Smoked SALT?!!!!

SoupGuy · September 10, 2005, 05:40:54 PM

While in North Africa (almost 30 years ago) I got my initiation into 'smoked' foods... maybe I should say smoked-flavored foods.

To keep a long story short, I was in Gibralter for three days back in the mid seventies. Just outside of 'town' was a roadside stand/eatery where they sold smoked food. Theyre 'smoker' was nothing more than a 55 gallon drum/barrel. The bottom had an opening and they put wood (variety unknown) down there over coals. The top was wood with openings and wire (re-bar?).

In it they had little fish, about 6 to 8 inches long hanging on strings from the wire 'grate' on the wooden lid. The smoke poured out of the barrel HEAVY and THICK. I think I got about 4 of these fish for something like $1.50 US. They were really good!!!!

Returning a day later for more, I was disappointed to see that the 'smoker' / 'barrel' wasn't smoking. Instead, what they had was a fire (campground style) with a large skillet over it cooking yet another fish I don't know what it was (about the size of Tilapia) and what I think was pork (hoping it wasn't a dog or cat or something...).

This was served on a sheet of paper almost like a paper plate, but crude and thinner. Then a lime (I think) was squeezed over it. I took a bite (no silverware provided- just fingers) and must have had a wierd look on my face. It wasn't BAD, but it wasn't great either. I returned there hoping to get more of those little smoked fish. Then the guy who was tending the fire and cooking came over and opened an envelope (again, crude/homemade thing) and poured a dark brown 'salt' over my food and smiled. Good thing he was smiling because I was now really worried I was eating somebody's stray cat or something...

Man was that AWESOME STUFF!! It was smoked salt. Pretty coarse maybe, but it brought out the flavor of (whatever) I was eating Big Time! It was better than the little smoked fish actually!

About 5 years ago I bought a small bottle of smoked salt over the internet. Not even close to what I had hoped for. I threw it out.

Over the past 15 or so years I've been smoking all sorts of things. My successes include fish, Jerky, Venison, sausage, chicken, pork and peppers. My failures include... salt.

Fifteen years ago I met who is now my best friend. He taught me how to smoke Salmon back in early 1990's when we raped Lake Michigan of its Coho and Chinook (King) Salmon and Trout (Steelhead and Brown). He is 75 years old now (I am almost a generation younger than he) and he doesn't smoke a whole lot anymore. But he sure knows a lot about it as he learned from his father who smoked smelt out of the same lake.

Just last week I called him up to see how he is doing and how the fishing is on MI. For the first time ever, I asked him about smoking salt and shared for the first time my experience in Gibralter 30 years ago, he matter-of-factually told me that his father smoked salt once a year and of all the things they used it on!

Good Golly! I have searched the internet many times and never really found out how to smoke a rock. HIS motto (and now mine) has always been 'if it breathes or is mentioned in the Bible- SMOKE IT'.

So he went on to tell me how his oldman smoked salt, and how he did it himself (always the one to do it better?).

His father laid 'Rock Salt' over water-soaked cotton cloths on a grate and smoked it for 2 or 3 days, adding water to the cloth a couple/few times each day. (I am worried about what his dad called 'Rock Salt' back some 60 years or so ago... heck, I melt snow on my driveway with that stuff!) It sounds like he doesn't remember EXACTLY how his dad did it since his description is full of holes... BUT, good (old) Mick described his own method much better!

Since I am doing a bunch of peppers this weekend where the smoke will be pouring forth for 16+ hours... might as well give his method a try. I'll get back into this forum message AFTER and share with you all how it turned out- even if it is a BUST.

Here is the (modernized by my old friend) plan:

1. Use COARSE Kosher salt
2. Place screen (metal) over smoker rack, then cotton towel/cloth.
3. Pour salt evenly over cloth no more than 1/8th inch thick
4. Cover salt with white cotten linen- like a sheet or pillow-case.
5. SOAK the cloth's in water, but no too much as to make it drip.
6. Smoke using a 'strong wood' (OK- I didn't get a good explanation of what he meant by this... he uses Hickory, Apple, and Cherry mostly).
7. Temperature is not so important as keeping the cloths 'moist' but NOT 'dripping wet'. Lower Temp is best to avoid drying out the cloths too often(?)
8. Heavy Smudge! (old mans terminology for thick smoke) CONTINUOUSLY for 3 or more days.

