Salt Block Cooking is a comprehensive guide to the craft of cooking with Himalayan salt in its rough, primordial state–which is to say, as a rock. Salt blocks are boulders of 600 million year old rock salt that are cut into slabs or lathed into cups and bowls for use in the kitchen and at the table.

Cooking with salt blocks is emerging as a powerful but accessible technique, appearing everywhere from Iron Chef America competitions to ritzy Las Vegas steak houses to backyard family barbecues.  Everyone who sees it or tastes food made with it recognized the flavorful, flashy fun that salt blocks have to offer. But until now, the enormous potential has not been explored.  Cooking on salt blocks is indeed fun, but it is also a revolutionary cooking technique that promises serious benefits for cooks and eaters of every stripe.

‘Salt Block Cooking’  provides simple, modern recipes that illustrate the principles of preparing and serving food on Himalayan salt. Beginners will benefit from helpful information on shopping for a block, maintenance, heating, cooling, handling, serving, and cooking with their blocks. More adventurous salt block cooks will find an array of new tips, techniques and recipes (salt block curing a slice of watermelon into a savory prosciutto-like “ham”, anyone?).

My book is divided into seven sections, an introduction serving as an Owner’s Manual, and six cooking chapters, each providing information and recipes for mastering a core technique:

Introduction to Salt Blocks: Where are Himalayan salt blocks, where do they come from, and how are they used? The introduction will answer all your questions about how to select and use your Himalayan salt block.  Think of this as the user guide or owner’s manual.  It includes detailed instructions for warming, chilling, and cooking with your block, and how to clean up afterwards, with pictures to guide you every step of the way.

Serving on Salt Blocks: Learn how serving food on salt is the simplest and one of the best ways to bring a stunning visual display meal, not to mention a new dimension of flavor. These recipes reveal how food and salt interact when they meld at room temperature. Try watermelon and feta (see recipe below), salt block ceviche, or salt bowl mayonnaise.

Curing on (and Between) Salt Blocks:  In this chapter, we delve into the craft of transforming the very nature of food, with recipes for curing with salt blocks to preserve food while enhancing its flavor and texture. Unlike the crystals of granular salt, salt blocks cure in just two dimensions, drawing moisture out subtly for a dazzling effect. Recipes include quick salt cod, preserved savage mushrooms, and candied strawberries.

Warming on Salt Blocks and in Salt Bowls: Take advantage of salt’s capacity for emitting warmth by creating dishes that luxuriate in the heightened flavor and succulence that comes when fats begin to melt and aromas amplify. Try molten brie with pistachio crumbs and warm salted dates, or salt-melted chocolate fondue with bacon.

Cooking on (and under) Salt Blocks: Heat cooks and so does salt. What makes cooking on salt so cool is that heat and salt each get a turn to cook in their own way. Heated salt cooks like nothing else, from caramelizing sugars, melting fats, browning proteins and evaporating moisture. Grill up salt block cheeseburger sliders, salt crust cardamom Naan, or salt roasted poultry gizzards seasoned with pastrami pepper.

Chilling on Salt Blocks: Dense salt, plunged into sub-zero temperatures, freezes food to deliciousness. Whether its dipped in liquid nitrogen or cooled in a fridge, salt blocks interact with food differently at all temperatures. Freeze yourself some mocha-panna cotta gelato or salted bitters ice cream, or make salt-candied cherries with just-cooled blocks.

Drinking from Salt Cups: This chapter shows you how to craft that beverage to be consumed from a glass made out of salt. Recipes include the Islay Scotch and Chocolate, Salacious Mint Julep, or a warm sake shot with Daikon.

I think of this book as analogous to Thomas Keller’s book ‘Under Pressure’, which demystified and popularized the techniques of sous-vide cooking. Like sous-vide, cooking with salt blocks  may seem inaccessible to home cooks, or even to some professional chefs.  However, once you understand the basics, they are anything but.  ’Salt Block Cooking’ opens the door for everyone to enjoy the fun and flavor of cooking with Himalayan salt block, bricks, platters, bowls, dishes, and cups.  Personalized and autographed copies are available here>>

Recipes from ‘Salt Block Cooking’

Salt Brick Grilled Chicken

Makes 4 Servings

• 2 (4 by 8 by 2-inch) salt blocks
• 1 (4-pound) chicken, preferably free-range
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• Juice of ½ lemon

1) Place the salt blocks on a grill grate of a gas grill over low heat, close the lid, and warm for 10 minutes while you prepare the chicken. Turn the heat to medium and heat the block for 10 more minutes. Its surface should be about 375°F. If you are using a charcoal fire, set up a bilevel fire with half the grill set up for low heat (one layer of coals) and the other half set up for medium heat (two layers of coals).

