Cedar Plank Salmon with Mango Salsa is a simple salmon dish, elevated by a sweet and spicy rub and the subtle smoky flavor from a cedar plank. Topped with a fresh and bright mango salsa, this salmon is perfect for a warm summer night.
Cedar Plank Salmon
Cooking salmon on a cedar plank is a great way to get a subtle cedar smoked flavor into your fish without overpowering it with smoke. By planking your fish, it also helps it cook evenly on the grill, which can result in a more tender and moist finished result. It is one of my favorite salmon grilling method by far.
This recipe is pretty simple, it just calls for a little thinking ahead. If you can do the prep in the morning by rubbing the salmon and soaking your cedar planks, by the time you get home you’re set for a super quick and easy weeknight dinner. You can grab cedar planks at most grocery stores or online HERE.
Cedar Plank Salmon Seasoning
The salmon rub is maybe (bold statement here) one of the best recipes that has ever come out of my brain. It’s this amazing blend of sweet and spicy with a smoky kick from the paprika, earthy notes from the basil, and a kiss of brightness from the lime zest. Basically, it is rub magic that is unbelievable on salmon. Topped with the ripe mangoes, roasted red peppers, and cilantro it is food nirvana.
To verify my claims of true food awesomeness, my 8 year old daughter told me that this salmon is her favorite food out of anything I’ve ever made and she would pick this as her birthday meal. I would have probably picked cheese pizza as an 8 year old, so I’m feeling pretty good about myself as a mother right now. Ha!
Cedar Planked Salmon on the Grill
Cedar planked, rubbed, salsa’d is all well and good, but I can’t leave out the extra layer of flavor I get from cooking this fish on my Camp Chef Smoke Pro LUX pellet grill. I’ve been cooking on this grill for several months now and it has become my most used grill (I currently have 7). When grilling on a pellet grill at higher temps like in this recipe, you’re not going to get that pronounced smoky flavor, you’re just going to get this amazing subtle hint of wood smoke that is accented by the cedar planks.
Cedar Plank Salmon Recipe
Cedar Plank Salmon with Mango Salsa
Video
Ingredients
- 1 medium salmon filet (skin on (14-16 oz))
- Cedar plank
- Extra limes (for garnish)
For the Rub:
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- zest of 1 lime (reserve the lime for later use)
For the Salsa:
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 large ripe mango (skinned, pitted, and diced)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves (roughly chopped)
- juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Place the salmon skin side down on a large piece of plastic wrap. Combine all of the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and press onto the top of the salmon. Wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- 2 hours before grilling, place your cedar plank in a sink full of warm water. This will assist in adding flavor from the plank to the salmon without the wood burning on your grill.
- When ready to cook, start your grill and preheat to medium high (about 375 degrees). While your grill preheats, prepare your salmon.
- Remove the saran wrap and discard, place the salmon skin side down on the cedar plank. Drizzle the bell pepper with olive oil. Place the cedar plank with the salmon on the grill grate and cook for 20-25 minutes. While the salmon is cooking, prepare your salsa.
- Place the bell pepper directly on the grate closest to your flame. The bell pepper will cook for 5-6 minutes, turning it every 2 minutes, until the exterior skin is blistered. Remove the bell pepper from the grill and put it in a zip top plastic bag. Seal most of the top of the bag and let the pepper steam in the bag for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pepper from the bag and peel off the skin, take out the core, seeds, and stem and dice the roasted bell pepper.
- In a small bowl combine the mango, bell pepper, cilantro, and lime juice. Set aside until the salmon is finished.
- The salmon is done on the grill when it flakes easily with a fork and is opaque throughout. Transfer the cedar planked salmon to a large serving dish and spoon the mango salsa directly on top. Serve with additional limes as garnish.
Hi there! Can I do cook this in the oven instead?
You can bake the salmon in the oven, but skip the cedar planks. Just bake st 350 degrees F in an oven safe pan until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.
Thank you! 🙂 will be trying this out tonight.
You’re welcome! I hope you like it as much as we do.
When using a cedar plank on a gas grill would you put the planks directly above the flames or put them on the indirect Zone/area? Thank you.
They should be soaked in water before cooking with them and then you are good to cook directly.
Do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
It won’t overpower if I cook this on a plank and in a Traeger? What flavor of pellets do you recommend? Thank you.
That will work fine! I like to stick to mild woods for fish like fruit woods, almond, alder etc.