Himalayan Salt Block

[Happy Hapgood]

My Son sent me this pic today. He has a friend who is a professional chef and recently got married. This was one of their wedding gifts. According to the friend to use it, you do not season the steak before cooking. As soon as it comes off the heat place it on the block and it absorbs the salt during resting flipping once. Friend wants to try it with chicken and seafood too.


Son is coming over tomorrow and says friend has only tried it with steaks so far. Hope he experiments and I can add somemore pics.


Anyone else heard of or use these? Thanks.

I guess the name is OK. Glad it's not called a "Heralayan" :becky:

 

[TXNewbie]

I've never heard of that, but please let us know how it turns out!

 

[Coat]

I use them for cooking as well. Heat it up slowly and it will retain heat for a long time. No need to season the food. FYI: the liquid from the meat stands on it so it isn’t great for a sear

 

[Coat]

(They are also good for cold service. It’ll hold cold temps and you can serve ice cream on it etc.)

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Thanks Coat. Great info!

 

[ClintHTX]

I know nothing about that. But the wife uses Himalayan salt as season along with Himalayan salt lamps...?

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I know nothing about that. But the wife uses Himalayan salt as season along with Himalayan salt lamps...?

That's another new one on me.

 

[sudsandswine]

I had one, thought it was kinda gimmicky and more hassle than it was worth. I had an electric stove at the time and no way to easily heat the whole thing. Suppose I could've put it in a hot oven, but...eh. I heated it up on a grill and didn't taste much flavor off the salt block. With the time invested firing up a grill to heat the block I'd have been better off just putting the steaks on the grill.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I had one, thought it was kinda gimmicky and more hassle than it was worth. I had an electric stove at the time and no way to easily heat the whole thing. Suppose I could've put it in a hot oven, but...eh. I heated it up on a grill and didn't taste much flavor off the salt block. With the time invested firing up a grill to heat the block I'd have been better off just putting the steaks on the grill.

I'm not sure but I think you are supposed to cook the protein to desired doneness then put it on the block to rest. That's when it absorbs the salt flipping onece.

 

[sudsandswine]

I've only heard of them used to actually cook the meat the whole time, so I dunno.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=himalayan+salt+block+steak

I can't imagine just setting a cooked steak on it will really do much of anything. I didnt really notice much saltiness when I cooked the steak on there the whole time.

Only one way to find out though :thumb:

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I've only heard of them used to actually cook the meat the whole time, so I dunno.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=himalayan+salt+block+steak

I can't imagine just setting a cooked steak on it will really do much of anything. I didnt really notice much saltiness when I cooked the steak on there the whole time.

Only one way to find out though :thumb:

That sure makes sense. Hmmm. Food for thought. :laugh:

 

[IamMadMan]

My Son sent me this pic today. He has a friend who is a professional chef and recently got married. This was one of their wedding gifts. According to the friend to use it, you do not season the steak before cooking. As soon as it comes off the heat place it on the block and it absorbs the salt during resting flipping once. Friend wants to try it with chicken and seafood too.

Son is coming over tomorrow and says friend has only tried it with steaks so far. Hope he experiments and I can add somemore pics.

Anyone else heard of or use these? Thanks.


I guess the name is OK. Glad it's not called a "Heralayan" :becky:

Mike,


I have several Himalayan salt slabs I use for grilling. Because salt is an ionic compound the molecules are very tightly bonded, so the melting point is somewhere near 1470° F.

I preheat the salt slabs well above 550° and then put the steak on on the salt slab while still above the heat source. Yes, flip the steak once, and then you can turn the heat off.

Then when the steak is done, and the salt block has cooled, wipe the salt block with a lightly damp (not dripping wet) cloth to clean the surface of the salt block. Because salt is a rock, it is not porous, so wiping clean is all you need. Also salt itself inhibits bacterial growth, that's why it's used in curing meat and making sauerkraut. As long as the block is wiped clean and you don't have food residue stuck on it, you are good to go.


I do use other seasonings, but no extra salt when using the salt block. I don't use these very often because I like to use surface salts when cook steak for that momentary burst of saltiness.


