I got a nice note today from Jürgen Keil, Planking Secrets fan from Germany. As you can see in the photos above, Jürgen has been planking up a storm.

His recent planking projects include one of my more challenging recipes, Real Barbecued Pork on a Plank, which turns pork hocks into Southern-style barbecue. He used a beechwood plank and it looks like it turned out pretty darned good -- good enough for a barbecue sandwich, German-style!

Below the pork hock shots he's got cedar-planked pork tenderloin, scallops and lamb. Yum!

You'll also notice a shot of Jürgen visiting an eel-smoking hut in Northern Germany called Aalkate. Man, them eels look like mighty good eatin'! 

Thanks for sharing the photos, Jürgen, and happy cooking!

Caraway Crusted Planked Monkfish with Tomato and Green Onion Sauce

Serves 4

Monkfish is often referred to as the poor man’s lobster because it has very firm, rich, flavourful white flesh. The fillet looks kind of like a pork tenderloin, and it cooks up very nicely on a plank. The tomato and green onion sauce nicely offsets the strong flavor of the caraway-crusted fish.

For the fish:
1 lb|500 g skinless monkfish fillet
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp|30 mL extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 1/2 Tbsp| 22.5 mL caraway seeds
pinch cayenne
granulated onion

For the sauce:
¼ cup|60 mL mayonnaise
1 ripe fresh tomato, chopped into a ¼ inch|6 mm dice
3 stalks fresh green onion, finely chopped, 1 Tbsp|15 mL reserved for garnish
1 Tbsp|15 mL finely chopped parsley
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
pinch cayenne
1 Tbsp|15 mL fresh lemon juice
kosher salt

Lightly toast the caraway seeds in a dry frying pan, transfer to a plate to cool, and set aside.

Season the fillet with salt and pepper. Combine the olive oil, minced garlic and lemon zest and coat the fillet with the mixture. Sprinkle all but ½ Tbsp|7.5 mL of the caraway seeds evenly over the fillet. Let sit for 15 minutes.

To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 or 10 minutes or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°F | 260°C. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 or 5 minutes, or until it starts to throw off a bit of smoke and crackles lightly. Reduce the heat to medium.

Place the fish on the plank and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, turning half way through the cooking time, until the fish is springy to the touch or has an internal temperature of 135°F | 57°C.

Cut the fish into medallions and serve with a dollop of the sauce, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with the reserved seeds and green onions.

Hey, barbecue fans. Welcome to another Barbecue Secrets video podcast.  This spring I was a guest on Vancouver's Global Morning News demonstrating plank cooking recipes from my new book, Planking Secrets. With the kind help of Sharron Bates of Global I'm re-broadcasting them on this podcast, and I'm posting the recipes from each show here on the podcast blog. This is the second of five segments.

Planked Pork Loin Roast with Whisky-Apricot Glaze (From Planking Secrets)

Serves 4 to 6

In this recipe the aromatic, spicy, mildly astringent flavor of the cedar smoke nicely complements the sweetness and richness of the pork. The trick with plank-cooking a roast this big is to get the plank smoldering on a high or medium-high heat, and then turn it down to medium as soon as you get the meat on. Serve slices of the pork with roasted vegetables on the side and, if you like, some Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

1 cedar cooking plank, soaked overnight or at least 1 hour
one 14-oz./398 mL can apricot halves in light syrup
1/4 cup/50 mL Dijon mustard
1/4 cup/50 mL Jack Daniel's whisky
1/4 cup/50 mL brown sugar
1/4 cup/50 mL apricot jam
pinch cayenne pepper
one 3-lb./1.5-kg pork loin roast with a 1/8-inch/3-mm fat cap
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
sprigs fresh parsley and thyme for garnish

Open the can of apricots and drain the syrup into a medium-sized saucepan, reserving the fruit. Add the mustard, Jack Daniel's, brown sugar, apricot jam, and cayenne to the syrup. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring to melt the sugar and the jam. When it looks like a smooth, fairly thick sauce (about 5 minutes), take it off the heat and set it in a bowl of ice cubes to cool.

Lightly score the fat cap of the pork loin in a diamond pattern. Season it with salt and pepper, and set the meat on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spoon half of the mustard-whisky mixture over the loin and pat it all over to coat. Wrap the foil around the meat, sealing it as best you can. Place the wrapped loin in the meat drawer of your fridge. Let it sit for a couple of hours at least, but overnight if possible.

Combine the remaining half of the sauce with the reserved apricot halves, cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 or 10 minutes or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°C. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 or 5 minutes, or until it's starting to throw off a bit of smoke and crackling lightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

Place the marinated pork loin on the plank fat side up. Cover the grill and cook for 1 hour, checking periodically for flare-ups.

At the one-hour mark, take the reserved apricots out of the sauce mixture and place them on the plank next to the roast. Baste the roast with some of the sauce and cook for about another 10 or 20 minutes, until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 140°C.  Take off the roast and lightly tent it in foil.

Transfer the apricot halves to a cutting board and coarsely chop them. Warm the remaining sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave and add the chopped apricots. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes (while it's resting, roast some vegetables on the grill). Carve the roast into 1/2-inch/1-cm slices and serve on warmed plates with a spoonful of the apricots and sauce. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and thyme.

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Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. Find him, and more recipes, at www.ronshewchuk.com.

Hey, barbecue fans! Welcome to the first Barbecue Secrets video podast. A couple of weeks ago I was a guest on Vancouver's Global Morning News demonstrating plank cooking recipes from my new book, Planking Secrets. With the kind help of Sharron Bates of Global I'm re-broadcasting them on this podcast, and I'm posting the recipes from each show here on the podcast blog. This is the first of five segments.

Fred's Citrus Salmon with Sesame Mayo

Serves 6 to 8

Brian Misko is an enthusiastic barbecuer who recently took the plunge and started up a barbecue team, House of Q. Brian passed on this recipe, which he has cooked time and again for his family. "It was originally crafted after salmon fishing in Tofino with my in-laws," he says.  "I had never been fishing on the open ocean before, nor had Fred Kraus, my father-in-law.  Nonetheless, a nice side of salmon was decorated for the grill with whatever we had in the cabin." And they've cooked it that way ever since. "Serve with a wonderful fruity white wine and a salad and you have a nice west coast meal," says Brian.


Squeeze the juice from the three fruits into a nonreactive dish like a lasagna pan. Reserve a few slices for garnish. Don't worry about pulp or seeds in the marinade - it all adds flavor.  Add the zest, if desired, and the garlic and oil.  The volume of oil depends on how big your piece of salmon is. A larger one will take a bit more oil. Whisk all the ingredients together and pour over the salmon.  Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour at room temperature.

Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 or 10 minutes or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°F/260°C. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 or 5 minutes, or until it's starting to throw off a bit of smoke and crackling lightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low.

Remove the salmon from the marinade and season it with salt and pepper. Place it on the plank and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish has an internal temperature of 135°F/57°C. Halfway through the cooking time, spoon some of the marinade on top of the fish. When the salmon is done, serve it on the plank garnished with extra citrus slices.

Sesame Mayo


Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Use immediately or refrigerate. If you're using store bought mayo, it will keep for a week in the fridge.

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Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk is the author of Planking Secrets: How to Grill with Wooden Planks for Unbeatable Barbecue Flavor, and Barbecue Secrets: Unbeatable Recipes, Tips & Tricks from a Barbecue Champion, published by Whitecap Books. Find him, and more recipes, at www.ronshewchuk.com.