2) Remove and discard the neck and package of innards from the cavity of the chicken. Place the chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. With a large knife or poultry shears, cut down the length of the spine on both sides. Remove the spine. Cut the breast side of the chicken in half lengthwise. You will now have two chicken halves.

3) Wash the halves in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Coat with the olive oil and rub all over with the cut sides of the garlic cloves; afterward tuck the pieces of garlic under the edges of the skin. Season all over with the pepper.

4) Clean the area of the grill grate not occupied by the salt block with a wire brush. Put the chicken halves, skin side down, on the grill grate and, using grill gloves or thick oven mitts, put a hot salt block on top of each half. Close the lid and cook until the chicken skin is crisp and deeply grillmarked, about 15 minutes.
Remove the blocks using the grill gloves, flip the chicken halves with tongs, put the blocks back on top of the chicken, close the lid, and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the inside of the thicker thigh registers 170°F, 10 to 15 minutes.

5) Remove the salt blocks, transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board, and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into parts. Drizzle with the lemon juice and serve.

Watermelon and Feta on a Salt Block

Makes 2 Servings

• 1 (8 by 12 by 2-inch) salt block platter, or 2 smaller blocks
• 4 (½-inch-thick) quarter slices large watermelon, rinds removed, or 8 (½-inch-thick) quarter slices small watermelon
• 3 ounces feta, crumbled
• 6 fresh mint leaves, slivered

1) Chill the salt block platter in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2) Arrange the melon slices on the block, slightly overlapping—the more the overlap, the less salt imparted to the melon. Scatter the feta and mint leaves over the top. Serve immediately. For added pop, allow the dish to stand 20 minutes before serving.

Saindhava lavana, which is mined in Pakistan, is sold widely in India as a culinary salt. Many Indians mistakenly believe the salt actually originates in India. Saindhava lavana is also the base salt that goes into making Kala Namak and Sajji salts. Saindhava Lavana is also sold in Europe and the United States as “Himalayan Pink” or “Himalayan Pink Sea Salt” (even though it is a rock salt). It is ground and used as a culinary salt, carved into salt lamps, and also carved into Himalayan salt blocks used for cooking and serving food. My new book, “Salt Block Cooking,” details how to use these blocks for grilling, chilling, and serving food.

Cooking steak on a slab of pink Himalayan salt isn’t like cooking on steel. When you cook on a Himalayan salt block, the heat of the block sears and browns proteins of the steak and melts fat, while the salt subtly dehydrates the surface and seasons to perfection. Together the heat and salt work in harmony to produce a tremendously tender and salted steak slices.

Cooking on Himalayan salt is unlike anything else, so here’s a step-by-step guide for how to do it: How to Cook Steak on a Himalayan Salt Block. Every step is explained in detail, with pictures to show you how to do it:

1. Select the right block
2. Heat it slowly
3. Cut, apply, and cook the steak
4. Clean your salt block
5. Store for later use

We use steak as an example because its one of our favorite things to cook on Himalayan salt. But these principles can be applied to cooking on salt in general – from scallops to eggs, bell peppers to fiddleheads and duck breast.

Go read: How to Cook Steak on a Himalayan Salt Block

For more information, see: Our Guide to Pink Himalayan Salt Blocks and Meadow fan Deanna Dawson’s How to Cook a Hanger Steak on a Himalayan Salt Block guide.

In 2011, three self-described “foodies” and graduate students, Bjorn Steinar Jonsson, Yngvi Eiriksson, and Gardar, took the research that culminated in a pair of Master’s degrees (economics and engineering), and reestablished the 240-year-old tradition of salt making in Iceland. Gardar says that the company “embodies calmness reminiscent of the location of its tranquil production surroundings” and “contains the flavor and taste of the Nordic region, from which the raw materials are derived.”

“There is no turning back, simply because we love food,” says Gardar Stefansson. “We are utterly fascinated and passionate in crafting sustainable salt that fits every dish and tastes great.”

