Flavored Smoked Sea Salts

I always try to come up with new flavorings for my proteins and lately I have been playing around with a different array of seasonings. Its kind of amazing the prices you pay for these and as I was picking up a small bag of salt for a big price, I thought to myself, why am I paying $10 for this!
So the experiments began and I must say, I had a few learning experiences, like don't put the salt on when your grill is still 400 degrees, but all in all it went really smooth and the aromas and flavorings are wonderful.



You can prep all your salt before prepping your grill therefore when the pecan chips start smoking you are able to place your salt on right away after your temperature has lowered back down to 200 degrees.

You will need:
Mortar & Pestle or a food processor
Sea Salt-I used Alessi Kosher Salt, it was about $2.00 
Tin Foil-To make a boat for your salt to dry on in the grill
Smoking chips-I used pecan 
Ingredients for the flavors-Recipes below
*If you do not have a grill you can dry your salt in the oven at 200 degrees. It won't have the smoky flavor, but it still will be fantastic.

Start with pecan chips soaking in vinegar or water ever liquid you like to use. After soaking the chips for a little over a hour, put the chips in a smoker box and heat the grill to get the chips to start smoking. VERY Important step..lower grill to about 200 degrees and maintain that heat for smoking. If you don't, you will burn your salt.

Merlot, Pecan and Herb Sea Salt
2 cups - Merlot - Reduced to 2 Tbls.
1 Tbls.-Parsley
1 tsp. - Thyme
2 Tbls. - Pecan
3/4 cups - Sea Salts
Reduce the Merlot on a stove on low heat, simmer until it has evaporated to 2 tablespoons. It took about 40 minutes.

While Merlot is reducing, place parsley, thyme and pecan's in Mortar and grind down to a paste. Add the salt and grind slightly, don't over grind, then add the Merlot The color is just beautiful and the aroma of the pecans and Merlot together are so mouth watering. Spread on tin foil boat and put on grill for about an hour or until   dry. Stir periodically to ensure the salt does not over brown on the edges and the middle dries out. This salt is highly aromatic and will go very well with beef.
reduction and mix with the salt.


Lemon-Lime with Thyme Sea Salt
1 - Lemon, zest
1/2 a Lemon,  squeezed
1 - Lime, zest
1/2 a Lime,  squeezed
1tsp. - Thyme
1/2 cup - Sea Salt
In the Mortar zest the lemon and lime, add thyme ,salt and juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime. Mix together and place in tinfoil boat and smoke until lightly browned, not quite an hour.Stir periodically to
ensure the salt does not over brown on the edges and the middle dries out. Such an unusual and fresh flavor, I will be using this not only on fish, but chicken, fruits and vegi's.

Rosemary and Thyme Sea Salt

1 - Lemon, zest
1/2 - Lemon, squeezed
1tsp. - Thyme
1-2Tblsp. - Rosemary
1/2 cup - Sea Salt
Place Rosemary and Thyme in Mortar and grind, add Lemon zest Salt and Lemon Juice. Stir, covering salt then place in tinfoil boat and smoke until lightly browned, not quite an hour. Stir periodically to ensure the salt does not over brown on the edges and the middle dries out. I will be using this one on pork loin, turkey and chicken.


Lemon and Garlic Sea Salt
5 cloves - Garlic
1 - Lemon, zest
1/2 - Lemon, squeezed
3/4 cup - Sea Salt
Place garlic in mortar and grind till mashed add zest , salt and lemon juice. Mix ingredients together and place in tinfoil boat and smoke, I left on grill smoking for about an hour and 45 minutes. This gave it a real smoky flavor witch enhanced the garlic. Stir periodically to ensure the salt does not over brown on the edges and the middle dries out.
The pic shows the Lemon Garlic Sea Salt on the left. This turned out excellent. Kind of dark because I left it on longer, but I like the smokiness. This is so much better than store bought Garlic Salt.

Italian Herb Sea Salt
1 Tblsp. each of  - Parsley, Oregano and Thyme
2 Tblsp. - Basil
1/2 - Lemon, squeezed
3/4 cup - Sea Salt
Place herbs in mortar and grind until they are mashed. Add lemon juice and sea salt, stir until salt is covered thoroughly. Place in tinfoil boat and smoke for about 1 1/2 hours. Stir periodically to ensure the salt does not over brown on the edges and the middle dries out. This will be an all purpose salt, the aromas are just fantastic.

This is what happens when you put your salt  on the grill and it's too hot.

Authored by +Shawna Williams
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