With our fondness for Himalayan Salt lamps, it is probably quite natural that our next purchase would be a Himalayan salt tile for cooking.
For the most part, we get rave reviews at our little dinner parties but we do get the occasional puzzled look and the question we’ve come to expect, “But why would anyone bother cooking on a salt tile?”
The comments have been amusing thus far. Like, can’t we just cook food the normal way and then lick our salt lamp after? Or how about sprinkling salt on a pan and cooking on that?
Our friends are obviously all barbarians, but we’re trying to educate them. Here’s what we say to them when they say ‘what’s the point of cooking on a salt tile?’
Contents
- 10 Things to Do with Himalayan Salt Blocks
- #1: It will take the taste of your food to the next level
- #2: Great for grilling vegetables, seafood, and steak
- #3: You can do your grilling indoors
- #4: You can bake cookies
- #5: You can keep your food warm
- #6: You can serve your cold cuts and cheeses on it
- #7: You can put sashimi and other raw foods on your salt tile
- #8: You can make ice cream with it
- #9: You get an added dose of healthy minerals on your food
- #10: Great conversation piece at parties
- To Sum Up
10 Things to Do with Himalayan Salt Blocks
Here are all the fun uses of Himalayan salt block tiles in the kitchen.
#1: It will take the taste of your food to the next level
When you cook on a Himalayan salt tile, your food is imparted with a unique taste and flavor that you don’t get with ordinary table salt.
If I may compare it with water: bottled water is delicious and refreshing as it is. However, when you drink it cold and fresh from a mineral spring, you can immediately tell the difference.
Cooking on a slab of Himalayan salt is the same thing. Mark Bitterman, author of the popularSalt Block Cooking book explains that it’s a technically superior way of cooking. He says, “With bacon or duck breast, it produces a texture of crispy, fatty bacon or duck skin that is better than anything you’ve ever had. Scallops – it’s just the most remarkable crispy golden crunchy browning of a scallop.”
- Mark Bitterman
- Andrews McMeel Publishing
- Kindle Edition
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We were seriously salivating after we read these bits so you can bet that we had scallop and bacon on the menu the week after.
#2: Great for grilling vegetables, seafood, and steak
Okay, this is seriously making me hungry now. A Himalayan salt tile is ideal for foods that can cook fast. For vegetables, we love to cook asparagus, caramelized onions, potatoes, and zucchini on ours. For seafood, salmon and shrimp are our favorites. And of course, when the craving hits, we get really good steaks, sprinkle them with salt and cracked pepper, and fire up our salt block.
Bam! Super tasty steaks.
Here’s one of the videos I learned off on how to cook a steak using a salt block. If you want to learn exactly how to do it properly (like what you need to do to keep it from cracking), start the video from the beginning. If you just want to see steak cooking though, just start as is. 😉
#3: You can do your grilling indoors
So we mentioned the steaks. The best part is, you can grill right from your kitchen. All you need is the right know-how so that you do it properly. This is great for the winter season and rainy days.
In the video I shared above with you, dude is grilling outdoors. However, you can do it on a gas flame too and it’s also ideal because you have better control of your heat source.
I know! Who knew? But it was in the cookbook and our chocolate chip cookies came out slightly salty. They were good! We love salted caramel stuff so it was a great recipe for us.
Obviously, you can’t bake many on a salt block. At most, you’d be able to bake 4 to 6 cookies depending on the size of your cookies or your slab. Jane and I are on a perpetual “healthy” diet though so the small servings were ideal.
Additionally, if you’re a mom and want to amaze your mother-in-law or your fellow soccer moms, share your baked goods while still hot on your awesome Himalayan salt tile that’s a gazillion years old. Win!
#5: You can keep your food warm
If other cooking appliances lose heat fast, the opposite is true for salt blocks. They hold temperature for a longer duration and lose heat more slowly.
Just be careful of moisture on your food. If your food is moist and it is spread all over your salt block, it’s going to get real salty. As an example, fried eggs aren’t ideal. They spread and are super moist.
#6: You can serve your cold cuts and cheeses on it
In the same way that a salt slab can keep heat, so too can it retain cold.You can use it on cheese, cold cuts, and fruits.
Again, here’s the trick. Don’t spread your food out on the tile. For example, when we have watermelon, Jane would lay it out in a fan style so that not all the slices are touching the surface. Or else, you can place the slices standing upright so that only the rind is touching the plate. I’m saying Jane because when I did it, I just laid the fruit on there. As you know, watermelon is very watery so we got salt on everything.
BTW, just so you know, we keep 2 salt tiles. We use one for cooking and another for chilling. I don’t know if other folks do the same but it seems like common sense to us. (One of our top picks for the best salt tiles comes as a pair.)
#7: You can put sashimi and other raw foods on your salt tile
I’m the type to get excited at the sight of sashimi on the table. But it gets even more exciting to watch the raw fish as it cures on a salt tile. Wait, did I mention oysters yet? Heavenly!
#8: You can make ice cream with it
I honestly haven’t tried this but I am sure this works because a salt tile can be chilled and as mentioned earlier, it holds temperature very well. If I ever get out of my lazy couch, I’ll whip up some ice cream flavor that goes well with a hint of saltiness.
Jane is snorting. She can see right through me!
#9: You get an added dose of healthy minerals on your food
If keeping your Himalayan salt lamp on gives you health benefits, imagine how it is to cook or place your food on it. Aside from sodium chloride, you get iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iodine, and other micro-traces of minerals.
You benefit from a balanced pH, improved digestion, and better hydration levels. And it’s also good for those suffering from acid reflux.
#10: Great conversation piece at parties
Your Himalayan salt tile isn’t just for cooking, it can be literally used as a tray or a serving plate. Try loading it up with either sashimi, cheeses, fruit, or even ice cream during a party. You can bet almost everybody will be asking you about the beautiful mysterious luminous crystal sitting on your dinner table.
To Sum Up
The thought of cooking on a salt block may seem intimidating but once you know what you’re doing, it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there. If you’re the type to enjoy your food, eat healthily, and try out new things, then give these babies a go. Check out our favorite picks for really good Himalayan salt tiles.
I’m writing up a manual of do’s and don’ts for Himalayan salt tile cooking (basically how to use it the proper way to avoid accidents to your oven or your salt block) so watch out for that.
And now, excuse me while I persuade Jane to have some succulent steaks on the menu tonight. Cooked a la Himalayan salt tile, of course!