The salmon is cooked on the plank, but some restaurants also present it
on the plank. I've done it at home, on the outside gas grill (I
wouldn't recommend doing this on a charcoal grill, because the heat is
too intense and the flames are exposed). I've used untreated cedar
planks. I understand that you can also use untreated hickory, alder,
mesquite, maple, cherry, apple, or pecan, instead of cedar. Use a
plank between 1/2 to 1-inch thick, 8 to 10 inches wide and 10 to 12
inches long. Again, I emphasize that you must use untreated wood, not
the stuff that has been treated to resist weather and insects. Whole
Foods usually sells these planks. Here's what I do:

Soak the untreated plank in water for 1 to 4 hours.

Heat the gas grill to medium. (I brush the fish with a Mustard Glaze,
but I think that rubbing it with a good vegetable oil would be
sufficient.)

Place the plank on the grill, close the lid, and heat until the plank
begins to smoke and crackle (approximately 2 minutes for a thinner
plank). Place the salmon, skin side down, on the plank. Close the
lid, and cook until the salmon is cooked through (approx. 12 minutes).

Grawun wrote:
> I went out for dinner recently and ordered planked salmon. The salmon
> came on what looked like a piece of scorched shingle. The salmon was
> pretty good but I didn't understand the "plank"
> is it the way the salmon is prepared? Or just how it is presented?