Cooking with Heinen’s | Cedar Plank Grilled Wild Sockeye Salmon with a Bourbon Maple Glaze

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4 mins read

Looking for a great grilling idea for Fathers Day? This Cedar Plank Grilled Wild Sockeye Salmon is a showstopper. With few ingredients and very little prep even the kids can pull this feast off.  When you start with a beautiful piece of fresh fish like this wild sockeye, add a bit of Two Brothers sweet and smokey rub then baste it with a reduction of bourbon and maple syrup, you have just won Father’s Day.  

When you’re done with dinner be sure to keep the grill hot for dessert. One of our favorite summer desserts made on the grill is grilled pound cake with grand mariner strawberries and whipped cream.

Two Brothers sweet and smokey rub is filled with Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Smoked Paprika, Salt, Black Pepper, White Pepper. It is the perfect pairing for the slamon and bourbon glaze.  A little sweet and a little spice.

Start with a beautiful piece of wild sockeye salmon…

Add the seasoning rub. Let the sugars and seasonings soak in…

Look at that beautiful color and oooooh the flavor is even better.


Cedar Plank Grilled Wild Sockeye Salmon with a Bourbon Maple Glaze

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

  • 1 cedar plank (soaked overnight or at least 1 hour)
  • 1 salmon filet skin on
  • 2 TBS Two Brothers Sweet and Smokey seasoning 
  • Chopped chives for garnishing
  • Lemon slices for garnishing

For the maple bourbon glaze

  • 6  tablespoons bourbon
  • ¾ cup pure maple syrup

Method

  • Make sure that the plank has soaked according to package recommendations. The time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the plank. 20 minutes-1 hour.
  • Season/rub the salmon with Sweet and Smokey spice mix. Let the salmon sit for 10 minutes at room temperature, until the rub is moistened.
  • In the meantime make the glaze: Combine the whiskey and maple syrup in a small saucepan, bringing the mixture to a low boil and reduce by about half. You should have a thick syrup that coats the back of a spoon, about ten minutes.
  • Preheat the grill on medium high heat for 5 – 10 minutes. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 – 5 minutes or until it starts to throw off a bit of smoke and crackles lightly.
  • Reduce the heat to medium low. Carefully place the salmon, skin side down, on the plank. Cover the grill and cook for 15-20 min, or until it is cooked and flakes, or to your desired doneness, brushing with glaze every 5 minutes or so.
  • Remove from grill. Serve immediately garnished with chopped chives and lemon. 

Try serving broccolini with this salmon.  The tender broccolini can be sautéed aside the salmon plank in a small cast iron pan with just a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. It will take on some of the flavors of the cedar smoke.

A few tips for cooking on Cedar planks: 

Soak them until they are good and saturated.  Then let them heat up on the grill for a few minutes until they start to smoke and crackle. Then add the fish or meat onto the board.  This will enhance the infusion of flavor. You can remove the meat from the board or serve it right on the board.  

Set grill for indirect grilling and heat to medium-high. Place the cedar plank in the center of the hot grate, away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook until cooked through. The internal temperature should read 135 degrees F. 

What else can be grilled on cedar planks?

Salmon is without a doubt the most common food grilled on planks but most fish and shell fish cooked on planks will produce the same great flavor.

Chicken and pork also work well on Cedar planks. This method helps retain the natural juices.

Vegetables like mushrooms, asparagus bell peppers, carrots and zucchini work well with this gentle cooking process. The aromatic Cedar flavor is a great way to flavor vegetables without adding calories. 

Fruit Like pineapple, apples, and most stone fruits pair well with the flavor of cedar. 

Grilled Pound Cake with roasted Grand Mariner Strawberries

Ingredients

  • I pint of fresh Strawberries cleaned and cut.
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbs Grand Mariner
  • 2 Tbs butter softened
  • 1 pound cake
  • Fresh whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream)

Method

  • Into a buttered cast iron pan add strawberries, water, sugar, and grand mariner. Place the pan on hot grill and allow the liquids to blend and the berries to roast. When the sugar has dissolved and the liquids have slightly reduced (about 3-5 minutes), remove from heat. 
  • Meanwhile, slice the pound cake in 3/4 inch slices. Use the softened butter to brush the grill grates. Place the pound cake slices on the grill until it has golden brown grill marks. 30-90 seconds. Turn carefully and do the same on the other side.
  • Plate by layering pound cake strawberries and whipped cream.
  • Enjoy!

About the Author

Photographer Sally Roeckell specializes in contemporary lifestyle portraiture with an emphasis on food photography. Her Blog, Table and Dish is a website devoted to celebrating and curating the many ways that food binds us. Sally hopes that her recipes and images will inspire you to gather your friends and family in the kitchen to make memories, use the time to connect with busy kids, chat over mixing bowls, get messy, laugh, sing, set the table, clear the table, pass the salt, debate the days topics and pray. You can follow her here as a weekly contributor to 365Barrington and Heinen’s as well as via Table and Dish on Instagram and on her website at TableAndDish.com.


Have you heard about Heinen’s Tasteful Rewards™ program? Sign up for free to receive exclusive weekly specials via email and earn Heinen’s rewards. As a Tasteful Rewards™ membership benefit, Heinen’s will donate up to 1% of your qualified purchases made between September and April to a local school of your choice through their Teaming Up for Education Program. CLICK HERE to sign up for Heinen’s Tasteful Rewards™ and, trust me, this is one email that will always please your palate!


Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 (next to Meatheads) in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Heinens.com.

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