** His dad did not have the convenience of the modern spray bottle. Mick says he used a spray bottle every 4 to 6 hours to keep the cloths wet. (did he sleep?)

9. Cloths and Salt will turn dark brown after 'a few days'. The darker the better (he says).
10. When done, place salt AND Cloths in a sack and hang outside for a day or two until completely dry.
11. Store in a closed bottle.

I will try this this recipe and get back to you all. Sorry for all the extraneous wind, but as an experienced sausage smoker, I know that the flavor is in the details!

NO Soup For You!

Best know not for soup, but rather smoked meats...

nsxbill · September 10, 2005, 05:51:27 PM

Soup

Anxious to hear how the salt comes out. I love smoked salt that I have tried thus far, and would like to experiment with it myself.

Thanks,

Bill

There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.

Fuzzybear · September 10, 2005, 05:53:57 PM

Can't wait to hear about the results!

"A mans got to know his limitations"

SoupGuy · September 10, 2005, 06:43:30 PM

Sorry- I am a LOSER!

I had a couple of boxes of Kosher salt in the pantry and a LOAD of peppers in the smoker (JAPS, HABS, ANCH and 'Peter Peppers') I LOVE Chipotle and smoked ancho's and since they take so long figured I could let the Salt ride along (and longer...).

Turns out my Salt is not Coarse... crap- it is just as fine as table salt!

Next time in the store I am going to get the right stuff and give this a shot! I realize that this recipe/method would be rather expensive using pucks in BS at @ $1 per hour, but I can use chunk wood in my smoker and have gone more than 24 hours many times without losing too much sleep... so I can do it!

When I get results (may be a couple/few weeks) I'll share. Even if I screw up! (ie; the few times before I get it right)

** If anyone out there knows of a good brand or supplier of really good smoked salt I'd be interested! SOMETIMES, buying things are cheaper than doing it yourself... MAYBE even better?

Good Weekend to all!

Best know not for soup, but rather smoked meats...

nsxbill · September 10, 2005, 08:04:08 PM

Looked at Penzey's nothing there, then did Google search and found a bunch of suppliers...check them out and look at the different sites that sell it.

Bill

There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.

JVR · September 12, 2005, 01:11:39 AM

Yes, can't wait to hear the results! [8)]

ListerD · September 12, 2005, 05:22:03 PM

Er, unless I'm missing something...

I do it with rough kosher or sea salt. You can get it here in a chain called Dominicks. These are a little smaller than rock salt like you'd use on the sidewalk.

I just use a real shallow aluminum pan and punch very small holes (ice pick tip size) make a grid, one hole every 1/8".

Fill with about 1/4 - 3/8" of the rough salt, spray with water (lightly!!! Just a super fine mist).

Allow 30 minutes of smoke to pass, stir and flip (fold) the salt around. Spray it from a spray bottle very lightly again.

Do this 3 times.

Crush or grind to desired grain size.

It comes out almost brown sugar brown and is wonderful.

jaeger · September 13, 2005, 03:59:17 AM

ListerD,
I like the idea of the shorter smoke time. I would like to try this next time I smoke cheese, but I think the idea is to make the smoke adhere through the water drying/evaporating from the salt. I think a batch of jerky with a rack of salt may be called for.[;)]

Salt Nazi,
Great subject. To bad about your problem. NO SALT FOR YOU!!!![:D]

Doug

MWS · September 13, 2005, 05:08:50 AM

I have some Celtic Sea Salt that I think would be great for smoking.. It's a hand harvested moist coarse sea salt that I bought at our local health food/organics shop. After reading the posts on this topic, I'm ready to give it a try. Because the salt is moist, I think the smoke should adhere to it pretty well. Anybody had any experience smoking this salt?
http://www.celticseasalt.com/Celtic_Seasalt_C3.cfm

Mike 

"Men like to barbecue, men will cook if danger is involved".
-John Wayne

nsxbill · September 13, 2005, 12:24:25 PM

Anxious to hear how it comes out, Mike. Keep us posted.

