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How to Cook with a Himalayan Salt Block




Yum

December 12, 2014 by Andrea Fabry 18 Comments

Many of us flavor our food with Himalayan salt, but have you tried cooking with it?

Look at those "glowing" negative ions!

Himalayan salt blocks offer one of the safest ways to cook your food. They also can be used for curing, drying, freezing, caramelizing and they make beautiful serving trays. They are the ultimate sustainable cookware – 100% natural! You can see all those beneficial negative ions emitting from the block in the photo above.

There are a few tricks to keep in mind when cooking with a salt block. There’s not a lot that can go wrong when you serve with it or freeze it, but the block is a bit more fragile when it comes to heat.

The good news is salt doesn’t melt until it reaches a temperature of 1473.4 degrees F, so melting is not an issue. However the caution comes with the heating process. I recommend the book Salt Block Cooking by Mark Bitterman for complete instructions. He offers more than 70 creative recipes as well. Here are his summary tips for heating a salt block:

  • Salt blocks can crack. Heat them slowly.
  • Salt blocks can pop. Only use cookware-graded blocks.
  • Salt blocks can get very hot. Handle them only very briefly, using extreme caution, wearing high-temperature oven mitts.
  • Salt blocks hold enormous energy. Ensure there is adequate insulation between salt blocks and tables or counters.

Salt blocks work on the grill, over a gas stove, in the oven and on an electric stove. The electric stove requires some type of buffer between the stove and the block – I use the outer rim of a tart pan.

No matter which method you use, you’ll want to heat the block slowly. Bitterman recommends heating the block on the stove, at a rate of 15 minutes per low/medium/high setting.  Do this before using in the oven. (Follow the same gentle process when heating on gas grills.)

This means it can take 45 minutes to heat your block before cooking. The wait is well worth it, however, as the taste is unbeatable!

My first try was with burgers. Once my family tasted the deep flavor and perfect saltiness, we were hooked!

burger on himalayan salt block

I have also fried eggs and cooked sourdough flatbread on my salt block.

Egg fried on himalayan salt plate

I even served shrimp recently on my separate “cool” salt block.

Shrimp on himalayan salt plate

Himalayan salt blocks are readily available online. I found mine locally at World Market. A wonderful place to purchase them is at Bitterman’s site where you can purchase a nice combination that includes his book! Check out The Meadow found here.

What about fat? Will it run off the side? That depends. Overdoing the fat can result in spillage, but you’ll learn the right amount in no time. It’s important to keep in mind that fat offers a nice separation between the food and the salt, so the more fat, the less salt flavor.

I recently demonstrated how to use a salt block on the weekly program Good Day Google +. You’ll see my demonstration in the first 20 minutes of the program. Check out the video here.

Himalayan salt blocks make wonderful gifts. See my list 12 Unique Natural Gifts.

I love my salt block and can’t wait to explore new ways to use it. Have you tried a Himalayan salt block?

 

 

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Filed Under: Foodie, House Tagged With: himalayan salt, himalyan salt block, Mark Bitterman, Natural Living, safe cookware

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Comments

  1. Angela Burch says

    December 15, 2014 at 10:44 am

    You’ve peaked my interest for sure! Thanks for the great article and tutorial on how to cook and serve on a Himalayan Salt block!

    🙂

    Angela ~

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      December 16, 2014 at 12:33 pm

      Thanks Angela as always 🙂

      Reply
  2. Deb Gatz says

    March 7, 2015 at 10:11 am

    Andrea, I’m looking into getting a salt block for cooking and see that there are salt block holders that appear to be used during the grilling, baking, cooking process. The ones that are available appear to be the same material – black porcelain enamel covered steel. Considering other black coated cooking tools that some have said are not safe, should we be concerned about the black color – what products go into making the color and is it safe? Is the holder even essential? Can a cookie sheet work just for oven cooking since you do have to lift the food out of the oven to serve it?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      March 8, 2015 at 12:10 pm

      Interesting question, Deb. I’m not sure. I would think a cookie sheet would be fine because you’re right – it’s only needed to take out the block. I just use a tart pan rim for my electric stove but if you have gas you don’t even need that. I don’t know about the safety of the holder itself. I’ll have to look into that. Thanks for the question!

      Reply
    • Mark says

      January 23, 2016 at 5:52 am

      I have a “holder” for my salt block. Works great supporting the block going in and out of the oven or BBQ. The black enamel holder never contacts the food, it’s very thin and only contacts the bottom 1/2″ of the block. I’ve only had my block a short time, but really love it for seafood. I’ve cooked shrimp, scallops, and tuna steak so far. I heat it slowly in the oven to 450 degrees, take it out and place it on my granite counter top, and cook right there on the counter top. The block holds heat for a really long time.

      Reply
      • Andrea Fabry says

        January 23, 2016 at 8:06 am

        I had no idea there was a block holder!! So glad to have that information. Mark.

        Reply
  3. Tracey Moll says

    July 16, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    Hi, I love this idea, but wondering about cleaning?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      July 16, 2015 at 2:52 pm

      I just wipe it down. It honestly cleans itself in some ways…just wiping the surface seems to do the trick, Tracey.

      Reply
  4. Phil says

    September 20, 2015 at 7:36 am

    I was just thinking how well would an electric flat-top griddle work at heating a block, would I need to put a cast iron grill pan in between as a buffer?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      September 20, 2015 at 9:48 am

      That’s an interesting question, Phil! I’m not sure. The key is to heat the block very slowly. However, if this is accomplished it should work fine.

      Reply
    • Ana says

      October 22, 2015 at 1:48 pm

      Did it work? Would not it be easier to just add himalayan salt with a salt grinder? In a way, a flat-top griddle is basically a giant pan, and the salt block works as some kind of pan as well, just an opinion

      Reply
  5. Judy Babcock says

    September 12, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    Angela I have an electric stove here and a gas stove at my winter home. Could you send me a photo of using the salt block on the electric smooth top stove with a tart pan ring on the burner? Also would it be easier to use it in the oven and gradually turn up the temperature?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      September 12, 2016 at 5:19 pm

      I don’t have any additional photos, Judy. But either the gas, electric or oven is fine as long as you gradually increase temperature.

      Reply
  6. Dorothy says

    July 11, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    we received a salt block as a gift with a holder – it is very nice – we used it last weekend to make salmon burgers – the burgers were so salty they were just about inedible – what did we do wrong?

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      July 11, 2017 at 8:39 pm

      Can you try to wash off some of the salt? I’m surprised. Mine has just the right amount.

      Reply
  7. Kelly says

    July 31, 2018 at 6:29 pm

    Hi there,

    I was wondering if you could elaborate more on the energy part and not leaving on the counter top? I just got mine and I am very excited to use!

    Reply
    • Andrea Fabry says

      July 31, 2018 at 6:54 pm

      I think he means that it can actually melt or damage the counter – but honestly not sure, Kelly.

      Reply

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MEET ANDREA

I am a certified Building Biology Advocate, a former journalist, mother of nine, and avid CrossFitter who likes to think outside the box. After our family's health crisis in 2008, I learned to ask questions about what's in our food, our water, and our air. I hope to empower you as you seek to live safely in a complex world. Thankfully, small steps lead to big changes. Let's travel this road together, one step at a time.

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