Over the holidays I ran into a friend of mine who told me about one of her Christmas presents — a Himalayan salt block. I’ve seen these in catalogues lately and vaguely remember walking by a salt block store somewhere, probably in Asheville, North Carolina. She hadn’t used it yet, but was gong to cook a couple of steaks on it that night.
She got back to me and said that they were good, a little rare, but with great taste. So, I was intrigued enough to look into this. Of course, this is also tied to a memory of mine (as Jimmy Durante said, “I’ve got a million of ’em”). When I lived in Atlanta I decided to have a little dinner party based on the food of Joel Robuchon, a French chef. I served champagne with each course. Sounds swell, doesn’t it? It was fun, but plating got a little messy by dessert. The point is that the entree was his beef tenderloin roasted in an herb-infused salt crust (roti de filet de boeuf en croute de sel aux herbes). What was beautifully photographed in the cookbook was so salty it was inedible. Oh well, more champagne!
I wondered if the salt block had anything in common with salt-crust cooking. After reading up on this I now know that they really don’t have anything in common. At The Meadow in Portland, Oregon, (atthemeadow.com), the prices range from $18 to more than $100.
Mark Bitterman, owner of the store and author of “Salt Block Cooking,” says that the blocks have been tested in temperatures from 0-900 degrees F. For cooking, the piece is heated on a stovetop or grill (not in the oven) for 30 minutes and up (please use the instructions included, I am only generalizing).
Once it reaches at least 400 degrees you throw on the meat or fish (thinner meats and firm fish are best) and cook. The salt does not leach into the food, as there is enough heat to produce the Maillard reaction, which is a type of non-enzymatic browning between a reducing sugar and an amino acid. In other words, you get a really tasty crust with just a bit of salt flavor.
Now, something different happens in salt-crust cooking. You are making a wet sandy mixture using kosher salt and either egg whites or flour and water. You cover the protein completely in this mixture and cook at a high temperature. The crust hardens, sealing in moisture, and intensifying the flavor of the seasonings. Just skip the champagne until after dinner.
BEEF TENDERLOIN IN SALT CRUST
For the salt crust:
2 cups kosher or sea salt
3 large egg whites
2/3 cup water
2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
For the beef:
1 2-pound well-trimmed, center-cut beef tenderloin (at least 3 inches in diameter)
Kosher salt or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large egg yolk
(Source: finecooking.com)
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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