Cedar Plank Sea Trout
Awesome!
I sat in meetings all day as the students had a day off. At one point I got a hankering for smoked salmon. It’s something I’ve been meaning to make.
After work I went shopping. Charcoal is becoming harder to find. This is not good. Home Depot was completely out of normal charcoal. The Quick Match stuff (or whatever it is called) can’t be used. Lowe’s had some, but they were smaller bags and cost more. 
Sigh . . . I’m also going to need to find a source of wood too.
Anyhow, I picked up a couple cedar planks. I think I would have done better at the lumber department, but for the first time, I was willing to pluck down for the ones designed for the grill.
I then went food shopping. The salmon didn’t do a lot for me. I hope it is just what was there. I rarely eat salmon anymore as I think I OD’d on it in the early 1990s. Luckily for me, there was a beautiful sea trout fillet sitting there. I bought that instead.
I had thought of doing a mustard-mayonaise-dill sauce. When I got home I decided to go a little simpler with olive oil, Kosher salt, cracked pepper, fresh dill and tarragon, and some lemon to top it off. I put on a couple sweet potatoes and an Idaho. I let them cook for a while.
Eventually things were well enough along that I took the cedar plank that had soaked for three hours and put that on the grill. Once it began smoking I added the trout.
About 15 minutes in it was about done. I took the tip off and then rotated the plank so the thinner end was off the heat while I cooked the thicker end a bit longer.
It was at 20 minutes I took the fish off. I had cooked some peas to accompany this.
Awesome! The fish was perfect. My goodness this is how sea trout should taste. The sweet potatoes were melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Gert was equally pleased. A yummy dinner to send us into the long weekend.
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Orange Marmalade Sriracha Wings - 2009
- Lauren Van Embden Speaks - 2009
- A Tale of Two Cities - 2009
- Neel Kashkari Is Important to Your Comfort - 2008
- Wayne Bryant & Personal Responsibility - 2007
- Mom's Overture - 2007
- Does a Public Defense Have Limits? - 2007
- Squandering Dues - 2006
- Invisible - 2006
- Scoring: Balk with a Three-Ball Count - 2005
- Who Is Being Disingenuous? - 2005
- Happy Days - 2005
- Blog the Vote - 2004
- Showdown - 2004
By flowers22
on 11 October 2008 @ 23:44
This looks WONDERFUL!!
I’m a little confused though. Do you have more charcoal on one side than another? If not, how is there a side with more heat than the other?
Can the wood/plank be used more than once?
Do you even use wood chips in your smoker? If so, do you put them in a little smoker box? I’m just trying to figure out all this stuff. Your pictures & tales are addicting; I’m eager to try smoking myself.
By Bob
on 12 October 2008 @ 8:23
This was smoked on the kettle, not in the smoker. As such, I set the kettle up for indirect grilling for the potatoes. Since I was only cooking the fish on the fire, I didn’t need to fill the kettle with coals. Also, it is a good idea to always have a cool zone in case something gets too hot. That is how I was able to take the thin end off the heat and still cook the thicker end.
The planks are said to be able to be used thrice. I think I can get two times out of this one; I am not certain about a third time.
I never use chips. I use wood chunks in the smoker. These are about fist-size pieces of wood. I have no smoker box; I put the wood in with the coals.
By flowers22
on 12 October 2008 @ 10:03
Did you use water in the kettle for the fish?
By Bob
on 12 October 2008 @ 10:47
No. I can’t think of a time I would ever use water in a kettle. As a matter of fact, I never use water even in the smoker.