Lemon Herb Cedar Plank Salmon Recipe (video)

25 mins prep + 25 mins cook

servings

Easy, grilled cedar plank salmon with lemon, garlic and herb seasoning. Plus, easy asparagus side dish recipe!

Ingredients

2 to 2.5 pound salmon fillet
salt to season
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp fresh dill
1 tbsp capers, minced
zest from 1 large lemon
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper

For Asparagus:

1 large bundle asparagus
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
salt to season
zest from 1/2 lemon

For Grilling:

2 cedar planks, presoaked

Instructions

Presoak the cedar planks for at least 30 minutes, but preferably for at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat your grill when ready to prepare the dish. If you're using a Traeger grill, set it first to 'smoke' and preheat for 10 minutes. If using a conventional grill, preheat the grill to 450F.
Prepare the butter topping: melt the butter in a large bowl. Finely mince the garlic and capers, then add to the melted butter along with the fresh dill, lemon zest, salt and a bit of ground black pepper. Stir all the ingredients together, then place the bowl into the refrigerator to chill for at least 10 to 15 minutes. The butter needs to thicken into a spread.
Prepare the salmon: the fish can be grilled with the skin on or off. Use a very sharp knife to remove the skin; watch my video recipe to see how it's done. The salmon can be prepared as a whole piece or cut into serving size pieces.
Season the salmon all over lightly with salt, then place onto the pre-soaked cedar planks. Using a spatula, spread the prepared herb butter on top of the salmon generously.
Wash the asparagus and cut off the hard ends. Place the asparagus on a flat sheet pan or tray and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and lemon zest.
Head out to the grill! For the Traeger grill, I first smoked the salmon and asparagus for 20 minutes, then turned the temperature up to 'grill', about 425F for another 15 minutes, until the salmon was done. If using a conventional grill, grill the salmon over a low/medium flame at 450F with the lid closed for 20 to 22 minutes, until the edges of the salmon are golden. Grill the asparagus for 10 minutes over a low flame, turning occasionally.
The salmon can be served directly off the plank with a side of asparagus and a few lemon wedges.

Nutrition