Neenie2 wrote:Just out of curiosity, how much does the salt tile weigh?

The salt tile weighs 5 lbs.

himalayanchef wrote:The salt tile weighs 5 lbs.

hehthuryo wrote:Could I buy this for my horse to use as a salt lick?

You can use this as a salt lick for your horse. We have sold to many animal supply & feed stores.

I prefer a course and fine grind of the french Guerande sea salt, plus some kosher salt for every day use. Not super into the Himalayan sea salt, it has a sort of saltier bitter taste (in a good way though) that's noticeably different and lasts longer on the aftertaste. It's good and has it's place but I could do without it given that I like the frech stuff better. Never cooked with a slab of it but imagine the flavor is relatively similar. I would try it if it was cheaper but I'm good with my french salts.

archimedesbathtub wrote:Is it dishwasher safe?

This salt block is a natural anesthetic and does not require washing with soap. You simply wipe it with a clean damp cloth..

Buy 2 and make some gravlax:
http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/chefs_recipes/10429/TT_National_|_Salt_Block_Gravlax.htm

A lot of mentions about grilling, but you can also bake it. Listened to a radio show last week where they heat the block up in the oven, take it out and place it on a safe surface, and cook their fish right at the table on that surface. It remains hot enough to cook an entree, but not necessarily anything after that(they tried veggies, lost too much heat by then).

Sodium Chloride - 98.35%
Magnesium - .07%
Sulfate - .05%
Iron - .0006%
Moisture - .026%
Insoluble - .77%
Source

No offense intended, but I have to point out that that "source" is pretty questionable. For instance, they say that Himalayan salt is "believed to be the purest form of salt available." But in the next line, they mention that it has "high mineral and iron content"... huh? If it has "high iron content" then how can it be considered pure salt? The analysis indicates that it is only 98.35% NaCl... hardly the "purest form available".

How is it possible that salt be used to "lower blood pressure" as suggested by that source?

Also, the analysis provided does not account for 100% of the sample.

I'm not intending to imply that the salt is harmful - I don't know anything about that - but it certainly is NOT pure! Pure salt is WHITE, not pink!

It might look pretty and taste good, but the source you quoted above has a number of factual errors. The claims made there are highly suspect.

bhcompy wrote:A lot of mentions about grilling, but you can also bake it. Listened to a radio show last week where they heat the block up in the oven, take it out and place it on a safe surface, and cook their fish right at the table on that surface. It remains hot enough to cook an entree, but not necessarily anything after that(they tried veggies, lost too much heat by then).

Another vendor FAQ indicates that heating in an oven can lead to catastrophic failure and possible oven damage. They recommend preheating on a gas range or electric with an air gap between element and block prior to placing in the oven.

For an Oven: We do NOT RECOMMEND using an oven to heat your salt block, as damage to your salt block and/or your oven may result. If you would like to bake on your salt plate, heat it as described above to at least three hundred degrees, and then move it into a hot oven.

linky

This is good salt. You can get in a salt grinder (I've got one).

himalayanchef wrote:This salt block is a natural anesthetic and does not require washing with soap. You simply wipe it with a clean damp cloth..

lol anesthetic!!

bertrubini wrote:No offense intended, but I have to point out that that "source" is pretty questionable. For instance, they say that Himalayan salt is "believed to be the purest form of salt available." But in the next line, they mention that it has "high mineral and iron content"... huh? If it has "high iron content" then how can it be considered pure salt? The analysis indicates that it is only 98.35% NaCl... hardly the "purest form available".

How is it possible that salt be used to "lower blood pressure" as suggested by that source?

Also, the analysis provided does not account for 100% of the sample.

I'm not intending to imply that the salt is harmful - I don't know anything about that - but it certainly is NOT pure! Pure salt is WHITE, not pink!

It might look pretty and taste good, but the source you quoted above has a number of factual errors. The claims made there are highly suspect.

"White" salt is processed, not pure. I guess to be completely fair, a truly "pure" salt would be nearly clear or translucent.

