Cedar plank on a gas grill
Updated: 23 October 2026
The plank is wet, the lid is up, and you are looking at two, three, or four knobs without knowing which ones stay off. A cedar plank on a gas grill cooks over burners that are not lit, with the lid down, after at most a short direct pre-smoke. Charcoal uses the same idea with the coals banked to one side. The packs are on the [cedar plank comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/cedar-plank). The Products Compared editorial team used Napoleon UK, Weber UK, and UK BBQ Week's indirect layouts, as of 21 October 2026, and did not light these barbecues in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
The plank is wet, the lid is up, and you are looking at two, three, or four knobs without knowing which ones stay off.
The plank is wet, the lid is up, and you are looking at two, three, or four knobs without knowing which ones stay off. A cedar plank on a gas grill cooks over burners that are not lit, with the lid down, after at most a short direct pre-smoke. Charcoal uses the same idea with the coals banked to one side. The packs are on the cedar plank comparison. The Products Compared editorial team used Napoleon UK, Weber UK, and UK BBQ Week's indirect layouts, as of 21 October 2026, and did not light these barbecues in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Heat named | Board size | Species stated | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Landical Landical 6-pack cedar planks 15x5.5 | Gas, charcoal, or oven | 15 x 5.5 inch | Cedar; species n/a | 9.6 | about £31.10 | View offer |
| Best value |  Wildwood Grilling Wildwood 12-pack cedar planks 5x11 | Gas, charcoal, or oven | 5 x 11 inch | 100% western red cedar | 9.2 | about £21.72 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Weber Weber small cedar portion planks | Gas, charcoal, and electric | Portion / small; spec line conflicts | Western red cedar | 8.4 | about £11.19 | View offer |
On this page
Light the burners that are not under the food
You need burners you can control separately. If every knob is one valve, you cannot build an unlit zone. On two burners, light one and put the plank on the off side. UK BBQ Week states that 50/50 split for indirect cooking. On three burners, light both outers and park the food in the middle. On four, Napoleon lights the two outside burners and leaves the middle pair off.
Preheat with the lid down. Weber's salmon side is about 180°C. Napoleon's plank band is about 149 to 200°C. A fillet recipe uses about 160°C, and a trout note uses about 220°C. Do not merge those into one heat. If you cannot set this from the barbecue manual, stop.
The short direct pre-smoke
Weber UK places the soaked empty plank over direct heat, lid closed, for about 5 to 10 minutes, until it smokes. Flip it, move it to the indirect zone, then add the fish. That pre-smoke is a flavour step, not permission to leave the wood over the flame for the cook. Napoleon treats the char as optional. If you skip it, you still cook indirect.
A board left over the flame will keep burning, soak or not. Weber's trout note says not to leave the barbecue while the plank is down. A closed lid is not a promise of a quiet board. Do not import a US layout that leaves every burner on medium-low under the plank. How long the board sits in water is on how long to soak a cedar plank.
The same idea on charcoal
Bank lit coals on one side. UK BBQ Week's 50/50 layout puts the food over the empty half, lid on. Do not spread a full ring and hope the middle stays cool. A ring is a roast setup. Minion and snake fires are a different project.
A charcoal empty side is only as wide as the gap you left. If the coals are very hot, the near edge chars while the far edge is still pale. Slide the board away if that lip blackens in the first few minutes. The wood stays off the coals, and the lid stays down.
Fire, air, and the packs that name gas
Cook outdoors. Weber's plank warning, written for a large shop plank that is not ASIN B0813WXP18, forbids a house, a tent, a caravan, a vehicle, or any other confined space. Carbon monoxide can kill. A garage is inside that warning. Indoor-use claims do not override it. A soak lowers fire risk and does not remove it. If the fire is past a corner, lid on and vents shut is Weber's line for extinguishing the barbecue, not a way to finish dinner. Do not pour water onto burning oil.
The BBC Food account says indirect heat reduces heavy-smoke exposure and does not remove it. Naming gas is not a test of this layout. Gas is named on the Wildwood 12-pack, the three Landical rows, and the Weber portion planks, which also name electric. baoyeewood and Cedar Alpha say grilling. The Wildwood 6-pack heat line is blank. Do not treat every pack as electric-safe because one Weber row says electric.
Common questions
Can you put a cedar plank on a gas barbecue at all?
Yes, if you can run an unlit zone and you cook outdoors. Several packs in this set name a gas grill. The plank sits over the burners that are off, after a soak, with the lid down. A barbecue you cannot split into hot and cool is the wrong tool until you can.
Which burners stay off on a two-burner, three-burner, and four-burner grill?
Two burners: one lit, plank on the off side. Three burners: both outers lit, plank in the middle. Four burners: Napoleon lights the two outside burners and leaves the middle pair off. Preheat with the lid down. The food does not sit on a lit burner for the cook.
Why do some instructions put the empty plank over a lit burner first?
Weber UK smokes the empty soaked plank over direct heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, flips it, then moves it to the indirect zone before the fish. Napoleon calls that char optional. The mistake is leaving the board over the flame once the food is on.
What changes if the barbecue is charcoal?
You bank the coals on one side and cook over the empty half, lid down. The rule is the same as gas. The edge chars sooner if the empty side is narrow or the coals are very hot, so you slide the plank away. A ring of coals is a poor plank setup.
What temperature should the lid thermometer sit near?
For Weber UK's salmon side on a plank, about 180°C indirect. Napoleon's general plank band is about 149 to 200°C. A Weber fillet recipe uses about 160°C, and a trout note uses about 220°C. Use the figure for the food you are cooking, and do not merge them into one official heat.
What do you do if the edge flames?
A soak has not made the board fireproof. Keep a little water for a corner, move the plank, and stay with it. Weber says not to leave the barbecue while a plank is down. If the fire is past a corner, lid on and vents shut is the barbecue's extinguishing line, not a way to finish dinner.
Why not in a garage or a tent?
Weber's plank warning covers confined spaces, and it names carbon monoxide as a fatal risk. A garage, a tent, a caravan, and a vehicle are inside that list. Indoor-use claims on other shop pages do not override it. Keep spare dry wood away from the hot barbecue.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22.10.2026.
- FSA: BBQ food safety (retrieved October 2026)
- Food Standards Scotland: Barbecue food safety (retrieved October 2026)
- Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 (retrieved October 2026)
- Weber UK: Salmon from the plank (retrieved October 2026)
- Weber UK: Large cedar planks (retrieved October 2026)
- Weber EMEA: Reusing a wood plank (retrieved October 2026)
- Napoleon UK: How to plank grill (retrieved October 2026)
- Wildwood Grilling: Is cedar wood toxic? (retrieved October 2026)
- BBC Food: Barbecue smoke (retrieved October 2026)