I used to do this a lot about 15 to 20 years ago, and congrats on a successful cook!
The issue I had was that you end up tossing the cedar planks after one use. And its not like you can be sure the planks are clean to begin with - you don't want soap in the wood by washing it. And with fish, you never get the fish side of the plank hot enough to be sure it is sanitized. I had given up on it and just grilled the fish on the cooking grate of my Weber or on Grillgrates even before reading this article:
Yeah - things like this seem to go around in cycles. My mother in law (83) is fond of getting my wife stirred up over using foil, then its over using plastic wrap, and then its don't have sugar, then don't have artificial sweetener - now they are both using honey instead, haha. I can't keep up with those two and the rumors they follow.
On the subject of aluminum - Grillgrates have a hard anodizing layer on the surface which should prevent any leaching of aluminum into food. That layer cannot be easily scratched or scraped off either. My grandmother cooked for 5-6 decades using an old set of aluminum cookware and never showed any sign of mental decline, and I had that cookware myself for many years after she passed. Considering over 60% of cookware sold is aluminum, I am not sure its a valid safety concern with quality cookware, which will be either anodized or hard anodized. Plus scientists have pretty much debunked the link between aluminum (the 3rd most abundant element on earth) and Alzheimers. Go to the Alzheimer's Association website and read "Myth #4":
Nice fish Attjack. I have cooked Steelhead, King and Silver all on one cook. All fresh from the ocean or costal river. The Steelhead was the best. Its a toss up the king or Silver. I like Silver. I also like the pinks. And they are just about to start running near me.
barelfly It was fresh from Fort Bragg. I also cooked a Steelhead and to my surprise, I thought the Steelhead stole the show. Most of the accolades about the meal however were about the kale salad and then the fish.
Kingrex Like I said, I used to do it myself. I suppose it would be sterile enough if you toast the plank before putting the fish on it. I was just steering you to Meathead 's article on planking. I was just pointing out the article on planking in case you had not read it, in interests of education for all - after all, we all come here to learn, don't we?
On the subject of aluminum - Grillgrates have a hard anodizing layer on the surface which should prevent any leaching of aluminum into food. That layer cannot be easily scratched or scraped off either. My grandmother cooked for 5-6 decades using an old set of aluminum cookware and never showed any sign of mental decline, and I had that cookware myself for many years after she passed. Considering over 60% of cookware sold is aluminum, I am not sure its a valid safety concern with quality cookware, which will be either anodized or hard anodized. Plus scientists have pretty much debunked the link between aluminum (the 3rd most abundant element on earth) and Alzheimers. Go to the Alzheimer's Association website and read "Myth #4":
Why would it not be sterile? I toasted the side the fish sits on. I'm eating the fish immediately and it's cooked through.
If I wanted to start picking apart techniques, what about the GrillGrates being made of aluminum. Everyone with Alzheimer has elevated aluminum in their blood. Not everyone with elevated aluminum gets Alzheimer. But it gives me pause to cook on it.
FYI, all, that's a picture from Tillicum Village, a rather touristy place that does this and other things that are allegedly in the traditional Native American Salish style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillicum_Village
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