Nice woot for the BBQ

NotaSuv

TrueFire Gourmet Cedar Grilling Plank – 12 Pack

$12.99
+ $5 shipping

Great price for the cedar planks..have bought them before on woot..ordered another 24 today...

Cassidy

forgive my ignorance but...are these planks reusable?

billbillw

Personally, I only like these for salmon and other oily fish.

Jstas

If you soak them in a bucket of water before you throw them on the fire like you're supposed to, they won't burn up.

And by soaking I mean they need to sit in the water for hours. I typically let them sit overnight. Afterall, wood insulates. Its the water boiling off that transfers the heat to the food.

Then again, I don't really like using the planks. They give off oils and other chemicals that are actually quite toxic. Fattier fish, like salmon, can leech more of those chemicals out. I don't think they impart that much flavor either. But hey, to each his own.

Then again, charcoal is supposedly not that much better.

danger boy

like Jstas... i soak mine overnight.. i get the larger thicker heavier cuts of cedar wood that I can find at the store.

do not use any planks that have been treated with any chemicals.. that's a very bad thing. use non treated only.

i put a small layer of peanut oil on the outside of the fish to be cooked.. keeps it from sticking to the cedar plank, and peanut oil has a higher burn point to it.

Fish cooked on those planks tastes great because the wood gets charred a little underneath and the smoke goes into the fish.. just enough to give it a woodsy flavor.

keep a water bottle sprayer handy in case the plank catches fire.. if it catches fire it could ruin dinner.

Jstas

danger boy wrote: »

like Jstas... i soak mine overnight.. i get the larger thicker heavier cuts of cedar wood that I can find at the store.

do not use any planks that have been treated with any chemicals.. that's a very bad thing. use non treated only.

i put a small layer of peanut oil on the outside of the fish to be cooked.. keeps it from sticking to the cedar plank, and peanut oil has a higher burn point to it.

Fish cooked on those planks tastes great because the wood gets charred a little underneath and the smoke goes into the fish.. just enough to give it a woodsy flavor.

keep a water bottle sprayer handy in case the plank catches fire.. if it catches fire it could ruin dinner.

The planks aren't treated. The wood has natural resins and chemicals in them that the heat from the fire can force out. When burned, they are oxidized and not very harmful but unburned and heated, they can be quite toxic.

What Kind of Cedar Planks Should You Use?
Cedar plank cooking is always done on Western Red Cedar boards. Eastern cedar is not safe to cook on, it can contain toxic resins! The planks used are generally thin, only about a half a centimeter in thickness, and are usually about 12 by 6 inches in size. The exact size or thickness is not important as long as it fits the food you plan to cook completely on top of the plank. While you can theoretically use any Western cedar you find, you want to be completely sure that your source is pure without any type of treatment or added chemicals. Some cedar sold at hardware or lumber suppliers has been treated and is thus not suitable for cooking. Your best bet is to buy cedar planks which have been sold specifically for the purpose of cedar plank cooking. These can be found at most places that grilling supplies and equipment are sold and in many specialty grocery stores. You can even find other wood types that can be used in a similar way but impart different flavors like apple wood, pecan and others.

http://www.firepit-and-grilling-guru.com/cedar-plank-cooking.html


Tannin:

Q: What is tannin? Do I have to worry about it?

A: Tannin is a natural extractive of Cedar, Redwood and most other dark woods. It migrates to the surface of the wood when water is present and leaves an ink-like, coffee colored stain or overall darkness on the wood after the water evaporates. Tannin bleeding is unsightly, but not damaging to wood or any coating on the surface. It can be removed with WOLMAN Cedar & Redwood Deck & Fence Brightener or All Exterior Wood Deck & Fence Brightener.

DEFINITION: Tannin (or Extractive) Bleeding: Redwood, Cedar and Douglas Fir are examples of wood species that contain naturally occurring, water soluble chemicals that tend to migrate to the surface with exposure to extracting agents such as water. After rain or heavy dew, coffee or tea-colored stains may appear on the wood surface. If the wood is coated, discoloration of the coating may occur when tannin extractives are dissolved into the coating solution by water, reach the surface and remain as dark, coffee-brown stains after the water evaporates. This reddish-brown bleeding is unsightly, but not damaging to the coating.

http://www.wolman.com/faqs.asp?faq_id=29


The thing about these chemicals is that they are water soluble. That's why you get "cedar lakes" with brown water that looks like dark rum and tastes like cedar. The thing that sucks about that is that they are soluble when you are soaking the planks as well. Western Red Cedar doesn't have as many of these tannins and resins in it as other species of cedar but it still does have them. The amounts are usually not large enough to be harmful but if you use them all the time, well, yeah, all things in moderation. But they can make you sick so, be warned.


Oh and for smoke points of oil, a charcoal grill can get very hot. Propane allows you to moderate the temperature better so a peanut oil will be good. But if you do oil the planks on a charcoal grill and the oil still smokes switch to a soybean oil or a safflower oil. They smoke around 500 degrees. Olive oil gets pretty high too, close to 500 degrees.

Here's a handy dandy cheat sheet!

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/collectedinfo/oilsmokepoints.htm

Cassidy

Thanks for the discussion gents. I think I'll track down some of these planks, soak one sufficiently in water, apply a little peanut oil to a salmon filet, and grill it on my gas grill. I guess there's no need to flip the fish, just let it cook on the wood? Which brings up another question, some of the salmon fillets have skin, put the skin side down?

mmm...I'm getting thirsty for a nice chardonnay.

ledhed

I picked these up last night to try them - looking forward to it.

NotaSuv

Cassidy wrote: »

Thanks for the discussion gents. I think I'll track down some of these planks, soak one sufficiently in water, apply a little peanut oil to a salmon filet, and grill it on my gas grill. I guess there's no need to flip the fish, just let it cook on the wood? Which brings up another question, some of the salmon fillets have skin, put the skin side down?

mmm...I'm getting thirsty for a nice chardonnay.

skin side down works best and you do not have to flip it just cook on the one side

NotaSuv

Lasareath wrote: »

no, they burn up and get holes in them

I bought a pack from costco that were cheaper

wow great prices in the NJ Costcos then as here they are much more for less planks


http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11519764&search=cedar&Mo=11&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=cedar&Ntt=cedar&No=6&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

Jstas

NotaSuv wrote: »

wow great prices in the NJ Costcos then as here they are much more for less planks


http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11519764&search=cedar&Mo=11&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=cedar&Ntt=cedar&No=6&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

Those don't say woot! on them.