About one year ago and a couple months ago, I found an instructional video on the web about cooking with a slab of giant pink salt. I wish I were still able to dig up the video to share, but no such luck. If I could, I would attribute the hell out of it, but since I can’t you’ll just have to settle for what I have to say about it.
I saw this little video and was immediately sold. I needed one of these salt blocks. Now.
I think I probably went out that very weekend in search of one. I managed to secure my very own giant slab of Himalayan salt from SLT (I hate saying Sur La Table for reasons that South Park has illustrated very well) for just shy of $40. You can order them from a number of places online, too, but you’re usually stuck paying $50 or $60 for a good size on account of the shipping charges.
I know what you’re thinking.
“But Liam, the Himalayas are far away. Think of how far that salt had to travel to get to you.”
And you’re right. Thousands of miles. But thanks to the enormity of the block of salt itself, and the multitude of uses for it, it is something you can use in your kitchen over and over and over again for a year or more before it’s all used up.
My first block did last me just about a year and I was using it probably 3-4 times a week at that point since I was so excited by the novelty of it. Now, I just bought my second one, and I might not use it quite as often but it’s still incredibly useful and really brings a lot of dishes up to that next level.
I mentioned a multitude of uses. I think mine probably gets the most use on the grill.
When grilling, you can put a block of salt right on the grill for grilling soft fish, seafood, or really any meat you want also. If I’m doing a more substantial meat like chicken (which is what I did with my recent margarita chicken post) I’ll cook it 90% of the way on the salt block and then finish it in the grill for those authentic cross hatches.
When you grill with one of these, you just need to make sure you put it on the grill as it is heating up so there’s no extreme temperature shift. Other than that, they are good to go for up to 1500 F. Fish works great.
Here’s some turbot I made a couple days ago.
Shrimp is also perfect. I’ve grilled pizza on one, too. The crust was to die for.
The great thing about cooking with the salt block is that it pretty much always perfectly salts your food. During the cooking process, the salt gets absorbed up into the meat (or whatever you’re cooking on it) at a rate based on the density of the cooking product so you don’t ever get any over-salting. You want to make sure not to use any salt in your sauces or anything that you might use on top of these meats though, as that will almost definitely be overkill.
More uses –
1. Roast food in the oven on top of it
2. Serve cold food like cold cuts or vegetables on top of it (they will still absorb the salt)
3. Use as a sushi serving platter
4. When pieces break off, you can grate them with a microplane for every day salting
5. Bring up to high heat in the oven for 30 minutes, then cook a steak on top of it – at the table. It will retain heat for 30-45 minutes after removal from oven, plenty of time for cooking pretty much anything and some major show-off points
Cleaning is pretty easy. Salt is naturally anti-microbial so you don’t have to worry about any bacteria growing on it. After every use simply wipe it down real well with a sponge under running water.
As you continually use the block, it will degrade slowly. Admittedly, the cleaning does get a bit tougher as it degrades because it degrades erratically – you lose the smooth surface that it started with. But it’s never that difficult. Eventually, pieces will break off that you can use for anything you want. My first block did last about a year under heavy usage, so it was well worth the initial cost. I still have a sizable chunk that I use for grating over my food.
If you grill a lot or eat a lot of fish/seafood, you will love owning one of these. I’ve *never* had salmon so good as the stuff that comes off my salt block. It’s just really incredible.
I’m far from any sort of salt connoisseur but I love this stuff. I want to learn more about some different gourmet salts – do you have any favorites or any great experiences with salt, either at a restaurant or at home?
