Good morning folks!
The inspiration for today’s post, Cedar Wrapped Salmon, came from a shopping trip Michelle took with her mother Joan. They wanted to shop at one of those all natural grocery places and Michelle saw these cedar “paper” wraps and figured I would want to see them….what a great wife I have, she brings me all sorts of cool things to cook with :)…..I digress. What she found was something called Fire and Flavor Cedar Grilling Papers, and I have to say they work really well. I like to grill salmon on a cedar plank. The flavor it gives the fish is really smooth and just seems to make the meal a little bit more special. These “papers” do the same thing and are very easy to use.
What these “papers” are is very thin sliced cedar, about 1/16″ thick and 6″ x 71/4″ wide and long. To use them, you first soak them in water for about 10 minutes. Once that is done, you place the salmon or what ever entree you want wrapped in them in the center of the “paper” and wrap it up, use the included piece of kitchen twine to tie the wrap securely, and place it on what ever you want to cook it on. The cedar will brown/burn and impart the aromas into your dish. You just have to unwrap it, and serve it, simple. They are flexible and will fold around what you are going to cook, all you have to do is make sure the portion is the correct size to fit the sheet. That’s about it. Oh I forgot, I was going to cook these on the grill but ran out of time, so I put them in the oven. The kitchen smelled wonderful all evening after.
What I prepared was a simple salmon with basil, lemons, and capers. So here is what you’ll need:
Cedar Wrapped Salmon for Man Food Mondays
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. skinless salmon
- 6 lemons sliced into rounds
- 1/2 cup of fresh basil pulled apart
- olive oil
- sea salt and pepper
- small jar of Non-Pareil capers
- 4 to 6 Fire & Flavor grilling papers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Place the cedar grilling papers in water to soak, Use something to weight them down so they are fully submerged.
- Look at the size of you paper and slice your salmon into sections that will fit the paper. Allow enough room to fold the paper all the way around the salmon.
- Spray or brush the salmon with olive oil.
- Slice the lemons and set them aside.
- Once the cedar grilling papers are saturated place one on your cutting board and place 2 rounds of lemons on it in the center.
- Place your salmon piece and lightly salt and pepper it.
- Wash the basil leaves and then tear them in strips and place on the salmon.
- Place 2 rounds of lemons on top.
- Put about 1 tablespoon of Capers on top and at the sides of the salmon.
- Wrap the cedar paper around the outside and tie in place tightly with the kitchen twine.
- repeat for the remainder of the salmon.
- Place in the oven on the center rack and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or till an instant read thermometer says no less than 145°
Courses Entree
Cuisine American
This was a very tasty dinner and it was fairly quick and easy. I served it with smashed purple potatoes an escarole salad with oil and vinegar dressing. Made for a really nice evening meal.
Please let me know if this winds up on your table, and what you think of it.
Till next week take care and be safe!
Steve
I have not seen the cedar papers but will be looking for them. Great recipe idea, reminds me of chicken piccata.
Dawn, Michelle found them at Wholefoods. If you do not have one close by I am certain you can find them on the web. I would like to try the chicken piccata on them too. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you so much for featuring Fire & Flavor’s Cedar Papers in such a delicious recipe! We certainly love them and are glad you do as well. Find more information about the papers online at Fireandflavor.com!
Thank you! The salmon we cooked with them was delicious!
I found the papers at Kroger grocery store, marked down from the season for $2!!! I’m trying this tonight without the basil and capers. Just lemon and salt and pepper 🙂 thanks for the inspiration !!!
Thank you Sarah, I will stop by and see if we have them around here on sale!