Cedar Plank Grilled Rainbow Trout

fresh Rainbows on cedar, ready to grill 

It's trout season! I caught these from my kayak while trolling with a lure. Trolling is a great way to get exercise and enjoy nature while you catch dinner. These are recently stocked Rainbows; notice they are roughly the same size. Stocked and farm-raised fish don't have a natural diet, so their flavor is bland in comparison to native and wild-caught. This can be easily fixed with a cedar plank and a grill.

Use an untreated plank. Submerge the wood in water for at least 30 minutes (I did 2 hours) before grilling. This adds to the prep time, but is a very important step. It prevents the wood from burning and also keeps the fish incredibly moist. Light only one side of your grill, and cook them over the unlit side for about 15 minutes. As the cedar slowly dries, the humidity stays high in the covered grill (think sauna). For the last 5 minutes, move the plank over to the direct flame to brown the fish. The plank will smoke a bit, and may get a bit charred on the underside, but can be reused over and over.

I hadn't cooked anything on a plank before, so I followed the recipe below fairly closely:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rainbow-trout-roasted-on-a-cedar-plank-recipe.html
I blended paprika and chili powder for both tangy and smoky flavors and used fresh parsley and sage where the recipe called for "herbes de Provence."

Cedar plank trout reminds me that gourmet food really can be simple. My sister-in-law joined us for dinner and described the flavor as "over the top."  I have to agree. "Sauna trout" is amazing!