neilfindswine wrote:Hmm.. prob would work, but I can't speak from experience. Sounds like you have a pretty nice setup down there!

Just remodeled the Kitchen, I's a dream, the Thermador stove top has six large burners, I have had to learn to cook all over again, convection oven is da bomb same on that,.. cooks everything in about 1/2 the time. It was expensive, but will pay off if I ever sell the place.

Not quite my process, but you can almost smell the steak grilling in this video:

WLAURENT wrote:Not quite my process, but you can almost smell the steak grilling in this video:

thanks

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..

I think you mean, "antiseptic"...
While germs will not grow on salt, washing with soap does more than kill germs. It also gets rid of residues and oils that can ruin the flavors of your next meal. For example, if you used garlic, the garlicky flavor will likely remain without soap. Likewise for fishy smells. And if the flavor is oil-based, i.e. chilis, then water certainly won't be enough. That's why drinking water won't relieve your tongue from a hot chili pepper. While it's true that a wet cloth will rub off the top layer of salt, minerals tend to have cracks and fissures that can trap foods...

sdc100 wrote:minerals tend to have cracks and fissures that can trap foods...

And soap residue... No offense, but washing one of these with soap would be stupid.

funbunny wrote: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.

Salt draws out water through osmosis, where ater moves toward the side with more solute. Since the concentration of salt is greater outside of the meat's cells, water moves out of the cell membranes, drying the meat. This slab of salt will work but not very efficiently. It's much better to encrust the meat with granular salt, whetheri it be plain table salt or Kosher salt. That's because the salt particles can fill all the nooks and crannies of the meat whereas the flat surface of this slab only touches the meat superficially.

North316 wrote:And soap residue... No offense, but washing one of these with soap would be stupid.

Stupid, eh?
Not all soaps leave residues. In fact, any soap you'd use for a cutting board would be fine for this. Or do you not wash your cutting boards and pans with soap, for fear of a residue? In fact, soap residues wouldbn't be an issue with this salt slab because the top layer is washed off if you apply enough water. Unfortunately, oils on the salt slab actually repels water, so what is enough to wash off soaps (which was made to be easily rinsed off) may not be enough to rinse off grease (and its accompnaying taste).

I will agree, however, if you don't mind the lingering flavors of your previous meal, no soap is necessary. Some even say that the subtle flavors of previous meals adds complexity.

sdc100 wrote:In fact, soap residues wouldbn't be an issue with this salt slab because the top layer is washed off if you apply enough water.

What about the cracks that trap the food ? They repel soap?

sdc100 wrote:Salt draws out water through osmosis, where ater moves toward the side with more solute. Since the concentration of salt is greater outside of the meat's cells, water moves out of the cell membranes, drying the meat. This slab of salt will work but not very efficiently. It's much better to encrust the meat with granular salt, whetheri it be plain table salt or Kosher salt. That's because the salt particles can fill all the nooks and crannies of the meat whereas the flat surface of this slab only touches the meat superficially.

You don't put the meat on it as from what I've seen and encrusting would impart too much salt. Salt rooms are lined with salt bricks and the beef cures on racks so it get full ventilation. Salt is also supposed to bring down the humidity in the refrigerator to better dry age the meat.

My question to himalayanchef (or anyone out there) is if they have tried this with a stone this size and noticed an improvement or is one stone not enough to be effective for a few steaks in an at home refrigerator to notice a difference?

I do wish these were just a tad bigger but I'm down for two.
A long time ago I learned the trick of making a "salt brick" using a "mongo sized" (Say Sams) box of table salt {or Kosher, we are talking Pork here!} and mixing it like mortar (with a bit of water; like instant potatoes "mushy") to form about 8x16x1/2-3/4" slab in an Alu foil mold and drying it like a brick before use.
You then lay on one of those seasoned pork loins from Sams/Costco on the Brick you built and cook the meat on indirect heat in the grill (med-med hi). The meat bottom picks up this awesome searing char and the meat stays tender and juicy as you "cook to temperature" (internal that is). With some care the poor mans brick can go for some 6 grilling's before your wife refuses to eats anything cooked from it! (The heat /salt kill most bacteria I'm told so "hakuna mattatta" my meat loving buddies!
Add some smoke chips in a "foil boat" to the side of the coals if you like a Smokey edge to your meat if you don't have a real smoker. Trust me when I tell you...its an awesome way to do a roast / loin on the grill.

