Cedar Plank Steak

Cedar plank steak? WHA?!? I know some of you had to read that a second time because you assumed that said salmon. Why is it that we only plank salmon? Why do we only infuse that oh so red fish (if it’s the good stuff) with that sultry cedar smoke? Or any kind of smoke for that matter? This recipe is part of my New Year’s Resolution to do more plank grilling. I know, nobody does their resolution, but this year I’ve been doing a pretty good job. I made planked beef tenderloin, maple planked pork chops, and Dad helped the cause with planked scallops. 

Cedar Plank Steak Ingredients:

• 1 massive steak
• salt
• black pepper
• granulated garlic
• 1 cedar plank

Don’t do this with a little, wimpy steak. It needs to be well over an inch thick, otherwise the planking process will take it straight to medium and then the sear will take it to well done. And yes, this is sort of a take on the reverse sear method.

First take the steak out of the fridge and set it on the counter and allow it to come to room temperature. In the meantime, drop a cedar plank into some water and soak for about an hour:

When the plank has been in the water for about an hour, prepare the grill for high heat grilling. In this case I sparked up my travel gas grill.

Grilling planks are the perfect accessory for your gas grill because they bring that wonderful smoke flavor that is normally exclusive to a charcoal or pellet grill.

Now that the grill is hot, and I’m talking 700 degrees hot, take the plank out of the water and place on the grill and close the lid for about two minutes:

During that time, season the steak with coarse salt, black pepper, white pepper and a dusting of granulated garlic on both sides:

How to Grill Cedar Plank Steak

Head back outside, and open the lid on the grill and flip the cedar plank over. Put the steak on the plank:

Here is the steak after smoking on the plank for about five minutes:

Smoke the steak on the cedar plank until it reaches an internal temperature of about 120F:

This is a great way to get that smoke fix on the gas grill. 

And here we have the steak ready to come off the plank and get a nice sear:

Take the steak off the cedar plank and put back on the grill grates to get some grill marks:

It shouldn’t take long to get some nice grill marks. Maybe 2-3 minutes. Now normally, I tell you to rotate 45 degrees, but the cedar plank steak was already at 120F when it went onto the direct heat, so just do a single hatch rather than cross hatch, and flip it over:

Get some grill marks on the other side and then remove from the grill and plate:

Let the steak rest for at 3-4 minutes so the juices redistribute throughout the meat and don’t wind up a puddle on the plate if it is sliced too early.

But how does it look on the inside?

And yet another final shot, just because I couldn’t decide which picture to use. A little meat porn never hurt anyone:

Planked Steak Summary

But how was it? It was definitely smoky and had more than a hint of cedar. Basically, if you’re one of those people that doesn’t like cedar plank salmon, then this recipe is not for you, but I would suggest using oak or maple and you will really dig it. Now if you like cedar plank salmon and you like steak, then you will love, Love, LOVE cedar plank steak! Oh, one more thing. This steak was UBER juicy. Juicier than just about any steak I’ve ever had.

As I was gobbling this steak down, my six year old came out and asked for a bite. He chewed swallowed and his eyes narrowed on me. “It’s smoky dad. I don’t like it.”

I responded, “It’s supposed to be smoky.”

“But, I don’t like it dad.”

“I do,” I replied and went to work on another bite while he watched me in silence for a minute or two.

Then he said, “Can I have another bite?” He had another bite and six more. It was different for the first bite, but after he got over that, he really dug it too.

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Recipe Card:

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5 from 2 votes

Cedar Plank Steak

Cedar planks aren't just for salmon. Cedar plank steak is fantastic. Step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make cedar plank steak.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Entree, Main Course, Steak

Cuisine: American, American Fare, Grilling, North American, Steak

Keyword: Cedar Plank Steak, Cedar Planked Steak, Gas Grill, Grill Steak, Grilled Steak, New York Strip Steak, NY Strip Steak, Planked Steak, reverse sear, reverse seared, Reverse Seared Steak, Steak

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 1 massive steak
• salt
• black pepper
• granulated garlic
• 1 cedar plank

Instructions

• Take the steak out of the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature
• Soak the cedar plank for about an hour in water
• Prepare the grill for high heat grilling and place the plank on the grill, closing the lid for about two minutes
• In the meantime, season the steak with salt, black pepper, white pepper and a dusting of granulated garlic
• Open the lid on the grill, flip over the plank and place the steak on it
• Close the lid for about 10 minutes
• When the steak reaches an internal temperature of 120, take the steak off the plank and sear on the hot grill grates
• Once grill marks appear (about 2-3 minutes), flip over and get grill marks on the other side, but only do a single hatch, not cross hatch
• Once both sides have grill marks, remove from the grill and plate, allowing to rest for 3-4 minutes
• Serve

And here is a photo collage of the process:

Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

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BBQ Grilling

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This article was initially published on: June 22, 2014