I would never try to smoke salmon, or any other fish, on cedar. And I don't advise anyone to try it.

However, why is it that cooking salmon over cedar planks on the BBQ is widely accepted? There are plenty of receipes for doing it.

But I don't get it. If cedar it's lousy for smoking, how can it be okay for planking? I presume the cedar planks are from Western red cedar. I cook my salmon on alder planks, not cedar, for the same reason that I use only alder or applewood for smoking. Perhaps someone else can provide some insight.