I usually smoke our meats and salts outside...in need of a new smoker, though, I decided to try the indoor method out on some Pacific sea salt. It worked! This ended up with a light smoky flavoring, and can probably stand another dose of smoke. But, at least I know it DOES work! Pretty simple, few ingredients and a nice package to pull it all together was all it took. Oh, and several hours!
I try to provide items at The Porch Stand that are a bit off the beaten path, but not so far out that no one 'gets it'. These salts might be a fun item for your own homestead market stand! Smoked salts are pretty much available everywhere, so finding a different niche was important. I've seen alder wood smoked, hickory smoked, mesquite smoked and cherry wood smoked salts available. But, I've never seen Jack Daniels Smoked Salt!
It was genius of the folks at Jack Daniels to re-purpose their old wood casks into smoking chips, don't you think? They smell rich with the sultry sweetness of the bourbon they were used to age. The flavor is most decadent on chicken or pork...I've not yet tried it with beef. So good!
If we were smoking outdoors, we'd wet the wood chips, and scatter them over hot charcoal briquettes. For indoors, I did not wet them. They need to catch more quickly for inside use.
I've got one of those wood chip holder things. It has a vented top that I left off for this smoking. I started by placing the wood chip filled metal container over an open flame. While those were heating up, I addressed the container for the salt.
A disposable pie tin was perfect! I poked several holes in the bottom to allow smoke to creep up through the salts.
Then, I placed a half pound of Pacific Sea Salt in the pan. I really wasn't sure if it would have enough smoking power to do a whole pound, so I figured it was best to start out with a smaller amount.
I preheated my heavy Dutch oven so there would be an already hot receptacle for the smoking chips. It took a few minutes for the wood chips to begin to smolder. I had the flame on medium, so as not to get it too hot too fast and go from smolder to flame with the chips. I'd never done this before, inside! When the chips started to smolder, I used my canning tongs to set the smoking tin of wood chips into the Dutch oven.
And, the pan of salt fits perfectly on top, with enough clearance that air can circulate around and over the salts, to infuse them with the unmistakable fragrance of rich bourbon. This smells really fragrant while it's going on! Really!!
Here's a little peek at the chips beneath the salts. And, then I put the lid on it! I, honestly, had no idea how long it'd take to smoke the salts...I was looking at recipes for outdoor smoking, which creates huge billowing smoke. I was kinda scared to get that crazy in the house...no exhaust fan! Outdoors, they smoke on indirect heat for an hour. Indoors...well, in my case, anyhow, they smoked for a couple of hours till I got tired.
Yes, I started the process waaay too late, figuring it wouldn't be THAT long! Lesson learned!
You can see the gentle wisps of Jack scented smoke...this was end of night one. The wood chips were nowhere near all the way smoked out! So, the next day, I started it back up again, and let the chips burn all the way out. Oh, and I added some coarse ground black pepper, just for kicks.
And, into the 3 oz. apothecaries it went! The Jack Daniels Smoked Salt & Pepper is the one third from the left...and, there's a second one tucked back a little bit, to the left and behind the Rosemary Pink Himalayan Salt. These are so fun; and, they make great gifts! I got two of the 3 oz. apothecaries out of the batch, plus a small amount leftover for me!
I've since read that this can be done in a wok on the stove...I don't have a wok anymore, but if you have one, you won't stain up your Dutch oven. The smoke does stain the enamel in the pot, and it doesn't come clean. :( I ended up finishing this in an older pot that I don't care about, after staining up my cast iron! Anyway...it is good!
The wok process has you place the wood chips at the bottom of a wok on a piece of aluminum foil about 6" square and using a steaming rack to support your pie plate. Heat over high, until you see wisps of smoke. Then reduce the heat, cover and smoke on for a half hour. Cool and store!
You can also do the smoking with Kosher salt, if sea salt isn't your thing. It's all good! Hope you'll give this a try, as a new flavor for your outdoor grilling this season. Let me know how yours turns out!
Till next time, my friends, Steem on! It's time to check out the gardens...good day to everyone!