.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Mike,


I have several Himalayan salt slabs I use for grilling. Because salt is an ionic compound the molecules are very tightly bonded, so the melting point is somewhere near 1470° F.

I preheat the salt slabs well above 550° and then put the steak on on the salt slab while still above the heat source. Yes, flip the steak once, and then you can turn the heat off.

Then when the steak is done, and the salt block has cooled, wipe the salt block with a lightly damp (not dripping wet) cloth to clean the surface of the salt block. Because salt is a rock, it is not porous, so wiping clean is all you need. Also salt itself inhibits bacterial growth, that's why it's used in curing meat and making sauerkraut. As long as the block is wiped clean and you don't have food residue stuck on it, you are good to go.


I do use other seasonings, but no extra salt when using the salt block. I don't use these very often because I like to use surface salts when cook steak for that momentary burst of saltiness.


.

Thanks for weighing in on this Brother. :clap2: I know you know. :thumb:

 

[Hoss]

Well,I will take one for the team. Delicate flavored proteins like shrimp and stuff,maybe OK.For meat an other things,not impressive.More hype than anything.My vote,another "gimmick".Just my observation by using one several times.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Well,I will take one for the team. Delicate flavored proteins like shrimp and stuff,maybe OK.For meat an other things,not impressive.More hype than anything.My vote,another "gimmick".Just my observation by using one several times.

Hoss, your post is what I love about the BBQ Brethren. Great input from folks that have tried them. I had no clue but reading this thread is a education. :thumb:

 

[Bob C Cue]

Because salt is an ionic compound the molecules are very tightly bonded, so the melting point is somewhere near 1470° F.

Once again you took the words right out of my mouth!

 

[Dr. Weld]

I got one a few years ago, use it a great deal. It works well. I use it to cook on, as well as resting the steaks , and various meats n fishes on it. They work good. Give it a whirl..

 

[Dweverett]

Agree with some of t(e. Moments Hoss made. I don’t use mine much but it works well for things like fish and shrimp. For fish in particular it’s nice to not have to worry about sticking and the results are very good - would say it’s my favorite way of cooking that.

 

[JEStucker]

Had one once, thought it was gimmicky - and I think I heated it improperly once in the oven, because I managed to explode it. Waiting on the oven to cool down to clean out fist sized (and smaller... much much smaller) salt chunks wasn't fun... so we started just breaking it down with a hammer and putting it in a mortar and pestle and just turning it into salt.

 

[IamMadMan]

Mike,


I should have added, but it was late last night and was preoccupied.


I said "I don't use these very often", simply because of the time to slowly heat the salt rock slab. Think of it as going to Bennihanna for dinner; It's a great show, it's a conversation piece, and it's good food. I still use these from time to time for something different but with about 45 minutes to an hour to bring things up to temperature, it just doesn't work for a nice quick steak dinner.


Most times than not, I just want a quick cook for the steak because I am already hungry. I like a quick cook over the extremely hot coals of lump charcoal for that perfectly cooked steak. I also like to use surface salts when I cook steaks for that momentary burst of saltiness, you just can't beat the salty finish of Maldon Flake Salt or Fleur de Sel salt on steaks. You just can't beat that perfect sear over very hot coals when cooking a steak.



But we all have our personal likes and techniques.....


Here is an article on heating and cleaning your salt block.
https://themeadow.com/pages/how-to-cook-steak-on-a-himalayan-salt-block


Brethren Schmoke asked about preventing/removing the unappealing black residue on the salt block from burning a combination of charcoal and wood. I told him that I start the block with indirect heat from the kettle using lump charcoal, slowly moving the salt block over the hot coals a little at a time. I still get a very light residue but it does wipe clean.


Maybe for those who want to keep the salt blocks clean, using the burner in the above article above would be an idea for them to try. I would imagine the infrared burner on a gas grill might also keep the salt block clean if you bring it to temperature slowly.


Good luck and let us know how you like your first cook with them, it's definitely a conversation piece and the food is always great.





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