Cedar Plank Salmon with Premier Catch
August in the Pacific Northwest is salmon season.
It’s the time of year when long evenings, backyard dinners, and weekends on the water bring friends and families together around great food. Few dishes capture the spirit of a Pacific Northwest summer better than cedar plank salmon. Simple, healthy, and packed with flavor.
This month’s recipe comes from Premier Catch, a Mercer Island-based seafood company founded by sisters-in-law Joci and Ashley Besecker. While the company officially launched in 2020, its roots in the seafood industry stretch back generations.
Through the Besecker family, they have longstanding connections to fishermen, processors, and sustainable fisheries throughout Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Inspired by those relationships and a desire to make premium seafood more accessible to families, Joci and Ashley created Premier Catch to deliver high-quality, wild-caught seafood directly from the source to homes across the country. Their mission is simple: help people live healthier lives by making it easier to find, prepare, and enjoy sustainable wild seafood.
What makes Premier Catch especially unique is that it’s more than a seafood company, it’s a family business built on decades of industry expertise, relationships, and a deep appreciation for the fishing communities that make the Pacific Northwest so special. Today, Premier Catch remains proudly women-owned, family-operated, and headquartered right here on Mercer Island.
Beyond supporting local businesses, choosing wild-caught seafood is one of the healthiest and most sustainable decisions you can make for your dinner table. Wild salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, high-quality protein, vitamin D, and essential nutrients that support heart and brain health. Responsibly managed fisheries in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest are also widely recognized as some of the most sustainable in the world, helping preserve healthy fish populations for future generations.
For an August gathering, we can’t think of a better centerpiece than Premier Catch’s Cedar Plank Salmon, a Pacific Northwest classic that is as impressive as it is easy to prepare.
Cedar Plank Salmon
Ingredients
- Premier Catch wild king or sockeye salmon (4oz per person recommended)
- Cedar grilling planks
- extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Green onions
- sesame seeds (black and white)
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Soak cedar planks in cool water for at least 30 min prior to grilling.
- Cut the salmon portions into 1 1/2" strips.
- Place strips of salmon in a baking dish (a large ziploc bags also works).
- Drizzle the salmon with olive oil.
- Generously salt & pepper the salmon.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds (we use a mix of black & white).
- Sprinkle with chopped green onions.
- Cover and place salmon in refrigerator until ready to grill.
- Pre-heat grill to medium-high.
- Gently place salmon on cedar planks. Turn grill down to medium heat and place planks in center. Grill salmon for 8-12 minutes until medium-rare. Remove from planks and enjoy!
Pairing Reccomendations:
Serve alongside grilled Washington sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, roasted baby potatoes, and a crisp green salad. It’s the perfect meal for a late-summer evening on the patio, at the beach, or gathered around the table with family and friends.
As summer begins to wind down, this recipe is a reminder of what makes the Pacific Northwest so special: incredible local ingredients, sustainable fisheries, and community-focused businesses like Premier Catch that help bring the best of our region to our tables.