Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

Living in a small town hundred miles away from the ocean, it's quite difficult to find fresh seafood in our local grocery stores.  As a seafood lover family, this is one of our biggest challenges trying to compromise the scarcity of them in our diet knowing we can only eat them in rare occasions, unfortunately.   So, whenever we go to a bigger cities where possible good seafood offered, we take the opportunity of bringing our big old cooler hoping to "hunt" or I should say "fish" them at any Wholefoods store.
Whenever we cook seafood like "wild-caught" (we prefer the wild side), we want to make sure we cook it to the best recipe possible to enjoy them to the fullest.  When it comes to salmon, oftentimes we grill them on cedar wood or cedar paper (featured on this recipe), whichever available.  Salmon has a creamy, mild and soft flavor.  So, you don't need to infuse a lot of spices into it.  A simple recipe will do to avoid overpowering the natural delicate flavor of the fish, then grill or bake them to perfection, this is how we typically treat salmons.  To enhance its natural flavor we would recommend using a cedar wood or cedar paper while grilling.   It adds a wonderful smoky taste to it!  I usually paired it with seasoned couscous and a steamed veggies on the side.  It's such a perfect combination that they complement each other exquisitely.  Once you've tried grilling salmon over cedar wood or paper, you would no longer want to go back to your basic grilling procedure, promise!  We're sharing you a very simple recipe with big flavor.  Sometimes the simplest things are the best things....bon appetit!

Ingredients:

3-4 8oz.  salmon fillets (cedar papers) or 1-2 pounds salmon fillet (cedar plank)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
 salt and pepper to your taste
1 untreated cedar plank or
cedar papers (with cotton strings)


Soak cedar paper for at least 10 minutes.  Preheat grill for medium high.
Brush salmon fillets with olive oil.  Drizzle lemon juice and zest.  Sprinkle italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
Remove cedar paper from water, place salmon fillet in the center of paper parallel to grain of wood.  Fold paper's edges towards each other until they overlap and tie with the cotton string.  Place wrapped salmon on grill grates, close lid and cook for 4-5 minutes per side until food is done to your liking.
Serve cedar wrapped fish straight on to your plate, unwrap and enjoy the fruit of your labor!

When using cedar wood:

Soak the wood in the water for at least 30  minutes.  Place the fish in the center of soaked wood and drizzle seasonings.  Place plank at the center of the grill.  Cover grill and cook salmon for about 30 to 40 minutes. To check for doneness cut through salmon in the thickest part.  The salmon should appear dull, pink and flake easily.