Cedar plank or stainless salmon board
Updated: 23 October 2026
You want cedar plank salmon, or you want a board you can wash and use again. A cedar plank or a stainless salmon board can both hold a fillet beside heat, and they do opposite things to the flavour. This page is from Peter F., editor for DIY and tools, updated on 20 October 2026. Prices and review lines come from the amazon.co.uk files in the [smoking plank comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/smoking-plank). We did not taste the fish or lab-test hygiene. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
You want cedar plank salmon, or you want a board you can wash and use again. A cedar plank or a stainless salmon board can both hold a fillet beside heat, and they do opposite things to the flavour.
You want cedar plank salmon, or you want a board you can wash and use again. A cedar plank or a stainless salmon board can both hold a fillet beside heat, and they do opposite things to the flavour. This page is from Peter F., editor for DIY and tools, updated on 20 October 2026. Prices and review lines come from the amazon.co.uk files in the smoking plank comparison. We did not taste the fish or lab-test hygiene. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Wood | Board type | Soak | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  onlyfire onlyfire stainless flame board | None (stainless) | Stainless board | Not required (steel) | 7.4 | about £24.99 | View offer |
 Wildwood Grilling Wildwood 12-pack, 5x11 | Western red cedar | Flat plank | Not stated as a time | 8.2 | about £21.72 | View offer | |
| Best value |  Weber Weber small portion planks | Western red cedar | Flat plank | UK reviews soak; one still flamed | 6.8 | about £11.19 | View offer |
On this page
What you are actually choosing
A cedar plank is cooking wood. Wildwood says a soaked board flavours the fish and keeps it off the grate. That is a manufacturer claim, not a UK regulation. A stainless flame board sits at an angle. The onlyfire listing says the steel keeps the salmon's own flavour and that you add wood chips if you want smoke. The board itself does not taste of cedar. A steel seller's claim that wood soaks up fat is not a laboratory result, and this page will not call steel more hygienic. Length and thickness of the flat packs are on the buying guide. Whether a bracket fits your bowl is on the fire-pit page.
Cedar in this set
The ordinary cedar buy for a grate is the Wildwood 12-pack of stated 5 by 11 inch western red cedar at £21.72, with 4.6 from 2,384 reviews. It is the top pick on listing score, and a portion board. A UK review calls the planks very thin and scentless. A wafer may give you little cedar taste, and it can still flare. The Weber four-pack at £11.19, model 17832, is the best value wood option, with a dimension line that fights the reviews. Relaxdays is cedar with a mount: two untreated boards, about 46 by 15.5 cm, £39.90, for a rim up to 3 mm. One UK review describes four fires. Skip the Wildwood 6-pack as evidence. It shares the 2-pack's star line. Switching to steel removes the wood flavour on purpose. It does not repair undercooked fish.
The stainless board
The stainless board here is onlyfire B0DSBHK4ZX, 60.2 by 19 cm, at £24.99, four angles, 1.41 kg, model F-FPA5264-SS1-EU. The listing says the surface is dishwasher-safe, does not absorb oil, and will not warp the way wood can. Two UK reviews are positive: a whole side fits, and the board stayed straight on a fire pit. The star line is 4.8 from 31. You do not soak it. Chips on the fire are not the same as a soaked western red cedar plank under the fillet.
Set £24.99 once against £21.72 for twelve cedar boards. If each board is used once, the wood is about £1.81 a cook, a rule of thumb from these shelf prices only. The steel board is the calmer buy if you do not need that flavour from the surface.
The listing that says both
onlyfire's other flame product, B0B9S7RB97 at £34.99, is easy to file under steel by mistake. The bullets say red cedar boards and stainless brackets, about 22 by 5.7 inches. The technical material line says stainless steel. A UK review says it worked on a barbecue. A different review says one bracket was missing. The dishwasher line belongs to B0DSBHK4ZX, not to this pair.
A simple rule
If you want cedar flavour twice a summer, buy a flat western red cedar pack and follow a real soak. The 12-pack is the top pick for portions. The Weber four-pack is the best value if you will measure the boards. Skip both for a whole side on a 5 by 11 inch plank. If the cooker is a fire pit, look at the stainless board and then check the rim. Steel does not clip itself to a thick wall. Wood when the flavour is the point, steel when washing the same board matters more.
Common questions
Will a steel board taste like cedar plank salmon?
Not from the metal. The onlyfire listing says stainless steel keeps the salmon's own flavour, and that wood chips on the fire are how you add smoke. That smoke is different from a soaked western red cedar plank under the fillet. If cedar taste is why you are shopping, the steel board is the wrong row.
Do I soak the steel board?
No. There is no wood in the surface to saturate. Soaking is for the cedar packs, where reviews link a dry board to flares. Chips, if you want them, go on the fire.
Which one goes in the dishwasher?
The stainless onlyfire board, B0DSBHK4ZX, says the surface is dishwasher-safe and does not absorb oil. Cedar planks do not. A steel seller's argument that wood holds fat is not a lab result. The cedar-and-bracket pair does not carry the dishwasher line.
Which is cheaper if I only cook twice a year?
Twelve Wildwood cedar boards are £21.72, about £1.81 each if you use them once. The steel board is £24.99 once. Two cedar cooks a year favour the wood on price, if you want that flavour and you accept the thin-board complaint. Steel makes more sense if you would otherwise keep buying flame-board pairs at £34.99 or £39.90.
Is the onlyfire cedar pair a steel board?
No. The bullets say red cedar with stainless brackets. The material field says stainless steel. Check the parcel. The dishwasher claim belongs to the single stainless board at £24.99, 60.2 by 19 cm.
Who should skip the steel board?
Skip it if you want western red cedar taste from the surface, if you need a steel grade the listing does not give, or if you are treating 31 reviews as a large UK test. Also skip it as a fix for a rim that is thicker than a cedar bracket. The metal still has to sit on that rim.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk product files for these ASINs.
- Weber UK — Salmon from the Plank (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Weber UK — cedar plank set, model 17522 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Food Standards Agency — Cooking your food (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Food Standards Agency — cold-smoked fish advice (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- HSE — western red cedar and asthma (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- GOV.UK — Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- London Fire Brigade — BBQ safely leaflet (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22.10.2026)