My Dad Tried Everything to Make My Mom Like Salmon—I Never Expected That This Would Be the Answer

My dad does most of the cooking at my parent’s house. He’s a good cook, but I think this is mostly due to the fact that my mom once set a casserole on fire when he was away. We all enjoy his cooking, and my mom does too. Well, for the most part.

There’s one meal he loves to make that she hated: salmon. Frankly, I think this has nothing to do with him, and more with her own general dislike of fish. He’d cook it every way possible — on the grill, in the oven, on the stove — and she’d still refuse to eat it. Then, he added this tool to the mix, and for just $1.50 each, it has transformed my mom’s least-favorite meal into one she can’t wait for.

To buy: GrillingPlanks 12-Pack Cedar Planks, $20 at amazon.com

The tool in question isn’t really a tool at all: It’s Cedar Planks, specifically these ones from GrillingPlanks. While most cedar planks are generally similar, these ones have two great features that set them apart. First of all, they measure 11- by 5.5- by  0.33-inches, making them perfectly sized for about a pound of salmon and can fit in a sheet tray filled with water (for soaking before going on the grill) easily. The second feature is the price. For just $1.50 each, you can’t really beat that, and my dad is a smart shopper if I’ve ever met one.

Here’s how he uses them. He places a board in a sheet tray filled with water and uses a few olive oil or wine bottles to keep it from floating up. A good four-hour soak (at least) ensures that they don't catch fire on the grill. While this is happening, he goes to Costco and stocks up on salmon. And then he comes back, fires up the grill, pops the salmon on the planks, and the planks on the grill. He doesn’t do anything else fancy, with just a squeeze of lemon, they’re perfect.

This is the only way my mom enjoys salmon, and it’s easy to understand why. My dad tried everything including miso-marinades and even that one salmon girl on TikTok’s technique, but cedar planks are the only thing that do a sure-fire job of masking the fishy taste some people dislike. Instead, the flavors are rich, buttery, and umami, with a hint of smoke on the back end.  

But it’s not just my parents who love these planks, in fact, plenty of shoppers at Amazon are raving about them. One shopper wrote, “Quite a few planks for the money.” They add that the “thickness of the planks is good,” the “smoke flavor was as expected,” and that “it was cheaper than buying from a grocery store.” They sum up their review quite well: “If you are planning to cook salmon at home then this is what you are looking for.”

Another customer adds that if you don’t have a grill, you don’t have to worry. “They are good in the oven as well as the grill,” they write. 

Whether you hate or love salmon, the verdict is clear: You need these cedar planks for summer grilling. Take my mom’s word for it: My dad’s salmon has never tasted better. 

At the time of publishing, the price was $20.