I'm guessing the context of "purest form" here is simply implying that this is the least processed or refined salt you will find. I don't know whether that is a fact or not, but that is the context of the statement.

CAisBurning wrote:I wonder how long this would take to dissolve with normal usage, and if it would over-salt the food.

You can get 80-100 cooks out of the salt block.

grenade01 wrote:lol anesthetic!!

Yes, anesthetic. In the remote Himalayas, even 'old school' ether is considered to be 'advanced' medicine. Far more common is the traditional whack over the head with a salt block.

timmyvee wrote:My wife bought a set of shot glasses made of this--Tequila with a cold "glass" and wallah. Will last a long long time. I think I might be in.

wallah? an Indian servant?

rpstrong wrote:Yes, anesthetic. In the remote Himalayas, even 'old school' ether is considered to be 'advanced' medicine. Far more common is the traditional whack over the head with a salt block.

Awesome!

himalayanchef wrote:This salt block is a natural anesthetic and does not require washing with soap. You simply wipe it with a clean damp cloth..

anaesthetic ??? local or general? You bash someone over the head with it and they pass out?

I am sooooo on the fence here,
I do ALL the cooking in my house (with a bottle of Cab by my side) BBQ maybe 3 times a week, These sound interesting, How are they with say a Ribeye??? and If I get any it will have to be 2 as 4x8 isn't a lot of room, Liked the vid on the colored bell peppers as I roast or grill bell peppers about twice a week,
Anyone cook steak on these bad Boys??

I really want one of these, but conflicting info on how to heat is bugging me. I I got the memo this thing exploding in my oven.

Also yes to everyone who pointed out that the Amazon offers have shipping fees higher than the item price in many cases.

chipgreen wrote:Yes but you have to be careful because sometimes the canvas bag tries to eat the salt!



Nom, Nom, Nom, Nom!

Reminds me of a Squared Ms. Pac Man

Not the best deal. You can get QTY 2 of 8x4x2 blocks for $32 shipped.


Salt Blocks I purchased

I buy them 5 at a time - $64 for 5 with free shipping.

They are a full 2" thick, easier to clean and handle than larger blocks.

I love cooking on them and always keep a couple clean ones for serving/display purposes.

Also found the 8x8x2 on Amazon for $18 but they want $30 to ship it.

Why does Woot always make me want things I don't really need? That looks so cool and would match my Himalayan salt lamp basket from Amazon. I have issues.

WLAURENT wrote:Not the best deal. You can get QTY 2 of 8x4x2 blocks for $32 shipped.


Salt Blocks



They are a full 2" thick, easier to clean and handle than larger blocks.

I love cooking on them and always keep a couple clean ones for serving/display purposes.

Your right, 15.99 each and free shipping in California, thanks saved me like 13 bucks, (a bottle of Cab )

fredrinaldi wrote:Your right, 15.99 each and free shipping in California, thanks saved me like 13 bucks, (a bottle of Cab )

Just an FYI Fred, the ones being sold here at 8x8, not 8x4

fredrinaldi wrote:Your right, 15.99 each and free shipping in California, thanks saved me like 13 bucks, (a bottle of Cab )

They are 8x4x2 - not 8x8x2. Only half the size if you buy one.

wesbc wrote:Add $26.97 for shipping.

Yes - I was just going to mention that also.

Also - a little bit on cleaning.

Just scrape them off, wipe them down with a wet towel and do a quick rinse. DO NOT SOAK or LEAVE IN RUNNING WATER. They are salt and will disolve in water if subjected to it to long.

I do use a clean scotch-brite pad to scrub them quickly under warm water if they have an abundance of gunk on them after cooking.

North316 wrote:Just an FYI Fred, the ones being sold here at 8x8, not 8x4

your right glad I'm still on the fence

North316 wrote:Just an FYI Fred, the ones being sold here at 8x8, not 8x4

Yeah - not sure how he calculated the $13 savings buying one or two from the other site.

