Friday, June 25, 2010

Cedar Plank Snapper

This is definitely not one of those meals that required sweat, tears and excessive labour over a hot stove on a hot day. Nope. Not one bit… well, there could have been tears (if things went worse than they did) but I’ll tell you about that later.

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The apple mint mojitos, grilled corn and this snapper come together in less than thirty minutes and seem wonderfully impressive. I guess this meal is here to remind me that I can eat tremendously well, even on the days when I stumble home from the office and my stomach is achingly empty.

The one thing that I apparently need to give a bit more than thirty minutes would be the cedar plank (despite the directions for thirty to sixty minute soak being ok). I soaked that thing for more than an hour. Either I had a ridiculously dry plank or someone decided to play a prank on me but I had one awesome fire! I was going to pretend as though that never happened and had already sworn my mother to culinary secrecy… but it was just too damn amusing!

Just so you get the full picture: Corn was already on the barbeque and I added the planked snapper. Mom and I sat on the swing in the backyard, drinking our mojitos and joking with each other. I see puffs of smoke coming from the barbeque every so often… nothing excessive, no cause for concern. No more than typically see when you use a plank. Then I go to check the fish, it’s been about five minutes and it should be close to done (they were nice, thin fillets). I open the barbeque giving the fire the big breath of fresh air that it needed to launch into plank-consuming flame. Mom and I look at each other and laugh, as I race into the house to get more water… I douse the fire and remove the fish. It survived! The plank, however, was little more than a charred mess. (I should have taken a photo!) I look at Mom and remind her that “this never happened.” We ate and enjoyed the rest of our night.

I hope you’re not judging. :)

Snapper ingredients:
2 fillets of snapper
Sprinkling of paprika
Salt and pepper
Lime zest
Two thin slices of lime per fillet

So, obviously, soak soak soak soak soak your plank. Dress your fish with the sprinkling of paprika, salt, pepper and lime zest. Top with two thin slices of lime.

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Put your fish on your plank and put on the grill of your hot barbeque. Your fish will take around 5-7 minutes to cook, depending on the thickness of the fillet or steak. (While the fish is cooking, you can mix up your seasoned mayo…)

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Remove the plank (and fish) from the grill. Let it rest on the plank for a minute (or if you ended up with flames, remove immediately and pray it doesn’t taste burnt and sad), then it’s all yours.


Lime Paprika Mayo

Ok. On this particular day, I took a bit short-cut and used mayonnaise as my base rather than a proper aioli. I’ll include my cheat recipe here… and will wait until I have photos of my proper aioli to share that recipe. If you are inclined, the aioli is completely worth it… but I was spent and just wanted to expedite the process. Hence, the mayo. (Again… please, no judging. :) )



Ingredients:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
Lime zest
Juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 teaspoon/healthy sprinkling of paprika
Salt and pepper

Stir and serve with the fish.



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13 thought(s):

Chef Dennis Littley said...

that had to have been a little fun too!! who knew the plank would spontaneously combust! But your plate looks wonderful and delicious!

Lawyer Loves Lunch said...

You already know I never judge others for their mishaps, given I've had many of my own. Picturing you and your mom together, chatting, and eating made me miss my own mom :)

Anna said...

It looks divine, I loved the corn/ Apple Mojito combo, yummm

Just Food Snobs said...

Love salmon, love the recipe. Simple and fresh ingredients make this recipe a winner!

kathy gori said...

this looks great..where did you get the plank??

A SPICY PERSPECTIVE said...

No judgment from me! This looks fabulous!

Lisa | Authentic Suburban Gourmet said...

Looks wonderful! I now need to find my cedar planks and make this.

Isabelle said...

Ha... I'm glad I'm not the only one who's nearly torched their BBQ while cooking on a plank. :) I've never tried the technique with anything other than salmon, but your snapper looks fab. I'll have to try this out next time I find some nice snapper at the fish market.

Jean said...

You can replace the plank but you can't replace the good time you had with your mom. :-) The fish looked great, too.

gonna-need-a-bigger-boat said...

I think you should probably invite us over for dinner soon...

wannafoodie said...

@Dennis It really was quite hilarious... nothing says rookie like plank fire but it makes for such a great story.

@LLL The night was spontaneous and wonderful. I cherish those opportunities, as I am sure you have.

@Anna It was such a good meal. I think I have made that corn every single BBQ...

@Just Food Snobs Thanks so much!

@Kathy I bought a pack of six planks at Costco... though I have seen them at my regular grocery store with all of the BBQ accessories. Hopefully my next plank stays a bit more intact. haha!

@Sommer Thanks for not judging! :P

@Lisa I hope you do!

@Isabelle HAHAHA.. glad I'm not alone! It was so ridiculous. Working on that banana coffee cake recipe, btw. Giving it another try or two... I have another idea for it.

@Jean You're so right there.

@Suz Yes, we need to do that soon.

Outdoor Gourmet said...

This looks so yummy! If you'd ever like to write a guest blog for us here at Outdoor Gourmet, hit me up and we'll send you some planks!

http://www.outdoorgourmet.com/

Luiz Claudio Machado said...

Nice recipe and lovely blog. I liked this. So, I'm a new follower. Please, visit my blog, too and know a little the brazilian food.

http://kibe-cozinhandocomamigos.blogspot.com/

Kisses from Btrazil!

Luiz

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