How to Smoke Sea Salt

Slofoodgroup Team February 25, 2023

Smoked sea salt is a wonderful way to add a little bit of smokiness to any meat, salad, dip, fresh fruit, or even a cocktail. Of course, you could always purchase smoked sea salt from a reputable vendor, but if you are more interested in taking on a new simple culinary DIY project, this post is for you. 

Smoking your own sea salt can be a lot of fun and you can add several varieties of smokiness to your salt by using a large assortment of woods, herbs, and spices. We prefer applewood or hickory for wood and will occasionally throw lavender, rosemary, or even tea leaves near the end to add a little complexity to the flavor profile. 

DIY Smoked Sea Salt

Tools

• Smoker or grill and smoking box
• Heat safe dish

Supply

• Either wood chips, pellets, or wood chunks 
• Optional, fresh herbs, tea leaves, or other burnable flavoring additions
• Sea salt, preferably flake, but coarse works too

Steps

1. Bring your smoker up to 250 ℉
2. Spread your salt, in a think layer, over the bottom of the pan
3. Close the lid.
4. Smoke the salt for 6-8 hours, stirring about every hour or so. 
5. If you are adding tea leaves or herbs: in the last hour you will add them directly to the coals if that makes sense for your smoker/grill. If your smoker uses an auger, you might want to use a smoker tube or smoker box. Another option would be just finishing the salt using a smoking gun and dome.

How to use smoked sea salt

You are probably already well aware that sea salt is a phenomenal addition to meats and starches, but let’s take a look at some other great ways to use sea salt for finishing dishes. 

Use smoked sea salt to take simple appetizers from meh to gourmet

Entertaining doesn’t have to be stressful. You can easily impress your guests with just a few simple ingredients. By finishing them with a bit of smoked sea salt, you’ll not only be enhancing the flavors, but you’re also giving them a sparkly garnish. Here are some of our favorites: 

• Crostini with a slather of chèvre, a drizzle of honey, and a few smoked sea salt flakes
• Skewers of mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, basil, prosciutto, and smoked sea salt
• Seared salmon bites with herbed cream cheese sauce and a sprinkle of smoked sea salt

Use smoked sea salt on cooked vegetables

Whether they are roasted, blanched, or sautéed, a pinch of smoked sea salt will give your vegetables an incredible kick of excellence. We especially love blanched asparagus tossed in lemon zest, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of smoked sea salt and roasted maple glazed carrots finished with smoky sea salt. 

Use smoked sea salt on sweets

If you haven’t had smoked sea salt caramel or dark chocolate, we highly recommend trying some. The salt and smoke create a perfect balance with such indulgences as caramels. The sweet and salty pairings shouldn’t stop there though. We love fruit, especially melons, pineapple, cherries, and pears with smoked sea salt. 

You really can’t go wrong when it comes to adding smoked sea salt to your dishes. Not interested in smoking your own? No problem, we’ve got you covered with our birchwood smoked sea salt from Greece.