Plank Grilled Pork

Way back this past Christmas, I received a plank grilling cookbook from my Aunt Ann. It looked delicious and I was excited to try it out. Well, fast forward 8 months and I’ve finally pulled it off the shelf and given it a go.

The premise to cooking your food on a plank is that it will help to keep your foods juicier and more flavorful. When cooking on wood you retain most of the liquid on the plank instead of allowing it to drop into the grill. The smoke that is released from heating the plank will make your foods more flavorful by infusing the subtle taste of the wood smoke into your meal.

There are several different types of wood planks that can be used; everything from alder, to cherry, to oak. The most common plank used however, is the cedar plank. Cedar is the most aromatic of all the woods and is best complimented with salmon but can also be used well with pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables and fruit.

I decided to give it a go with marinated pork and see what I thought. Well, as someone who regularly overcooks pork (not intentionally mind you, but more so because I have a fear of undercooked meat), I can say that this method clearly kept the meat juicier and more flavorful. I put together a fairly simple marinade, but the smoke from the plank kicked it up a notch I hadn’t truly expected.

If you want to try plank grilling at home, you can find grilling planks at your local grill store, cookware store, or of course, over the internet. The cookbook I used as a guide for my plank grilling adventures was The Plank Grilling Cookbook.

Alright, enough chatter. Let’s grill up some plank grilled pork!

Ingredients Needed:

1 Pork Tenderloin
1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup of Red Wine
1 Small Bunch of Basil, Chopped
1/2 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp of Ginger
1/4 tsp of Onion Powder
1/2 tsp of Brown Sugar

First up, grab your plank and submerge it in water. Cedar was my choice for this meal, mainly because it’s the plank I had on hand. Leave it there to soak for a good 4 hours and up to 24 hours. The longer the better!

A few hours before you’re ready to grill up the pork grab all your ingredients minus the pork. Add them to a gallon sized bag and mix it up good. Now add in your pork. Cover the pork completely with the marinade and put it in the fridge to soak up the flavors for 3+ hours.

When you’re ready to grill up the meat you’ll need to get your soaked plank and preheat it.

Turn on your grill and get it heated up to about 425 degrees. Place your plank on the grill, close the top, and let it heat up on the first side for about 3-5 minutes. Flip it to the other side, close the top again and let it cook up for an additional 1-2 minutes.

It’s normal to hear some crackling and popping and for the plank to get lightly charred from being on the grill. It is NOT ok to set the plank on fire. If this happens, I’m not sure what to tell you except you better grab your fire extinguisher, quick!

Here’s my plank ready for the pork.

Add your pork to the plank.

Close up the grill and let your pork cook for about 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, leave the grill closed and turn it off. Keep the meat on for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Once finished, stick a meat thermometer in to make sure your pork is cooked through. The internal temperature should be between 145 and 150 degrees.

Remove the meat from the grill, cover it loosely with foil and let it sit for an additional 5 minutes.

All that’s left to do now is slice it up. And look how beautiful that pork turned out. I loved the flavor of this. Cooking with the plank really made a delicious difference that I wasn’t expecting!

This recipe was submitted to Tasty Tuesdays, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, and Two for Tuesday recipe hops.