Cedar Planked Crab Stuffed Sockeye Salmon

Fresh British Columbia Wild Sockeye Salmon is a perfect BBQ treat for special friends.

You will need to buy some untreated cedar planks that can be found most places that have BBQ supplies. We soaked the planks for 5 hours in water. They float so you will need to weigh them down. Just before you are ready to BBQ the salmon, you will preheat your grill to 425.

Put your planks down on the grill, leave 2 minutes and turn over. . leave 2 minutes and flip them onto the other side. Just before putting the salmon on the planks. . drizzle a bit of olive oil on each plank and a sprinkle of salt. . . and place your salmon on the board. I found individual portion sized planks which I placed on each plate and then allowed each person to remove the salmon and I collected the boards before the dinner started.

Crab Stuffing

• 2 cups of crab meat. . I bought a can of crab in the deli section at Costco made up filling from the whole can and froze half for next time.
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup finely diced bell pepper .. any color works. . I used yellow
• 2 beaten farm fresh eggs
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon lemon dilly dip mix. . I used epicure. .but you could use fresh dill and some lemon juice and it would be great. .
• some salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs. . any crumbs would do but the Japanese crumbs is what I had on hand

1. Saute the onion and pepper until translucent. Add the seasoning and the mustard and the crab. I would taste it at this point to make sure it does need salt. . add a grind of fresh pepper.
2. Add the beaten eggs and the bread crumbs.
3. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to stuff your salmon.

I bought 2 sockeye salmon fillets. I carefully removed the skin with a sharp knife. It is a bit tedious but only took a few minutes. I then cut 1 1/2 inch long strips down the length of the salmon. Depending on the weight of your salmon you will get either 3 or 4 strips per fillet.
After they are sliced, roll each strip of salmon into a circle. . a little hole will remain in the center for you to plop your crab filling. I used an ice cream scoop to put the crab filling into each circle of salmon. I covered it with plastic wrap and refrigerated it the rest of the afternoon.
When the cedar planks were ready, I took a large egg flipper and slid each salmon/crab circle onto the plank. If your grill tends to flare have a spray bottle ready with water to douse the flames.
As I said at the top in the preparation for the cedar planking. . the grill should be 425 F. Set your timer for 14 minutes. . Have your plates ready and enjoy.
I made an easy cucumber sauce to go with the salmon
Cucumber Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup finely diced cucumber
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• some fresh chopped dill
• some fresh chives
• a fresh grind of salt and pepper to taste

refrigerate this until the salmon is served. .