Great Grilling With Wood
We all know summer as the season of the barbecue. Flame-cooked foods have that signature summer flavor, and grilling outdoors is the perfect seasonal meal solution. But sometimes, you might want to add a dash of the unexpected to your old grilled standbys. When you want to give your grilled dishes a little extra flair, try plank grilling. This age-old method adds a woodsy, smoky flavor to your recipes, and it’s a unique and easy way to try something new.
It’s simpler than you think to try plank grilling. Just visit your hardware store or lumberyard and purchase a wood plank no more than one inch thick. You will need to make sure your wood plank is long and wide enough to fit on your grill and hold the food you want to cook. You can also find grilling planks online or at specialty food stores, or look for cedar planks in the Seafood department of your local Big Y. It’s extremely important to purchase clean, untreated wood to ensure there are no chemicals that could possibly contaminate your food. Almost any wood will work, although it’s best to go with a hardwood like cedar, hickory or maple — they will hold heat from the grill better and impart more flavor to your food.
Before grilling, soak the plank in water for a minimum of four hours (but up to overnight), keeping the wood totally immersed (weigh it down with cans of food, if necessary). This will help keep the wood from completely charring when it’s placed over the coals, but still allow it to smolder a little bit — that’s what will give your plank-grilled foods their distinctive, smoky flavor. Just before grilling, remove the plank from the water and lightly coat the side where you’ll put the food with cooking oil to help keep the food from sticking to the plank. Then just put your food on the plank, season as desired and place on the grill. Keep a spray bottle of water on hand to quell any flare-ups. You want the plank to be smoldering, not flaming. When you’re finished, transfer the food from the plank to a serving platter, shut off the grill and allow the plank to cool completely before removing it from the grill. (If you’re using a charcoal grill, you can simply let the plank burn out on the grill and clean the ashes out later.) Be sure to use each plank only once!
Plank grilling can be used for virtually any type of food — fish, poultry, vegetables, even roasts. In fact, it’s an excellent choice for delicate items like fish fillets, because there’s no turning required. However, items that benefit from quick, hot cooking, such as steaks, aren’t the best choices for plank grilling — they won’t be on the plank long enough to get infused with the smoky flavor. One thing to consider: Since grilling on a plank uses indirect heat, it will take a bit longer than regular grilling methods, so plan on factoring in additional cooking time.
Give Our Delicious Recipes a Try and Sample Plank Grilling for Yourself.
Visit Big Y’s neighborhood Butcher Shop for a wide selection of the finest meats and poultry, including Hormel® Always Tender Pork® and all-natural Smart Chicken®.
Maple Plank Grilled Pork Chops
Cherry Plank Grilled Vegetables
Making The Right Choice
The wood you choose for your grilling plank will have a big effect on the flavor of your finished dish. There are plenty of choices:
Cedar
Possibly the most popular option for plank grilling, due in no small part to its great versatility. It’s also the easiest to find. Cedar will impart a subtle, smoky flavor and aroma to foods. It works equally well with meat, poultry, fish or vegetables.
Mesquite
You’ve no doubt sampled mesquite flavor, especially in Southwestern-style dishes. Mesquite wood will give a bold, smoky taste to beef or chicken.
Cherry
Equally tasty when used with any type of meat, cherry will add a sweet, fruity flavor to your grilled dishes.
Hickory
Hickory’s bold, rich flavor is best showcased when used with pork chops or ribs.
Oak
A favorite because of its clean, crisp flavor, oak is equally suited for cooking poultry or meat.
Alder
This Pacific Northwest wood’s clean taste makes it a good choice for seafood, chicken or pork.
Maple
The subtle, sweet flavor of maple works well with pork and poultry.
Look for cedar grilling planks at Big Y —now available in the Seafood department!
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