How To Smoke Salt

Enhance your seasoning game by infusing coarse salt with rich, smoky flavor using a classic low and slow smoking method. Infusing salt with smoke is a simple yet flavorful way to elevate your dishes and add flavor to your favorite grilled meats, marinades, eggs, and popcorn!

Why This Recipe Works

Smoke Flavor for Everything: Salt can get perfectly infused with smoke flavor, which makes it way easier to add a smokey flavor to any of your dishes, without having to smoke them! When infused with smoke, salt becomes a powerful seasoning that not only enhances your food but also imparts smoky notes, all without overwhelming the dish.

Budget-Friendly & Sophisticated: Making smoked salt at home costs a fraction of what you’d pay for specialty smoked salts in gourmet stores! So not only is it worth it to learn how to smoke salt for your kitchen, but you can also package it up and give it to neighbors and friends as a gorgeous gift!

Supplies Needed

• Foil pan
• Jars (for storing, if desired)

What Type Of Salt Can You Smoke

While the recipe calls for coarse kosher salt, you can experiment with various types of salt for different results:

• Coarse Kosher Salt: The standard choice with excellent surface area for smoke adhesion, and still budget friendly.
• Maldon Salt: This creates a delicate, flaky, smoked finishing salt with a distinctive pyramid structure. 
• Himalayan Pink Salt: Has a lovely pink hue and contains trace minerals for subtle flavor nuances.
• Sea Salt: Often more mineral-rich than standard table salt, providing a more complex flavor.
• Fleur de Sel: The “caviar of salts” makes for a luxurious smoked finishing salt!

Smoking Instructions

How To Smoke Infuse Salt

1. Preheat: Preheat the smoker to 200°F.
2. Place on Foil Pan: Spread the salt in a thin, even layer across the bottom of the foil pan to maximize smoke exposure.
3. Smoke: Place the tray on the smoker’s grates away from direct heat. Smoke for a minimum of 2 hours and no more than 4 hours, stirring it every 30 minutes to ensure even exposure.
4. Cool: Let it cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container and then using it as desired.

General Instructions For Making Blends

1. Combine Ingredients: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Store in an airtight container.
2. Use in Cooking or Serving: Use as a seasoning before cooking or as a finishing touch for extra flavor.

Elevated Flavor Combinations

Once you have made smoked salt, you can use it as is or combine it with different ingredients to create seasoning blends! Here are some combinations I recommend:

Smoked Salt Pepper Garlic Blend

Perfect for beef and vegetables

• 2 cups Smoked Salt
• 1 cup Garlic Powder
• 1 cup Coarse Black Pepper

Citrus Smoked Salt Blend

Ideal for fish, poultry, and vegetables

• 2 cups Smoked Salt
• 2 tbsp Lemon Zest
• 2 tbsp Orange Zest
• 1 tbsp Lime Zest
• 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tbsp Paprika
• 1 tbsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Smoked Herbed Blend

All-purpose blend excellent for bread and dipping oils

• 2 cups Smoked Salt
• 2 tbsp Dried Rosemary
• 2 tbsp Dried Thyme
• 2 tbsp Dried Oregano
• 1 tbsp Dried Sage
• 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tbsp Black Pepper

Tips for Using and Storing

• Use as a Finishing Salt: For maximum impact, sprinkle it on dishes just before serving.
• How to Pair: Smoked salt pairs beautifully with Italian roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, and grilled meats like a reverse seared tomahawk steak or simple grilled chicken.
• Use to Balance Sweetness: Try a pinch of it with chocolate or caramel or even on the rim of a cocktail glass.
• For Grilling: Use it as a dry brine for meats before grilling to add depth of flavor, or top a sliced steak with a little extra salt before serving.
• Adjust Amounts: Smoked salt is more potent than regular salt, so start with about 2/3 the amount you would normally use.

More Recipes To Try

• Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• Homemade Pastrami Rub
• Easy Homemade Tajín
• Prime Rib Rub Recipe
• Montreal Steak Marinade Recipe