This restaurant-worthy Cedar Plank Salmon recipe is on your table in less than 30 minutes! The salmon is cooked on a plank of cedar, on the grill (or in the oven) enhancing it with incredible flavor, and glazed with some brown sugar and dijon.
Do you love seafood recipes? Try this Hot Honey Salmon Bowl, Easy Homemade Crab Cakes, Seafood Pasta, or Shrimp and Grits.
Cedar Plank Salmon will make you look like a professional Chef
Cedar Plank Salmon will make you look like a professional Chef I totally get that this cedar plank salmon recipe looks and sounds super fancy, but it’s that “wow” worthy, back-pocket meal everyone needs. It takes minimal effort and brain power but is restaurant quality (without the price tag). It’s perfect for anniversaries, birthdays, guests in town, or just when you’re feeling a little extra fancy.
What I love most about this meal is how quick it is. After you soak your cedar boards, this is a recipe that will be ready in under 30 minutes! We serve it with a wedge salad, mashed potatoes, and balsamic roasted carrots.
How to cook Cedar Plank Salmon:
Soak Cedar Planks in water for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours, prior to grilling. (This is an easy step to do the night before, or morning of).
Make Glaze: Stir the brown sugar and Dijon mustard together until smooth. Season salmon with salt and pepper.
Prep Grill: Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Once hot, set the grill for indirect grilling (so the cedar planks don’t catch fire). For a two-burner grill, turn one burner off and place cedar planks on the unlit side. For three or four burner grill, turn off the middle burner(s) and place cedar planks in the center.
Add cedar planks: Place pre-soaked cedar planks on the hot grate, over indirect heat, and close the lid. Leave the plank until there is a smoky smell, about 4-5 minutes.
Rotate planks and place salmon, skin side down, on top. Spread a spoonful of mustard mixture on top of each filet and add a thin slice of lemon, if desired. Close grill lid.
Cook salmon on the cedar planks for about 15 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness), or until cooked through (125 degrees F to 140 degrees; medium rare/medium well). Remove and cover with foil about 5 degrees shy of desired temperature, as it will continue to a cook as it rests on the hot cedar plank. Be careful not to overcook it.
Cedar Plank Salmon: FAQ’s
You can buy cedar planks at most grocery stores, kitchen supply stores, or on Amazon. They are an affordable and non threatening solution to achieving wood smoked flavor without fancy equipment.
I don’t recommend reusing the cedar planks as they absorb the flavor of whatever you cook on them and often get charred and difficult to clean.
Salmon is cooked perfectly when the salmon is flaky on the outside and has a soft and moist center, 125 degrees F (medium rare) to 140 degrees F maximum. Remove it a few degrees shy of desired temperature, cover and allow to rest. Keep in mind it will continue to a cook a little as it rests on the hot cedar plank.
Yes, you can cook cedar plank salmon in the oven as well, but you wont achieve as strong of a flavor as you’d get from the grill. Cook salmon on cedar planks in a 375 degrees F oven, for about 15-25 minutes (depending on thickness) or until 125-135 degrees F. Remove it a few degrees shy of desired temperature, cover and allow to rest.
Serve with:
- Rice Pilaf
- Mashed Potatoes
- Twice Baked Potatoes
- Wedge Salad
- Balsamic Roasted Carrots
- French Green Beans
- Artisan No Knead Bread
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Recipe
Cedar Plank Salmon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 or 2 cedar planks*
- 4 salmon fillets , about 4oz each
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 lemon , thinly sliced
Instructions
- Soak cedar planks in water for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours, prior to grilling. Remove salmon from fridge 30 minutes before grilling.
- Make Glaze: Stir brown sugar and Dijon mustard together until smooth. Season salmon with salt and pepper.
- Prep Grill: Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Once hot, set the grill for indirect grilling (so the cedar planks don't catch fire). For a two-burner grill, turn one burner off and place cedar planks on the unlit side. For three or four burner grill, turn off the middle burner(s) and place cedar planks in the center.
- Add cedar planks: Place pre-soaked cedar planks on the hot grate, over indirect heat, and close the lid. Leave the plank until there is a smoky smell, about 4-5 minutes.
- Rotate planks and place salmon, skin side down, on top. Spread a spoonful of mustard mixture on top of each filet and add a thin slice of lemon, if desired. Close grill lid.
- Cook salmon on the cedar planks for about 15 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness), or until cooked through (125 degrees F to 140 degrees; medium rare/medium well). Remove and cover with foil about 5 degrees shy of desired temperature, as it will continue to a cook as it rests on the hot cedar plank. Be careful not to overcook it.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe June 2018 . Updated May 2020 and May 2024.
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Didn’t this recipe use to only have 3 TBS of mustard? I’ve made it that way for years and can’t imagine it with 1/3 cup of mustard.
Is there another fish this would work with?
Thank you for your help and your get blog
Hi, I was just wondering if this would still be just as good if I didn’t use the cedar planks. Since I shouldn’t reuse the planks, I don’t have the funds to simply buy something I’m going to throw away. How would I cook these without the planks? On the grill? In the oven? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, Sarah
For sure. You could cook them on the grill in a foil packet, or in the oven on a baking sheet.
You write concerning oven cooking, “You wont achieve the same smoky flavor you get from the grill”.
I might disagree. One could obtain the grilled effect in an oven by first broiling the soaked plank until it achieves a smoky smell. What do you think?
Can you cook this on an open firepit?
This salmon was luscious. My husband thought it would be too mustardy, but it wasn’t. He does not want me to lose this recipe. I baked mine in the oven. I put aluminum foil under the plank because it wasn’t wide enough to keep the sauce from dripping over the plank. A plus was the house didn’t smell like fish? Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight. This is one of the easiest and best salmon recipes ever!! It is really important to not overcook it. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!
Your recipe and direction were on point! I prepared in the oven. I will make again.
If you freeze the plank, do you put it in the oven frozen? Or does it need to thaw first. I’ve never tried old Bay seasoning on salmon, and now I, wondering why!!! I’m for sure going to use it next time!! Thanks!
Thaw it frist 🙂
This is Uh-Mazing! I had never heard of using a cedar plank to cook salmon before coming across this recipe. We were planning on making salmon over the weekend anyway so we got the cedar planks and decided to give it a try. It was delicious!! The planks added such a great flavor and we loved the mustard sauce. This just upped our salmon game, thank you!