INGREDIENTS:
• A big salmon fillet, without skin, cut into
serving-sized pieces
• Cedar planks, scrubbed clean and cut to
fit inside your barbecue
• Cracked black pepper
• Minced scallions

FOR MARINADE:
• Roughly 4 oz. of dark soy sauce
• Roughly 4 oz. of rice vinegar
• Roughly 4 heaping tbsp. of brown sugar
• 3 or so big cloves of garlic, minced
• A teaspoon or so of grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons or so of molasses

PROCEDURE:
Mix the marinade. Balance the flavor. It should be as salty, as it is sour, as it is sweet. Put your salmon chunks in a big, resealable plastic bag, pour the marinade on, seal the bag and put it in the fridge for a day.

Arrange your planks on the grate so there’s a little space between them and light your barbecue, full on. Close the lid and wait for ignition. Things are working when thick smoke pours out.

Lay the salmon chunks on the fuming planks and close the lid. Smoke and steam them in their own juices for 12 minutes or so an inch. Pay attention. Peek at them often. You don’t want overdo them. You also don’t want the cedar to burst into flame. Keep a plant-mister handy to extinguish flare-ups.

They’re done when they’re still a little pink inside. Serve immediately, with a sprinkling of cracked black pepper and minced scallion.