Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

A-frame over an open flame

The oldest salmon cooking technique proves best

A flaky, flame-frilled cedar plank salmon over noodles
A flaky, flame-frilled cedar plank salmon over noodles

Though the cooking technique dates back countless centuries to natives of the Pacific Northwest, here in latter day America, cedar plank salmon has largely become the provenance of upscale dining venues.

Salmon cooked on cedar planks, over open wood flame, at the farmers market

But don’t tell that to Flamin’ Salmon, a casual fired fish specialist serving Oceanside, Poway, and Hillcrest farmers markets. In what may be the best use of a market stall in the county, Flamin’ Salmon sets up a custom grill, where long strips of fileted salmon are staked to cedar planks that lean against one another to make an A-frame, allowing the fish to rest at an angle over the top of an open flame.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In the case of my Sunday visit to Hillcrest, the salmon was cooking over a flame of birch, though sometimes it’s avocado wood, and most often, oak. Regardless the fuel, the fiery rig proves an appetizing sight, defying passersby to not want a taste of that wild caught, Alaskan coho salmon.

You may order it a la carte if you like: four ounces go for $12, on up to eight ounces for $20. Tacos start at $6 apiece. But the better deal is to order the salmon with side of salad and either rice, potatoes, spaghetti noodles, or eggs and bacon: four ounces plus sides go for $16, on up to eight ounces plus sides for $22.

Having snacked around the market already, I just wanted a taste and opted for a $10 order featuring 2.5 ounces of fish over the pasta, tossed with garlic, oil, and parmesan.

It’s pretty simple stuff, offered with a side of herbed sour cream or honey mustard, but it wants for nothing. The fish pulls light flavor from a paprika and sea salt glaze, and of course the wood. But for the most part you get a delicate taste of salmon, flaking beautifully from its deliberate preparation, with succulence to spare.

The garlicky pasta paired perfectly, though I suppose the rice and/or leafy salad options would make this among the healthiest meals available at a farmers market. Either way it has to be counted among the best.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bluefin still Missing In Action – Grunion for Bait during Observation Only? - Yellowtail Limits a Short Drive South

Santee Lakes Catfish Opener features Tagged Fish for Prizes
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Wu-Tang DJ backs ONYX at Pacific Beach’s Break Point

Ras Mike credited with bringing storied crew to San Diego
A flaky, flame-frilled cedar plank salmon over noodles
A flaky, flame-frilled cedar plank salmon over noodles

Though the cooking technique dates back countless centuries to natives of the Pacific Northwest, here in latter day America, cedar plank salmon has largely become the provenance of upscale dining venues.

Salmon cooked on cedar planks, over open wood flame, at the farmers market

But don’t tell that to Flamin’ Salmon, a casual fired fish specialist serving Oceanside, Poway, and Hillcrest farmers markets. In what may be the best use of a market stall in the county, Flamin’ Salmon sets up a custom grill, where long strips of fileted salmon are staked to cedar planks that lean against one another to make an A-frame, allowing the fish to rest at an angle over the top of an open flame.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In the case of my Sunday visit to Hillcrest, the salmon was cooking over a flame of birch, though sometimes it’s avocado wood, and most often, oak. Regardless the fuel, the fiery rig proves an appetizing sight, defying passersby to not want a taste of that wild caught, Alaskan coho salmon.

You may order it a la carte if you like: four ounces go for $12, on up to eight ounces for $20. Tacos start at $6 apiece. But the better deal is to order the salmon with side of salad and either rice, potatoes, spaghetti noodles, or eggs and bacon: four ounces plus sides go for $16, on up to eight ounces plus sides for $22.

Having snacked around the market already, I just wanted a taste and opted for a $10 order featuring 2.5 ounces of fish over the pasta, tossed with garlic, oil, and parmesan.

It’s pretty simple stuff, offered with a side of herbed sour cream or honey mustard, but it wants for nothing. The fish pulls light flavor from a paprika and sea salt glaze, and of course the wood. But for the most part you get a delicate taste of salmon, flaking beautifully from its deliberate preparation, with succulence to spare.

The garlicky pasta paired perfectly, though I suppose the rice and/or leafy salad options would make this among the healthiest meals available at a farmers market. Either way it has to be counted among the best.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why you climb El Cajon Mountain at night

The man with no rope fell 500 feet
Next Article

Tár is a waste of time

The only great classical music movie is Amadeus
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.