Hey barbecue fans! If you're in Vancouver next Sunday, August 25th, don't miss the Pink Salmon Festival -- Noon to 5.00 p.m. at Haddon Park. I'll be joining Chefs Rob Clark and Garrett Schack to cook up a few thousand pounds of fresh wild BC pink salmon for the public. Get a fantastic plate full of great, sustainable seafood, pay what you can by donation. Find out more here. Hope to see you there!
I'm celebrating salmon this week with two of my favourite recipes, one that I came up with and one from Rob Clark, adapted for the grill. I encourage you to try pink salmon, but any wild pacific salmon will do!
Cedar-planked Salmon with Whiskey-maple Glaze
Makes 6–8 servings
This has become one of my signature recipes. I’ve cooked it scores of times over the past few years, my team has won awards with it, and I often get the comment, “This is the best salmon I’ve ever eaten.” The sweet, woody flavor of the Jack Daniel’s and maple syrup complements the richness of the salmon and the aroma of the cedar in this West Coast dish. I like to present it on the plank and then serve it on a bed of field greens tossed with some French walnut oil, kosher salt, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
 
1 cedar cooking plank, soaked overnight or at least 1 hour
1/2 cup | 125 mL Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
1 cup | 250 mL real maple syrup
1 tsp | 5 mL crushed dried red chile flakes
1 Tbsp | 15 mL butter at room temperature
1 whole, boned fillet wild Pacific salmon
(about 3 lb  | 1.5 kg), skin on
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp | 5 mL granulated onion (or onion powder
if you can’t find granules)
2 lemons, halved
parsley sprigs for garnish
1 Tbsp | 15 mL finely chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
Make the sauce by combining the whiskey and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a low boil and reduce it by about half, until you have a thick syrup that coats the back of a spoon. Add the chiles and butter and stir the sauce until it’s just combined. Set it aside and keep it warm on the stovetop.
            Season the skinless side of the salmon with salt, pepper, and granulated onion. Let the salmon sit for 10–15 minutes at room temperature, until the rub is moistened.
            While the salmon is sitting, preheat the grill on medium-high for 5–10 minutes, or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°F | 260°C. Rinse the soaked plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4–5 minutes, or until it starts to throw off a bit of smoke and crackles lightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Season the plank with kosher salt and place the salmon, skin-side-down, on the plank.
            Cover the grill and cook the salmon for 15–20 minutes, or until the fish has an internal temperature of 135°F | 57°C. Check it periodically to make sure the plank doesn’t catch fire, and spray the burning edges with water if it does, making sure to close the lid afterwards.
            When the salmon is done, squeeze half a lemon along its length and carefully transfer it, plank and all, to a platter. Garnish it with parsley sprigs and the remaining lemon cut into slices. Drizzle a spoonful of the sauce over each portion as you serve it, and sprinkle it with a little chopped parsley.
Wild BC Salmon with Homemade Tartar Sauce and Tomato Salad Makes 4 servings Rob Clark is the best seafood chef in Vancouver, and that’s saying something. This is his recipe, adapted for the grill. It’s a sophisticated version of a salmon grilling technique I learned many years ago that’s as easy as pie and as delicious as it gets. The concept is to slather a side of salmon with mayo, put it on a hot grill, skin side down, and cook it until the salmon is done and the mayo has sort of set, like a savory pudding, on the fish. Pair this salmon with some BC Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc. For the tartar sauce: 1 cup | 250 mL mayonnaise 2 tsp | 1