FOR CONTEMPORARY SMOKED FOOD & GRILLED DISHES
This gorgeous, nearly purple salt is meant to scatter over meat on the plate, a final flourish to show your guests your taste is as good as your cooking cred. The infused salt, inspired by others on the market today, is just one of many you can make with the same technique explained here. We have selected the wine— Syrah—that we most enjoy with red meat. However, you could switch it out for a Cabernet, a Malbec, or a dry red blend. It’s easy to double or otherwise increase the size of the batch. A jar of this makes a nice gift to other cooks. Because the cooking time is a number of hours, you might want to make this overnight in the oven, or plan to do it some other time that the oven doesn’t need to be in use. And if you have a convection oven, use it for this. Of course, if you live somewhere as dry as we do, you can set this out in the summer for a full day and let solar heat do the work of the oven. Save it for a grilled beef dish or one that is quickly smoke-cooked rather than serious barbecue, where it would be a little lost.
MAKES: ABOUT 1 CUP
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup kosher salt or coarse sea salt
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Syrah or a red blend containing Syrah, such as a Côtes du Rhône
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a baking sheet.
- Stir the salt and wine together in a small bowl. This will create a slurry almost immediately.
- Spread the salt and wine mixture in a thin, even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the salt in the preheated oven until it is completely dry. This will take about 8 hours in a convection oven and possibly up to 12 hours in a conventional oven. The salt will recrystallize as it dries.
- Once the salt is completely dry, you can choose to use it as is or grind it in a spice grinder to create a finer texture.
- Store the Syrah Wine Salt in a covered container at room temperature. It will retain its flavor and color for up to 2 months.
- To use the salt, simply sprinkle it over your dishes as a finishing touch. It adds a unique flavor and a subtle wine essence to your meals.
SPICING TIP:
- Using flavored finishing salts can elevate the presentation and taste of your dishes. If you’re interested in experimenting with various flavored salts, you can also explore options available in spice stores or online retailers. Additionally, you can consider using other finishing touches like extra-flaky salts such as Maldon or fleur de sel, grilled lemon or lime wedges, aged balsamic vinegar, high-quality olive oil, different colored cracked peppercorns, sunflower kernels, pepitas, bread crumbs, and even gingerbread crumbs to add interesting textures and flavors to your meals.
