This week, this “Grill-More Girl” decided to get a little adventurous and tried her hand at making Cedar Plank Salmon & Asparagus. If you’ve never tried wood plank grilling, don’t be intimidated-it’s is a great and easy way to infuse food with a smoky aromatic flavor.
Salmon and asparagus grilling on a cedar plank
Grilling with a plank is a lot like using a pan. In addition adding extra flavor and moisture to your food, it’s a good method to use when grilling veggies or something delicate like fish fillets because it provides a good, stable surface to put your food on (plus it keeps things like asparagus from rolling off the grill and into the fire!). Basically, it works like this: as you grill your food, the wood plank starts to char from the heat and the smoke from the plank subtly flavors your food. There are different wood planks you can use to give your foods different flavors, like cherry, maple, oak and apple. The most common type of plank, and the one I used for this recipe, is cedar. Grilling planks are no longer regulated to gourmet shops and high-end food stores. You can find them in your local grocery store, or even in big-box hardware stores, in the outdoor aisles. They come in packs ranging from 2 to 8 planks and cost anywhere from $10-20.
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Pork is a popular menu item these days. It’s a lean meat and has a mild flavor that blends perfectly with many flavors and seasonings. Pork is a great alternative to serving steak or chicken. In the past I’ve shied away from pork, afraid that its leaness would lead to a unedible leathery piece of meat. Through some trial and error, I’ve found that grilling pork chops that are moist, tender and delicious isn’t as difficult as I thought. Continue reading
