Plank grilling involves cooking food atop a plank of wood (most commonly cedar), usually over a flame or coals. This does two things: it imparts a cedar smoke flavor by mildly hot-smoking foods, but it also creates indirect heat. This slows the cooking process and, more importantly, prevents foods from drying out. An added bonus worth noting is that it also helps keep the grill perfectly clean.

Depending on the quality of your cedar plank, it may or may not have splinters. If there are splinters, simply brush it with some sandpaper until it's smooth.

Next, you'll want to soak the plank, and we recommend doing so for no less than one hour (though two to three hours is ideal). This step isn't absolutely necessary, but it will help keep it from catching fire and also ensure that it's reusable. Make sure the plank is completely submerged in water. A baking sheet or a larger pot works as a good basin, and a small bowl or anything heavy placed atop the plank will ensure that it stays underwater.

When the plank is about 30 minutes away from being saturated to your satisfaction, go ahead and light your grill.

The first thing you'll want to do, as with most any fish, is give it a good thorough pat-down with a clean dish towel or a few paper towels to get rid of any excess moisture.

Then add your marinade, rub, and/or seasoning(s) to your salmon any way you would like. I like making a marinade of dijon mustard, brown sugar, some fresh dill, and a little sea salt or seasoning salt. Whether you go for a dry rub or a marinade, make sure to coat the flesh of the fish evenly. The skin doesn't necessarily need marinating, but there are different schools of thought on that, so to each our own. A little olive oil or butter on the skin does help keep it from sticking.

Preheat your grill. While your cedar plank soaks, light your grill of choice — both charcoal and gas work great here — and get it up to temperature. We aim for somewhere around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Establish a direct heat zone and an indirect heat zone.

Char your plank (optional). Depending on how much smoke flavor and char you want to impart, you can pre-char the plank until it's blackened, and then flip it so that side comes into direct contact with your fish.

Add your salmon. Move the plank so that it's no longer over direct heat, and place the salmon skin-side down on the charred side of the plank.

Cover (if your grill has a lid) and leave it be. Cooking time varies based on the thickness of the fillet, among other things, but about five minutes per half-inch of thickness is a good general rule of thumb. No need to flip your fish.

Check for doneness. Remove the plank, salmon and all, when the thickest part of the fillet registers 120 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit for a medium-rare finish. Give it a couple more minutes if you want it well-done. If you don't have a meat thermometer, aim for flesh that's an opaque light pink.

Anything that takes smoke well is a candidate for cedar plank grilling — even eggplant parmigiana. Owen Burke/Insider

There's no hard and fast rule about what you can and cannot grill on a cedar plank, and you're only limited by your imagination. Asparagus and broccoli are great vegetable options, and one of our favorite more creative things to cook on a plank is Steven Raichlen's grilled eggplant parmigiana from his book, How to Grill Vegetables. Tofu also works exceptionally well due to its ability to absorb smoky flavors.

Grilling planks are reusable so long as they're not too charred, which is partly why we recommend pre-soaking them for at least an hour.

Cedar planks are a great way to flavor just about any and all food on the grill, and while salmon is an obvious crowd-pleaser, try whatever you like! They're also a great way to keep the grill from getting too messy, and can help keep cleanup to a minimum.