I have always said that inspiration comes from the strangest places. The Rainbow above was caught last summer over on Lake Michigan. It has been hanging out in the freezer comfortably sealed in a vacuum bag ever since. I kept looking at it thinking I was going to save it for a special occasion and that occasion never came. Then the other day I was over at the Wal-Mart picking up some tomato cages and saw some cedar planks for sale. The next thing you know I am grilling fish on a cedar plank.
I have never grilled anything on a cedar plank before. I have see it done many times but have never done it my self. After a quick read of the package I learned the technique and all I had to do was determine the seasoning I wanted to use. I had picked up some Chinese broccoli at the farmers market earlier this week and was going to toss it with oyster sauce so I figured something Asian inspired was in order.
I didn't have a lot of time so marinating the fish wasn't a possibility but I could brush on some flavor and it should work just fine. I through together a sauce of ginger, garlic, soy sauce and a few other ingredients and brushed it on right before I put the fish on. The grill temp was around 350 and I grilled the fish for 15 minutes brushing on more sauce every five minutes. It was absolutely perfect. I was a little intimidated by the cedar plank technique at first. I had no idea how very simple it could be.
As a side note, I had never had the Chinese broccoli either and was blown away at how good it was. I simply tossed it with olive oil, salt and pepper and then grilled it until it had a nice char and the stalks were just tender. Then I tossed it with a couple tablespoons of oyster sauce. If you have never tried it I would highly recommend it.
Cedar Planked Trout With a Soy Ginger Glaze
2 trout fillets, skin on
2 cedar planks prepared according to the package instructions
salt and pepper
for the glaze
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper the fillets about 15 minutes before you start grilling. Preheat your grill to 350 degrees. Place the fillets on the planks and then put them on the grill. brush the fillets with the glaze and close the lid. Check the fish every 5 minutes and brush on more glaze. The fish is done when it easily pulls away from the skin. This was some of the best trout I have ever had, give it a try.