Their energy and passion have culminated in a superbly crunchy, mineral-fresh sea salt produced using only energy from geothermal hot springs – Icelandic Flake Sea Salt. It is a crackling-sparkling topping on hamburgers, hearty garden vegetable dishes, and grilled fish. Saltverk is located in the northwest corner of Iceland on a small peninsula called Reykjanes. “The word Reykjanes is based on two Icelandic words,” says Gardar. “One is ‘reykur,’ which translates into smoke. The other word is ‘nes,’ which translates as small peninsula. Literally, the name means ‘smoky peninsula’(the capital of Iceland, Reykjavík, means “smoky cove”. Reykjanes teaming with wildlife, whales, seals, and birds is located deep in the bay of Ísafjarðardjúp, separating two fjords, surrounded with high mountains.

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Serves 6

2 large Himalayan Salt Blocks (6x9x2) or The Meadow’s Gravlax Starter Set (two 4x8x2)
Bunch of fresh dill sprigs
2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry yellow mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pound salmon fillet, skin on, pin bones removed
Melba toast or crackers for serving

Cover one block with half of the dill sprigs. Mix the dry ingredients. Place the salmon on the dill-covered salt block, skin down. Coat the fleshy parts of the salmon, and cover with the remainder of the dill sprigs. Place the second salt block on top, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap, and place in a fridge.

Leave in the fridge until the fish becomes resilient but not firm to the touch. The top surface should be dry, the sides moist, and the flesh will be slightly opaque. Allow one to three days. Thinner and wild salmon cure faster, while thicker and farm-raised salmon take longer.

When it is ready, unwrap the gravlax, rinse off the spices, and pat dry. Serve skin side down on melba toast or crackers.

The Meadow carries over a dozen different types of Japanese sea salts, more than from just about any other single country. Japan has a long tradition of making salt using their home-grown techniques that are unlike any found in the rest of the world.

We’re often asked how the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor disaster in March of 2011 effects the salt products coming from Japan. We’ve written an extensive article about Radiation and Japanese Sea Salt to try and answer this question. The article covers the basics of how radiation works, where our salts are made in Japan relative to Fukushima, and if there is any impact on the quality of Japanese sea salt.

The Meadow is also still selling a set of three Japanese sea salts to benefit the victims of the tsunami. All net proceeds from the sale of this product will be donated to Mercy Corp.

Hawaiian sea salts offer a combination of color, lots of minerals, and a varying grain size that makes them some of the most versatile salts available. Red alaea salt, black salts infused with activated charcoal, green salt infused with bamboo leaf extract, and plain, high-quality white Hawaiian sea salts are all available at The Meadow.

Hawaii has a rich salt producing history that stretches back long before Europeans landed on the Island. Today, some salts that are sold as “Hawaiian” are made elsewhere, and processed to look like traditional Hawaiian salts. Virtually all the “Hawaiian salts” sold around the world (including in Hawaii!) are based on industrial sea salts from manufacturers such as Cargil, and then passed off as authentic Hawaiian salt.

We’ve written a new guide that will tell you all about Hawaiian sea salt at The Meadow, including descriptions of the types of Hawaiian salts, the history of Hawaiian salt, and how Hawaiian salt is made.

An excerpt about the three foundational salts of cooking: “The most popular salts we sell are fleur de sel, which is a delicately crystaled, very mineral rich salt for all-purpose finishing. Put it on eggs, fish, cooked vegetables. We have flaky salts, which are parchment fine crystals that you can put on a green salad, each of them a different textual drama. And then we have coarse, moist, minerally salts called sel gris or grey salt. Steak, lamb, root vegetables, roasts, or anything hearty enough that it wants a big minerally crunch of salt to go along with it.”

Iron is a mineral required for human life. It sits at the heart of the hemoglobin molecule, which allows blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. There are trace amounts of iron in unrefined salt, which lend both color and flavor, and in it’s own subtle way, perhaps a bit of nutritional balance as well.

Some people have posited that high iron levels in the blood will increase the risk of disease.  According to the National Institutes of Health, the scientific jury is still out on that one.  Nonetheless, some of these people worry to the point that they look even to the fringes of their diet, to the food they eat in in only  small quantities–and there they find occasion to continue their fretting.  Their concern is over unrefined salt.  Can eating unrefined salt actually increase iron intake to a threatening level? A fair question. Let’s do the math:

The USDA’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron is 18mg. But dietary iron comes in two different forms: heme and nonheme. Unrefined salts contain non-heme iron, which is not absorbed into the body as efficiently as heme iron.

