Shake It On — And A Food Gal Giveaway
Black Hawaiian Sea Salt from the San Francisco Salt Company.
Boxers or briefs?
Pie or cake?
Salty or sweet?
In answer to the last question, I decidedly favor sweet.
But that’s not to say I don’t appreciate salty, and in particular, how a pinch of salt evens out sweetness or rounds out the flavor of most anything.
The San Francisco Salt Company understands that. Its British founder Lee Williamson originally started the company to sell bath salts, because he was hooked on its therapeutic and relaxing effects from soaking in the tub after a long day of work.
It wasn’t long, though, before he turned his attention to culinary salts, too.
The company now sells a range of premium salts — as many as 16 different ones — in jars, shakers and bulk bags. They range in price from $4.99 for a five-ounce bag to $79.99 for a 20-pound bag.
I had a chance to try samples recently. Of course, these days, we’re all trying to cut back on salt for health reasons. But the great thing about artisan salts is that they have so much flavor, you need very little to finish a dish. Just a couple of grains is all it takes.
(L to R): Alaea Hawaiian Salt, Himalayan Salt, and Smoked Cherrywood Sea Salt.
The smoked salts are indeed smoky tasting, giving anything the semblance of being grilled. They also add a wallop of umami goodness. The Smoked Cherrywood Salt would be dynamite on pork chops; and the Smoked Hickorywood Salt just the ticket to finish a big slab of beef.
The Himalayan Salt is a lovely pale pink color. A few grains would be ideal atop a chocolate cookie.
The Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt is the color of deep red clay from being infused with actual volcanic clay called “alaea.” With a slight earthy flavor, it’s widely used in Hawaii for traditional kalua pig and poke.
In contrast is the Black Hawaiian Sea Salt, which gets its dramatic dark color from activated coconut shell charcoal. It has a slight smoky flavor as well as minerality. Imagine it sprinkled on deviled eggs.
One of my favorites is the Black Truffle Salt. It’s quite pungent in aroma. It’s made with both truffle and truffle flavor. I can’t get enough of it on just-popped, warm popcorn. It elevates a simple snack into something a little glam. It’s one salty snack I can never resist. And even if it’s just popcorn, it somehow tastes rather high-society.
CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a $10 gift card to sample any San Francisco Salt Company product — be it a culinary salt or a bath product.
Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST March 19. Winner will be announced March 21.
How to win?
You already read what my salty indulgence is.
Tell me your salty pleasure — and why you love it so much. Best answer wins.
Them ribs, them bison ribs.
WINNER OF THE PREVIOUS FOOD GAL CONTEST: In last week’s Food Gal contest, I asked you how you would most like to enjoy Durham Ranch bison. Two winners will each receive a package of bison ribs and rib eyes (a value of $170).
Congrats to:
Jason, who wrote, “So I’ve got 1.5″ cuts of bison rib eye? Let’s get it to room temperature first and get some sea salt rubbed in. A nice helping but not too much should do the trick. We’ll save the pepper for later since the plan is to sear it until it’s seared the way searers should. I’m not even sure that “searer†is a real word but oh well. After the salt, let’s slap some olive oil on it to make sure we keep the good stuff in. I know, some folks would rather put the oil in the pan but that’s them, not me. To each their own.
With the pan hot and ready, just drop the steaks in. Let’s get a nice crust going by leaving it for about 3 minutes (per side). After the initial roar of the sizzle, let’s go ahead and get a healthy dose of pepper on it before flipping it. Medium rare…with a lovely crust with a simple and delicious amount of seasoning.
Ribs…you know they need a good rub. Yes, that was an intended pun. Get thee some brown sugar, salt, chili powder, black pepper and whatever might strike your fancy but but also feel free to add cumin and/or garlic or whatever else. IT’S OKAY, it’s your mouth so whatever you want in it, go for it. Get some oil on those ribs, rub the rub in and leave it overnight and when you’re ready, fire that oven up. Broil for a short bit and then, after that “short bit†you go ahead and set it at roughly 300 and roast for about 2 hours. Don’t forget to cover them with foil after about an hour in to keep the juices where they belong. IT WILL BE GOOD. Now I’m hungry…”
And to Derrick, who wrote, “I love my rib eyes seared in a smoking hot cast iron pan with just salt and pepper, I see no better way to eat a rib eye. I love rib-eyes so much I created a special rib eye cooking station in our backyard, since we live in a smaller house with a weak exhaust fan, we had to find a way not to fill the whole house with smoke and set off the smoke alarm every time I made a steak. So outside I have a portable induction stove setup with a thick cast iron pan, I let the pan get super hot and smoking till it worries anyone watching me cook, then I sear all my steaks in to a crispy perfection. I would do the same for this bison rib eye and enjoy every last bite of it, quick and simple.
For the ribs, I’m a firm believer of low and slow, which is a lot more time consuming than the rib eyes. I would marinate the ribs overnight in dry rub of paprika, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Then I would steam them in tight tin foil patches for 2-3 hours at a low temperature so the meat is nice and moist, but still has a little bit of bite on it. I would finally finish it on the grill with a sweet glaze from the drippings from the oven, ketchup, maple syrup and some red wine vinegar boiled to a sticky delicious glaze. The ribs would be grilled quickly on each side so the ribs have a nice char to it and the sticky glaze is evenly coated. Typing this up makes me want to eat some right now, and get my hands and face messy with some bison goodness. I would love to get my hands on some Bison and try out my tried and true ways.”
My guilty salt pleasure is flavored salt on proteins like beef, chicken, fish, etc. As you mentioned, it doesn’t take a lot of flavored salt to elevate a dish to a whole new level of deliciousness. When I’m in “pinch” and don’t have enough of an herb, fruit or veggie for a meal, I’ve found adding some flavored salt can complete the dish. Love throwing a salmon filet in the oven with nothing more than olive oil and some citrus salt and let the magic happen 🙂
this is coming from someone who carries a salt shaker in her purse, and i’m not kidding. i use it on fruit, it goes on ice cream, i use it in my coffee grounds, i sprinkle it on a slice of bread. i can’t feel guilty about any of my salt usage because i use it EVERYWHERE. i might have a problem…
My salty pleasure is salt itself. I once saw a shirt that said “I put salt on my salt”, and that’s me. I salt without tasting items first and I’ve even put salt on cole slaw, which I know is weird, but hey it needed it!
I love wasabi peas! So addicting!