Bill

There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.

manxman · September 14, 2005, 08:57:32 PM

I have oak smoked coarse grain sea salt a few times in the BS using the John Watkins cold smoke method, spreading the salt thinly on grease proof paper and giving it a mix once during the smoking process.

As salt is a dessicant I have always found it to be damp at the end of the smoking period in any case and always put it in the oven for a short time to dry it out.

Normally put some in when I do some cheese.

Perhaps it is the damp enviroment this side of the pond that makes the difference!!

Manxman.

SoupGuy · September 21, 2005, 03:22:20 PM

Still haven't tried this, but will when work, hobbies, family-time allow.

Thanks for all the links/suggestions to commercially available smoked salt. I've tried a couple of them and they were "OK"... there is just something about doing it ones self and not paying for shipping! :)

Like the oven-dry idea better than hanging... thanks!

** Oh, "sea salt" was something my EX was alergic to (made her lips puff up...don't even say it). Despite the fact that I was alergic to HER, it makes one wonder what the difference is since even mined salt was originally from the sea? If there really is no difference, then theres the proof she wasn't really a human afterall...[}:)]

Best know not for soup, but rather smoked meats...

manxman · September 21, 2005, 07:57:20 PM

Hi SoupNazi

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">If there really is no difference, then theres the proof she wasn't really a human afterall... <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I take it you did not stay friends with this particular ex!!??[:D][;)]

Maybe it was a particular additive, anticaking agent or something that she was allergic too?

Mmmmm...... did she ever come to the UK? Think I may have met her!![}:)]

Manxman.

SoupGuy · September 26, 2005, 12:29:08 AM

Friends? She had just enough intelligence to say "if you think we're going to be friends after this (divorce) you're wrong- I'm never going to talk to you again". She got the point! :)

I AM now finally smoking salt. I have two boxes of Morton coarse kosher laying on a towel. Been spraying a mist over and under it every so often. The salt started turning light beown after just a couple of hours... I don't know if I am going for the 'days...' thing. We'll see!

Best know not for soup, but rather smoked meats...

SoupGuy · September 28, 2005, 07:08:50 PM

Follow up on the original post...

I spent 3 days baby-sitting the smoker with 8 LBS of Coarse Kosher Salt inside. (I used chunk hickory in a custom smoker).

Tried my best to mist the salt with water and comb it, but got lazy after day one when I saw the salt turning brown. Thought I was ahead of the game, but NOT! Days two and three I spayed and combed much less. I think this is an important step that I failed at.

3 full days of smoking; misting a lot day one showed great results. Day two I only misted with water 3 or 4 times... thinking I was 'ahead'. Wrong. Day three, I did more misting (@ 12+ times) and combed the salt using a large forked each time.

I'm tired of the work and pulled the salt after 78 hours. I will admit overnight day 2/3 the smoke went off sometime during the night and I had to restart the hickory smoke from scratch.

End Product:

I got two racks of salt laying on towels that were tan-brown on the top, and 'speckled-brown' in the middle (after 'stirring'). In my opinion, it doesn't look like what I hoped for: a uniformly brown coarse salt.

Anyway, there also was some loss in volume. I assume the loss is sitting in the towel??? Tasting the salt there is an unmistakable smokey flavor to it. Whether it is enough to make a diff in otherwise unsmoked product we'll see!

My FIRST use of the smoked salt starts today. I thawed a whole (domestic) turkey (two days in frige, 4 and four hours cold water in sink).

I mixed 1/2 cup smoked salt, 1 TBL freshly ground black pepper, 1 TBL garlic powder, 1 TBL Sweet hungarian Paprika, and 1 tsp. Rubbed Sage. I rubbed the entire mixture inside and outside the turkey and placed into a 350F oven. OH; the turkey weighed 13 LBS, and it is Not stuffed.

I thought of letting it sit in the frige overnight like a dry brine, but am not really enthusiastic about playing around with turkey that way. So into the oven it went.

Still deciding whether or not to add more smoke after cooking or just see what I get from the smoked salt...

Will respond tomorrow.... [:p]

Best know not for soup, but rather smoked meats...