If some of you are accustomed to using planks for barbecue grilling and smoking, many are not.

So, let’s see in detail how to use your Bord’oak Plank.

The most important part is to soak it into water for half a day before use. It is necessary so that the plank does not burn, consume itself slower and release smoke.
Of course, it’s wood so the plank floats. Drown it by using a weight, I often put a bottle full of water on top of it.

When your coal is burning, you’ll place the plank on the grill with the following rules:

• It takes some time for the plank to smoke, thus do not place the food immediately on top of it, especially if the cooking time is quick: you would have a cooked ingredient with no smoke.
• Do not put the plank too close from the ambers, lest it catch fire. 4 inches / 10 cm is a good distance, so check the amount of coal you use before starting.
• For the plank to smoke, it needs to be on top of the ambers but not necessarily all of it. You can push your ambers on one side of the barbecue (or use charcoal baskets) so that only a part of the plank is directly above the heat. It is especially useful if the cooking time is long, for example for the salmon filet.

Keep the ventilation open at maximum until the plank smokes. Then place your food on the plank, close the lid and reduce the ventilation to half.

Remember that some food might need a direct grilling before or after the indirect cooking and smoking on the plank.

As for cleaning and reusing your plank, see the article “How many times can one use a Bord’oak plank?