Cedar Plank Maple Mustard Salmon with Corn Succotash

This Cedar Plank Maple Mustard Salmon with Corn Succotash is super easy, loaded with flavour, and perfect for your next cookout. The salmon is marinated in a sweet, tangy and delicious combination of my favourite Maille Dijon and Old Style mustards before being grilled to perfection on a cedar plank with fresh rosemary to infuse even more flavour. Served over a vibrant bed of corn succotash with some fresh basil and a dash of Sherry Vinegar to bring it all to life. It’s colourful, fresh, healthy, seasonal and the perfect way to celebrate the warmer months by unleashing the flavours with Maille.

Ingredients You Need for the Maple Mustard Salmon

• Cedar Planks: If you’ve never grilled fish over cedar planks, you’re in for a real treat. They add a delicious smokey flavour, prevent your fish from sticking to the grill, and ensure a juicy and moist finished product.
• Salmon: I prefer to use skinless salmon filets whenever cooking on cedar planks because the direct contact with the flesh allows for more of the wood flavour to penetrate the fish. You can certainly use skin-on salmon filets, but you can expect the skin to steam between the flesh and wood and end up soft and chewy in texture.
• Salt and Pepper: Whenever possible, I like to season the protein directly with salt and pepper. This gives me a better visual sense of how much seasoning I need depending on the size of the fish.
• Maille Mustard: I like to use a combination of both Maille Dijon and Maille Old Style mustards in this recipe. The Dijon gives the marinade and glaze a delicious tang and the Old Style adds a beautiful texture.
• Maple Syrup: Maple and salmon are a match made in heaven. Not only does the maple syrup caramelize as it cooks, but it also balances out the spice from the mustard and acidity from the vinegar.
• Garlic: As always, measure this ingredient with your heart and don’t let anyone tell you there’s such a thing as too much.
• Herbs and Spices: This recipe calls for a combination of fresh rosemary, dry dill and paprika but you can substitute your favourite seafood seasoning if preferred.
• Sherry Vinegar: Be sure the reserve the maple mustard salmon marinade because it can be reduced down to a glaze to flavour the fish even more. I like to lengthen the glaze with some water to prevent it from burning. I also spike it with some Maille Sherry Vinegar to add some tang and balance the sweetness from the maple syrup.

Ingredients You Need for the Corn Succotash

• Corn: For best flavour and texture, be sure to use fresh kernels of corn cut from the cob. If you want to keep this recipe Paleo and Whole30 compliant, you can omit the corn and add more zucchini in its place, or substitute roughly chopped fresh okra.co
• Red Bell Pepper: For sweetness and colour, I like to use red bell peppers. You can substitute green, yellow, orange or poblanos if preferred.
• Red Onion: I like to use red onion for colour, but yellow or white would also work here. You could also substitute green onion or leeks for a milder flavour.
• Zucchini: Zucchini cooks fairly quickly and can turn to mush before you know it. To preserve its texture and shape, avoid overcooking it by dicing it into slightly larger pieces than the pepper and onion. It will shrink a bit as it cooks.
• Garlic: See above note for how much garlic you need.
• Cherry Tomatoes: I like to finish the succotash with a handful of sliced cherry tomatoes. I prefer these over other varieties because they’re usually more acidic and hold their shape better.
• Fresh Basil: Adding some roughly torn fresh basil to the succotash will give it a delicious flavour and aroma.
• Sherry Vinegar: Just like the maple mustard salmon glaze, I love to spike the corn succotash with a dash of Maille sherry vinegar. It just helps to bring all the flavours to life and balances out the sweetness from the vegetables.

What is Succotash?

Succotash is a hearty and nutritious dish normally made of sautéed corn, lima beans and other seasonal vegetables like tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and okra. It’s typically seasoned with some butter, salt, and pepper, and sometimes bacon or fresh herbs are added. The medley of vegetables and seasonings changes depending on the region, season and personal preferences.

What Kind of Cedar Planks Should I Use?

It’s very important to only use food-safe and untreated cedar planks that have not been coated with any harmful chemicals. I buy cedar planks online because they’re usually a better value than the ones available in local stores. I recommend avoiding the thin, paper-like strips of cedar because those tend to burn very quickly and can fall apart on the grill.

Can You Re-Use Cedar Planks?

As long as the cedar planks are not completely burnt, warped or damaged, you can wash them with hot soapy water and reuse them. I have reused some of my planks as many as 4 times before tossing them.

Once the planks are burnt, they should be thrown away because they will no longer impart a gentle smoke flavour. Instead, you’ll get a burnt, ashy flavour that can overpower the fish.

You can prolong the life of your cedar planks by always soaking them in water for at least 1 hour before cooking. I also recommend grilling them over indirect heat. That way the flames don’t come into direct contact with the cedar planks and cause them to burn.

This recipe was created in partnership with Maille Canada. All opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.