It turns out that part was easy to satisfy, too. Cedar plank salmon is super simple to make in the oven. In fact, I’ve been making it in my little toaster oven so I don’t even have to wait to preheat the full-size sucker.
You can make this in under 15 minutes if you soak the planks ahead of time. (Protip: soak them weeks in advance and just store in the freezer until you’re ready to use.) Steam some vegetables in the meantime and you have a super fast and healthy dinner that tastes like summer in Seattle.
Ingredients
- olive oil spray (I use my misto)
- 1 lb wild caught skin-on salmon filet
- 2 tbs salmon rub (see below or swap your favorite - omit sugar for paleo)
- Salmon Rub
- 1 tbs paprika
- 1 tbs kosher salt
- 1 tbs brown sugar (packed)
- 2 tsp lemon pepper
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp powdered garlic
- 12/ tsp dried tarragon
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- Special Equipment
- cedar plank
Instructions
Soak the plank in water for at least 45 minutes. You can do this in advance and freeze the plank until you're ready to use it.
Spray some oil on the plank and place it in the oven while you preheat to 350F.
Place salmon skin-side down on plank. Massage salmon rub into fish. Bake until flesh is just cooked through and flakes easily, about 10-14 minutes.
Nutritional Information
Calories 156
Total Fat 4.1g
Saturated Fat 1.0g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 87mg
Sodium 60mg
Potassium 26mg
Total Carbohydrates 3.7g
Sugars 2.7g
Protein 24.1g
Weight Watchers Points: 3
PointsPlus: 4
I have to get my hands on a cedar plank as I always have wanted to cook with one – as I love the unique taste that it gives. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love it too AND my local grocer actually has marinated salmon ON the cedar plank just waiting to be taken home. I soaked it then placed the plank in the oven as I preheated. then I placed the salmon on the plank for ten minutes. Voila! Wonderful dinner! a good luck.
Aldi has their wild fresh salmon on
sale this week ($9.99 a pound). I purchased two fresh pre seasoned salmon fillets included was a cedar plank. Always heard about have delicious these fish are cooked on the grill with the plank. The recipes I found stated you can grill, smoke or cook in an oven . I cooked it in
The oven and it was fantastic. Can only imagine the taste smoked or grilled.
That’s great info to know because tonight is my first time using the cedar plank and I wasn’t really that sure about it but I actually think it might turn out to be pretty great
I know it will be great!!
I tried it today,baked on the oven 9n a cedar plank, with citrus teriyaki sauce, homemade Mac & cheese, and steamed asparagus! Was heaven on a plate!
Sorry for typos
Delicious, thank you for sharing 🙂 I love your blog and I have followed you with Bloglovin. If you ever get a chance to check out my blog I would be delighted, thanks 🙂
Camille xo
http://www.cococami.blogspot.co.uk
Thanks so much Camille! Your blog is great – thanks for sharing!
You must have eaten your salmon totally raw with that temp and time. Thanks for nothing!
Hi Mike! My salmon came out as pictured above. It’s true that I prefer the inside a little less cooked as in the bottom picture – closer to the 10 minute mark. I personally hate overcooked fish but know it’s a personal preference.
I’m so sorry if yours didn’t come out as you wanted. Did you preheat the oven with the plank inside? Some ovens can be different so if you find the fish isn’t as well done as you like it, you can keep cooking it until it’s just right for your tastes.
Best!
Maggie
Your pictures make my mouth water! For a great place to buy cedar planks online try our website. We have six different wood varieties and all different sizes. Our best prices are about a buck per plank. Keep Grilling!
Oops! The website didn’t show up last time. Great Deals on Cedar Grilling Planks
After impulsively buying cedar planks, I visited a few other websites looking for a simple recipe for making cedar plank salmon in the oven. Most did not mention this alternative to grilling the salmon, most recipes were way more complicated than I was looking for, and most web pages were so full of advertisements and links that it was hard to cut and paste them into a word document in my recipe folder. I had was ready to give but found this website. This is exactly what I was looking for, and my cedar planks are soaking as I write this! Thanks!
Thank you so much for the kind comment, Steve! I hope you love the salmon!
Thank you for the quick tips on using cedar planks in the oven. While I have used them on the grill many times, I was looking for an alternative to grilling (not so much cause of laziness, I love grilling, but I live in a cold, wet climate) and I have found your advice helpful. I agree that it is important to let your planks warm up in oven while pre-heating, but I think your cook time is more accurate to a smaller toaster oven. In my regular sized oven, a 1 lb fillet took about 30 min, was not over cooked in the least, super moist and delicious(I did use a squirt bottle with water) and gave the plank and my salmon a good spritz a time or two….Thanx again.
Hi Bethany! You are completely right that different ovens cook differently – I’ll update the recipe to note this. The periodic spritz is a great idea, too. Thank you so much for the gracious comment and generous advice!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing
I had the same issue, taking much longer to cook. I used a meat thermometer and baked til 125F internal temp (the recommended minimum temp for salmon), it took close to 30 minutes (I didn’t keep exact track of time because I was watching the thermometer.) Still an awesome recipe!
Slices of butter on top it was great
Really excited to try this! I ONLY cook salmon on cedar planks on the grill and tonight it’s below freezing and snowy outside I thought I would check to see if by chance it’s ever been done in the oven! So here goes…I hope my family doesn’t missed the crispy edges I know they love from the grill! I know I’m not going to miss freezing my tootsies off lol
Did a web search, and I’m glad I found this. I bought a cedar plank salmon, rub and cedar plank included, not realizing it ‘needed’ to be grilled. I live in an apartment and a toaster convection oven has been my go-to for years. I can’t wait to try this.
420 degrees for about 30 mins…
Don’t see an oven temp for this recipe
Can you reuse the plank?
Hi Jackie!
Unfortunately, you won’t want to reuse the plank for safety reasons. The fish and bacteria will find their way into the wood and it’s not possible to fully clean it. It’s usually pretty inexpensive to order a bulk pack.
This was fabulous. Move over garlic lemon and dill. Papas got a brand new… something or other. Now all I need is a lifetime supply of cedar. Took 25 minutes or thereabouts. Gotta be careful not to overseason. Really good!
Can the cedar plank be washed and reused. Some sites say use twice, while others say don’t reuse. I only bake 6 ounce skinless fillets.
Never mind, Maggie. I saw your answer to another comment. Thank you.
I’ve reused mine but I’d follow the recommendation on your plank’s packaging.
I think you meant to write 450 degrees*
This rub was outstanding, thanks for the post. I put sliced lemons on top along with fresh dill.