Talking the plank

I spent my weekend packing boxes and stumbled across to cedar grilling planks I had been given a Christmas or two ago. I was instantly inspired to try and cook with them. The planks are about 12 inches long, and eight inches wide and are supposed to impart a special flavor into the meat you cook. The directions said soak the plank, put the meat directly on the wood and grill it keeping them temp under 400 degrees.

Here's a random recipe from Kraft with some tips on cedar plank grilling.

I went to Winn Dixie, grabbed a pound of tilapia (i think it was $3.99 or $4.99 for 5 filets) and was ready to go. I hit each fillet with the least garlicy poultry seasoning I had, some butter and some lemon juice.

I soaked the plank for about three hours and put it in the middle of the grill with two of the burners lit. If the burners were lettered A through D with A being on the far left I lit B on low and D on high with the plank over B and C. Once I saw that the board was not going to burn up, I turned on burner C as well. I threw one fillet onto the top rack as a control to see what kind of difference the plank made.

The fish cooked quickly and when we put it on the table I was anxious to try it. The plank-cooked fish did have a different taste than the control and the whole meal was good.

In retrospect, it may not have been worth the extra effort to cook on the plank. Since theses boards were a gift I didn't have to worry about the cost, but I don't think I'll be spending my money on any of the boards.