WLAURENT wrote:Yeah - not sure how he calculated the $13 savings buying one or two from the other site.

cause I had my head up my *** thinking they were $20 each here, not $30,
now theat my heads out of my *** and I can see clearly has anyone done Steaks on these,??? I am intrigued as I have have never heard of these but love cooking.

fredrinaldi wrote:cause I had my head up my *** thinking they were $20 each here, not $30,
now theat my heads out of my *** and I can see clearly has anyone done Steaks on these,??? I am intrigued as I have have never heard of these but love cooking.

While probably not completely answering your question, Neil did post a pic just above which showed him cooking strips of filet.

These are intriguing, but just don't seem to be worth the effort me to cook with them. Slowly heating them up doesn't work for me. I put my grill on full blast and mostly cook at that same temp (have racks and cooler spots for less indirect heat), so this would just seem like an inconveinence when I can just add my own salt. I would see myself using them a lot more for plating and presentation, but then again I don't often have company over so, there goes that benefit as well.

fredrinaldi wrote:cause I had my head up my *** thinking they were $20 each here, not $30,
now theat my heads out of my *** and I can see clearly has anyone done Steaks on these,??? I am intrigued as I have have never heard of these but love cooking.

Neil has. See his post/photo above.

himalayanchef wrote:You can get 80-100 cooks out of the salt block.

Have you tried using one for at home dry aging of a steak or two? I have read in some cooking articles that sticking a salt block in the refrigerator with the steaks you are aging helps pull the moisture out faster. I know David Burke's Primehouse in Chicago has an entire salt lined room to age their steaks in.

neilfindswine wrote:I've not tried cooking a whole thick steak, but I imagine it would work. I've done sliced steak, sliced albacore, shrimp and scallops on skewers, mushrooms....

The heating up isn't that big of a deal... I start the Q on the low setting, go inside and prep the meat and or side dishes (maybe pop a cork...????) come out in 10, raise the temp, and in another 10 minutes it's blazing hot. And then as you saw in the pic, I'll throw other stuff outside of the salt plate... stuffed peppers, onions, etc.

When you're done, the plate can double as a serving plate...

I'm strictly a Charcoal guy, I was thinking I could bring them up to temp in the oven then transfer to the grill or to my bad*a*s*s Thermadore range top and cook from there. Hummmmm

I have cooked many a steak on these, results are awesome. Bring the salt block up to about 450F (I use an IR thermal probe), throw the steaks on and allow them to sear for about 45-60 seconds each side. Drop temp on grill down to low and let the steaks cook on the block for about 2-3 minutes each side depending on how thick they are and how you like them cooked.

I had 1 out my initial 5 salt block crack on the grill, but have never really taken much care in "slow heating" them. Just put the blocks in the center of the grill, turn the outer two burners on high, wait a couple minutes and turn the two center burners (under the blocks) to med-high.

I usually throw some soaked chips in the grill to add a bit of woody goodness to the meat and use canola or coconut oil on the salt block to prevent the meat from sticking.

Anyone that grills should buy one to try out. I only use salt blocks for grilling steaks, pork, etc... and cedar planks for salmon and steelhead.

WLAURENT wrote:I have cooked many a steak on these, results are awesome. Bring the salt block up to about 450F (I use an IR thermal probe), throw the steaks on and allow them to sear for about 45-60 seconds each side. Drop temp on grill down to low and let the steaks cook on the block for about 2-3 minutes each side depending on how thick they are and how you like them cooked.

I had 1 out my initial 5 salt block crack on the grill, but have never really taken much care in "slow heating" them. Just put the blocks in the center of the grill, turn the outer two burners on high, wait a couple minutes and turn the two center burners (under the blocks) to med-high.

I usually throw some soaked chips in the grill to add a bit of woody goodness to the meat and use canola or coconut oil on the salt block to prevent the meat from sticking.

Anyone that grills should buy one to try out. I only use salt blocks for grilling steaks, pork, etc... and cedar planks for salmon and steelhead.

OK you just knocked me off the fence
in for 2


Last Wooter to Woot:
fredrinaldi