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Blackstone Griddle Cedar Plank Salmon
Salmon is a delicate fish that many people put on a cedar plank to help it hold together on a grill or a griddle.
The cedar plank helps hold the filet together, which is especially important for farm-raised salmon, without the skin attached to the filet. The cedar prevents burning, while also imparting some pleasant aroma.
Though you do need to use the right type of cedar plank and soak it in water for at least an hour before using it to cook salmon on your Blackstone griddle.
Covering the filets will also help them cook evenly to a perfect internal temperature of 145-degrees.
How Do You Cook Salmon on a Blackstone Griddle?
When cooking salmon on a Blackstone griddle, you need to make sure you are using food-safe cedar, like you find in the grilling section, and not cedar lumber, which has been chemically treated.
You then need to soak the cedar plank in water for at least an hour, preferably 4 hours, to keep it from burning.
Preheat your Blackstone griddle on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes before laying the cedar planks on the griddle top. Give the cedar 3 to 5 minutes to preheat, before lightly wetting them and laying the salmon filets down.
Seasoning them with salt and pepper and a little squeeze of lemon will bring out the natural flavors of the salmon.
Though you could just as easily add other seasonings, like Cajun seasoning, or even traditional dill to customize the flavor profile of the fish.
Once they are on the plank and properly seasoned, you should cover them by either closing the hood on your Blackstone griddle, or placing a stainless steel mixing bowl over the top.
This will help trap the heat and moisture to help cook the meat evenly for a uniform temperature.
Little white bubbles of albumin forming on the surface are a sign that the heat is too high. You should turn down the burner elements a little and leave the hood open for a few minutes to reduce overheating.
After 5 minutes check the temperature in the deepest part of the salmon filet with an instant-read probe thermometer.
Keep checking every 5 minutes, until the thickest part of the salmon filet is around 130-degrees. Then check every two minutes until it reaches 140.
Once the thickest part of the filet reaches 140-degrees, you should remove the cedar planks from the Blackstone griddle and tent them with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Thermal carryover should take them up to a perfect internal temperature of 145-degrees.
Should You Be Cooking Salmon on a Blackstone Griddle?
The versatility of a Blackstone griddle makes it a great way to cook salmon on a cedar plank. You just have to be mindful to cover it and keep the heat medium-low and cover the salmon filets to help lock in the moisture, while helping the filet to cook evenly.
How Long Do You Cook Salmon on a Blackstone Griddle?
A Blackstone griddle on medium heat should be able to cook a typical farm-raised salmon filet in around 10 to 15 minutes on a cedar plank.
Though the thickness of the filet will affect the cooking time. Whether or not you dome the filets or close the hood on the griddle can also affect the time it takes to thoroughly cook the thickest part of the salmon filet to an internal temperature of 145 degrees.
What Temperature Do You Cook Salmon on a Griddle?
You want the temperature of the Blackstone griddle top to be around 300 degrees when cooking salmon on a cedar plank.
You can then dome it to hold in moisture and ensure even heating. If you notice little white foamy spots on the surface of the filet, it is heating too fast and you need to turn the temperature of the underlying burner down by at least 25% or more.
You can use an infrared thermometer to tell you how hot your Blackstone griddle is.
If you don’t have one, you can hold your hand about 8 inches over the griddle top, 300 to 350-degrees should start to sting your hand within 5 to 7 seconds.
When Is the Salmon Finished Cooking on a Griddle?
You want to cook the internal temperature of a salmon filet to 145 degrees.
This means removing it from the Blackstone griddle when the internal temperature reaches 140-degrees and tenting it under heavy-duty aluminum foil. Thermal carryover will bring the internal temperature up to 145.
Final Thoughts
The versatility of a Blackstone griddle makes it a great option for cooking salmon filets on a cedar plank.
Just make sure to use untreated planks from the grill section and not lumber.
Then soak the planks in water for at least an hour to keep them from drying out and burning.
With the griddle top preheated to around 300 degrees, you can lay the salmon filets and season them how you like.
Covered by a stainless steel bowl or the hood closed, the salmon on the cedar planks should be cooked through to an internal temperature of 140-degrees in 10 to 15 minutes.
Then remove the planks from the heat and tent them under heavy-duty aluminum foil for five minutes to let the rest and carry over to a perfect 145-degrees.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.