Salmon smoked on a cedar plank with a linguica sausage crust is delicious.
The flavor of the linguica (a piquant Portuguese sausage) is infused with the salmon as it smokes and is subtle and sublime. You wouldn’t think that salmon and sausage go well together. But they do.
It’s an amazing flavor combination. And add the addition of the aroma given off by the cedar plank, and you have a trio of uncompromising flavors. The presentation and taste are elegant, refined, and luxurious, and you will feel pampered and spoiled from your first bite to your last.
WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS OFFSET SMOKER CEDAR PLANKED SALMON
- The best reason to try this smoked cedar planked salmon is – The combination of the three fabulous flavors is remarkable. The salmon, the sausage, and the cedar plank add such individual, unique flavors that, when combined, they create an extraordinary gastronomic experience.
- Fairly economical – This dish (if you could even find it! ) would be very expensive in a restaurant. But it is fairly economical to create at home for a luxurious and elegant dinner. My salmon at my local chain grocery store was $11.99 per pound. We serve a portion size of 8 ounces, so the price per serving is roughly $6.00 per person. Add in the linguica (roughly $1.50) and the cedar plank (roughly $2.00) for a total rough cost of $9.50 per person. That’s pretty economical for such an elegant dish.
- Fun to prep – If you like to play with your food, this will definitely elevate your prepping game. What could be better than placing a marvelous piece of salmon on top of a piece of wood, then covering it in cooked sausage and throwing it on your smoker’s grill grate? Nothing!
- Easy to smoke – Throw it on the grill and smoke away. No moving or flipping. In 1 to 1 ½ hours, it’s ready to eat. No Mess! No Fuss!
INGREDIENTS FOR OFFSET SMOKER CEDAR PLANKED SALMON
- One 8-ounce skin-on salmon filet
- 4 ounces linguica sausage (or your favorite sausage) chopped fine
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- One cedar plank for grilling
DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING OFFSET SMOKER CEDAR PLANKED SALMON
1. Bring your offset smoker to temperature – You will want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the entire smoking process.
2. Prepare the salmon and cedar plank – Bring the salmon to room temperature and pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Place the cedar plank in a dish and cover with water for ½ hour. Your aluminum drip pan is the perfect vessel for this.
3. Cook the sausage and add the bread crumbs – Sautee the sausage, rendering out most of the fat and drain. Add the bread crumbs to the sausage and mix well together.
4. Assemble the salmon –Place the salmon on the cedar plank. Pack the sausage onto the salmon, pressing it down and patting it on to make sure the sausage mixture adheres to the salmon.
5. Place the salmon onto the offset smoker – Place the cedar planked salmon onto your offset smoker grill grate and smoke until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 125 – 130 degrees for medium rare, about 1 to 1 ½ hours, depending on the thickness of your salmon and the intensity of your heat.
6. Remove the salmon from the offset smoker – Let the salmon rest for 10 minutes before serving. One 8-ounce salmon is a perfect portion for one person. Serve the entire dish, cedar plank included, for a unique and compelling presentation.
VARIATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR OFFSET SMOKER CEDAR PLANKED SALMON
Try another variety of sausage – Although this recipe calls for using linguica, which is an already cooked sausage, or any other smoked, cooked, or uncooked sausage of your choice will do just as well. Just remember, the already cooked, smoked, or cured sausage needs to be rendered (removing the fat). But uncooked sausage (like Italian sausage, bratwurst, or chorizo) must be cooked all the way through.
Experiment with the sausage mixture – This recipe is fairly straightforward with just three ingredients. But the sausage and breadcrumb mixture can definitely be spruced up. Be creative and think about what flavors pair well with salmon. Try adding lemon or lime zest, chives, rosemary, dill, oregano, basil, or even Cajun seasoning to the sausage and breadcrumb mixture.
In the oven – OK, the weather is terrible, or you just don’t feel like using your offset smoker today, but you’re craving this dish. What do you do? Simply cook the cedar-planked salmon in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes, and your salmon and sausage on a cedar plank craving will be satisfied. Just be sure to cook the internal temperature of the salmon to roughly 125 – 130 degrees for medium rare.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR OFFSET SMOKER CEDAR PLANKED SALMON
Soaking the cedar plank – Soaking the cedar plank is essential to keep the salmon moist and to avoid burning the plank. Soaking for an hour is ideal, but ½ an hour will do just as well. But here’s a great tip: soak all the cedar planks you have at one time and then freeze the planks you are not using. The next time you cook this recipe, take the cedar plank out of the freezer, and you’re ready to go. No soaking!
Keeping it moist on the smoker – Depending on the variables, such as the thickness of the salmon and the amount of heat and smoke you are producing, you want to make sure that the sausage does not dry out. Brush the sausage with the rendered fat you drained off the sausage or olive oil. Not much is needed, just enough to add a nice glossy shine. Use a spatula – Unlike moving ribs or meat on and off your grill grate with a pair of tongs, it is very cumbersome to use tongs with the cedar plank. The best tool to use is a wide metal spatula to move the cedar plank off the grill and then remove the salmon from the plank. This will help make your life much easier and drop-free (hopefully!).
Sausage Covered Smoked Salmon
Equipment
- 1 Offset smoker
- 1 Cedar Plank
Ingredients
- 8 ounces salmon filet, skin-on
- 4 ounces sausage, linguica or your favorite sausage, chopped fine
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Bring your offset smoker to temperature – You will want to maintain a temperature of roughly 250 degrees throughout the entire smoking process.
- Prepare the salmon and cedar plank – Bring the salmon to room temperature and pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Place the cedar plank in a dish and cover with water for ½ hour. Your aluminum drip pan is the perfect vessel for this.
- Cook the sausage and add the bread crumbs – Sautee the sausage, rendering out most of the fat and drain. Add the bread crumbs to the sausage and mix well together.
- Assemble the salmon –Place the salmon on the cedar plank. Pack the sausage onto the salmon, pressing it down and patting it on to make sure the sausage mixture adheres to the salmon.
- Place the salmon onto the offset smoker – Place the cedar planked salmon onto your offset smoker grill grate and smoke until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 125 – 130 degrees for medium rare, about 1 to 1 ½ hours, depending on the thickness of your salmon and the intensity of your heat.
- Remove the salmon from the offset smoker – Let the salmon rest for 10 minutes before serving. One 8-ounce salmon is a perfect portion for one person. Serve the entire dish, cedar plank included, for a unique and compelling presentation.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
