How to Make a Plank
Cooking with wooden planks is an ideal way to add flavor to fish and chicken. Salmon cooked on cedar planks is one of the most common techniques used, but there are more types of woods that can be used and you can cook in either the oven or outside on a grill. The avid cook may want to make his own planks and have a variety on hand.
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Instructions
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Determine what type of wood planks you would like. Among the most common woods used are alder, apple, cedar, cherry, hickory, maple, pecan and oak. Many feel that cedar and alder impart the best flavor to fish and chicken, while oak is more suited to robust red meats.
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Call local lumber yards and check on the availability of the wood type(s) you have selected. Specify you are looking for untreated lumber. This is important; you don't want to cook with any lumber that has been treated with chemicals.
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Purchase the wood in 1 inch thickness, in widths of 10 to 12 inches if possible, and in 6 to 8 foot lengths, depending on availability.
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Cut the wood to size for planks that suit your needs. Wider and longer planks will allow you to cook more meat at once. You can get more planks from one piece of wood if you cook in smaller quantities and can use smaller planks. An average plank may be about 8 to 10 inches wide and 18 inches long.
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Sand the planks to remove splinters from the wood surface.
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Wash the plank with mild soap and water, rub a coating of olive oil in to the wood and you are finished.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.productsofcanada.com/vendors/muskokagrill/images/cedar_plank_campfire.jpg