The RDA for salt intake is 2,300mg of sodium (Na), or about 6,100mg of NaCl (refined salt). Around the world, many people eat twice that amount of sodium.

So, what is the impact of salt consumption on you iron intake?

Himalayan salt, commonly singled out from the thousands of unrefined salts of the world as an example of a natural salt with its fair share of trace minerals, has 38.9 parts per million iron. Very roughly, the salt is about 0.00389% iron by mass.

Nutritionally speaking, a teaspoon of salt has the full U.S. RDA of sodium and 1.32% of a day’s supply of Iron:

If you ate two times the US maximum recommended amount of salt you would be consuming iron equivalent to what you’d get in 3/4 a slice of whole wheat bread or 1 heaping tablespoon of cooked lentils.

How much salt would you need to consume to pump your body up with the full U.S. RDA of Iron? 76 heaping teaspoons, or more salt an average salt-loving person consumes in a month. From a physiological standpoint, even that wouldn’t quite get you there, as the non-heme iron in the salt would not be efficiently absorbed. In sum, don’t look to salt to sort out your anemia.

From what I read, the scientific community is nowhere near a consensus on the real risk of high iron levels and increased risk of heart attack–in fact, from what I DON’T read (because there isn’t that much out there to read) it seems the scientific community has other fish to fry. But either way, I’m not enough of a lentils fanatic to lose much sleep over it in my own dietary contemplations. While noting the inconclusiveness of scientific knowledge at present, the US Government has kindly established the “tolerable upper intake level” of iron at 45mg per day. To get that much iron from salt you’d need to consume 190 heaping teaspoons of salt in a day, or 1,156,812mg.

That’s 2.55 pounds to you non-metric folks.

The vegetables of summer are steadily dropping off their vines and sliding back into the sun-soaked recesses of memory. Much as I look forward to fall–rain, endive, leaves, rain, a hiatus from mowing the lawn, endive, rain–I still crave the crisp, succulent, almost arrogant freshness of a veggie sandwich: all that is vegetal between the savory bookends of bread and cheese. And nothing loves a great salt like a veggie sandwich. My favorite: Amabito no Moshio (藻塩) is an ancient type of Japanese salt, called shio.

Shios are identifiable by their fine, snow-like texture.  Their firm, intensely mineral backbone lends a delicacy and brightness to food, much as acidity supports definition and complexity in wine.  Amabito no Moshio is the granddaddy of shios, created some 2,500 years ago in what was then more or less a neolithic Japan.  Seaweed was hauled out of the water by fishermen and dried on the rocks, then sprayed with water, then dried some more, then sprayed some more, etc. etc. until a now salt-encrusted seaweed could be rinsed to make a saturated brine.  The brine, along with bits of the kelp, would then be boiled off over a wood fire, resulting in a delicately seaweed-infused salt.  Today, The Meadow’s Amabito no Moshio, made with the hondawara variety of seaweed (Sargassum fulvellum) is inspired by that tradition.  If today is your day to celebrate the veggie sandwich–perhaps your last true fresh veggie sandwich of the year–do it with the proper reverence, and with a last backwards glimpse of summer’s sunny sanctity.

Vegetable Sandwich with Amabito no Moshio

Makes 4 servings

8 slices black bread or pumpernickel
1 teaspoon horseradish (optional)
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) cream cheese
½ bunch watercress, large stems trimmed
8 thin slices ripe tomato
2 thin slices red onion, halved
1 cup mung bean sprouts
24 thin slices cucumber
½ avocado, cut in 8 thin wedges
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Small grind of black peppercorns
4 three-finger pinches Amabito no Moshio sea salt

Spread the (optional) horseradish very sparingly over each slice of bread. Spread the cream cheese on one side of each slice of bread. Top four of the slices with a small fistful of watercress, two slices tomato, a half-slice red onion, ¼ cup sprouts, six cucumber slices, and two slices avocado.

Mix the olive oil and vinegar and spoon a small amount over the vegetables. Season each sandwich with a grinding of pepper and a three-finger pinch of Amabito no Moshio sea salt. Top with remaining cream cheese and bread and serve immediately.