Man… we really did it this time!  By that I mean that we made the best grilled salmon dish ever last night, with a smoky flavor and velvety texture that was out of this world! I’ve planked before, but this was my first time out using planks from Outdoor Gourmet, a sustainable grilling plank manufacturer out of Sandpoint, Idaho.

My girlfriend chose cherry wood over one of the cedar planks we have from Outdoor Gourmet, and I think it was a great decision.  The mellow sweetness of the cherry over the spicy zing offered up by the cedar played nicely into the rich, dark flavor profile I was looking for in the salmon.  Robyn Medlin over at Grillgrrl.com is actually running a cool Outdoor Gourmet cedar plank giveaway right now.  If you are interested in trying out this great product – be sure to visit her site and chime in on her Outdoor Gourmet Cedar Planks & Skewers Giveaway post for your chance to win a free sample!

Katie over at Outdoor gourmet runs the plant with her Dad – a true small family business.  They practice sustainable manufacture – which is best described via a quote from their website.

We get our raw material for our grilling planks in a way that respects the environment. Instead of cutting down trees, we recycle second-grade pieces from other local mills that own sustainable tree farms. Our beautiful grilling planks are hand-selected and we carefully cut around any defects.

Outdoor Gourmet cherry plank soaking in water (about 2 hours).

 

Check out the smoky goodness emanating from this bad boy.

 

Our mill is strategically located in the heart of Western Red Cedar’s botanical range; the environmental cost of obtaining and transporting our raw material, measured in fossil fuel consumption, is very low.

Sustainability also means being a contributing member of the community. All phases of manufacturing take place at our Sandpoint, ID facility. Our mill is located within ten miles of a premier skiing destination. The shores of stunning Lake Pend Oreille, one of the deepest fresh-water lakes in the world, is less than three miles away. Local manufacturing and control also ensures that our organic grilling planks are 100% pure.

So far so GREAT with the products from Outdoor Gourmet.  I can’t wait to try the cheese planks they sent out!