Hi folks -first time poster, longtime griller from Colorado. I'm playing with plank grilling lately, and would like to move away from overpriced, $5 planks when my local lumberyard has plenty of excellent untreated wood for much less. However, most of the wood they have is around an inch thick - not the half-inch slabs typically sold as grilling planks.
Is an inch too thick for effective heat transfer, or does it matter all that much?
Also, I've heard from various sources that the plank should be on the regular grille grate and from others that it's acceptable to put the plank right down on the coal bed. (I use charcoal, natch.) Any thoughts on this? Would a thicker plank enable me to grill directly on the coals?
Is an inch too thick for effective heat transfer, or does it matter all that much?
Also, I've heard from various sources that the plank should be on the regular grille grate and from others that it's acceptable to put the plank right down on the coal bed. (I use charcoal, natch.) Any thoughts on this? Would a thicker plank enable me to grill directly on the coals?
If your local lumber yard sells western red cedar that is a plus for planking. The next thing is to check for any of those creepy crawlers like bugs, rats, mice and all of those birds that seem to land everywhere. If they exist in the store then you will want to sand or plane down the surfaces of the wood. Cedar being a soft wood absorbs the leave behinds of these critters. Definitely toxic. I plank a lot and enjoy it to the max but I do want to live to tell the tale.
