This doesn't taste like a lake.

Cedar-planked Alaskan King salmon, ready for some heat. © Ryan Schierling

The first time I ate salmon was at the Four Seasons Hotel. It was a work-related event as part of my first full-time job out of college – a banquet in a swanky little event room complete with requisite white table linens. The choices for dinner were the standard beef, chicken and fish options, and salmon was the featured fish… so that's what I chose. At the time it seemed the safest selection to avoid drawing attention to myself as an extremely inexperienced carnivore.

My first impression of salmon? It tasted like a lake.

It was 'good' but it took me right back to summer camp and the days I spent swimming in the lake as an adolescent.

About a year went by before I tried salmon again. This time it was at the home of a neighbor. I clearly remember that it was a whole fillet, cooked on a gas grill. I think it was essentially steamed. I recall it being unwrapped from a shroud of aluminum foil and then experiencing the luscious aroma of lemon and dill wafting a delicious "hello" in my direction.

It was a revelation – and it didn't taste like a lake at all. So began my love affair with salmon...

Pictured above is robust fillet of wild-caught Alaskan King salmon prepared for the indirect heat grill with salt and pepper, fresh dill and lemon slices. A thin, untreated cedar shake that has been thoroughly soaked in salted water overnight does duty here as an economical plank.

Finished with a squeeze of lemon and served with a simple wild rice pilaf, we're talking about a meal with classic Pacific Northwest credentials.