This "salt Stone" just adds an indestructible Gucci element to those "anti" hunger games! Salt blocks are mucho awesome. Works well with fish too. Die hard grillers...you need try a salt slab to take your cooking to a new level of excellence! "Scouts Honor"!

kylemittskus wrote:What about the cracks that trap the food ? They repel soap?

No, you need not "repel" soap. The soap merely has to not stick to the surface, which it normally won't. Again, soap is formulated to easily rinse away. The components of food (specifically grease and carbs, and to a lesser extent, proteins), on the other hand, become especially sticky when heated, especially at grilling temperatures (look up "carbonization," the bain of non-stick cookware). Sorry, but comparing soap with [grilled] food simply shows a misunderstanding of chemistry.

kylemittskus wrote:What about the cracks that trap the food ? They repel soap?

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or merely ignorant, but yes, many detergents work by "repelling." If you look at your laundry detergent and some dish detergents, you'd see ionic surfactants and anionic surfactants as ingredients. The words "ionic" and "anionic" should give you a clue that electromagnetic forces are at play, so yes, attraction and repelling are part of it.

http://www.helium.com/items/1363756-what-an-ionic-surfactant-is

get how cooking on salt blocks works, love the idea, and have had restaurant food prepared this way. What I have to add is that the huge US salt companies are missing a big marketing opportunity here. The deposits of salt under Detroit, Kansas, and Windsor, Ontario must be as large as those in the Himayalas, have equal salt purity (though it isn't pink, with iron.) All Morton and Cargill are doing is mining it and selling it for road salt and water softeners, and industrial uses. They could get 1000x the price selling a tiny volume of it as salt blocks for cooking! What a way to help revive Detriot, where I grew up, but wisely left in 1974!

funbunny wrote:You don't put the meat on it as from what I've seen and encrusting would impart too much salt. Salt rooms are lined with salt bricks and the beef cures on racks so it get full ventilation. Salt is also supposed to bring down the humidity in the refrigerator to better dry age the meat.

My question to himalayanchef (or anyone out there) is if they have tried this with a stone this size and noticed an improvement or is one stone not enough to be effective for a few steaks in an at home refrigerator to notice a difference?

Interesting. I just assumed that the process was simlar to dehydration with salt, a form of food preservation that humans have used for thousands of year. As for encrusting, it really doesn't add too much salt since most of the salt stays outside. It's like turkey brining in that respect. Google recipes on salt crusted fish and chicken. Keep in mind that the piece of meat is dead, so no active transport takes place. In other words, no physiological process pulls salt into the membrane; that needs active transport. Instead, only passive transport is involved, i.e. osmosis, and in that case, water moves out of the cells. Salt doesn't move in. Any salt is superficial and remains on the surface, which would presumably drip off during cooking.

mtka wrote:get how cooking on salt blocks works, love the idea, and have had restaurant food prepared this way. What I have to add is that the huge US salt companies are missing a big marketing opportunity here. The deposits of salt under Detroit, Kansas, and Windsor, Ontario must be as large as those in the Himayalas, have equal salt purity (though it isn't pink, with iron.) All Morton and Cargill are doing is mining it and selling it for road salt and water softeners, and industrial uses. They could get 1000x the price selling a tiny volume of it as salt blocks for cooking! What a way to help revive Detriot, where I grew up, but wisely left in 1974!

It's all marketing!!

mtka wrote:It's all marketing!!

Shipping salt from Pakistan or Nepal is like shipping water from Fiji (FijiWater) makes no sense, we have plenty of both here. But I'm in for two!

Xiola wrote:Just out of curiosity - when you guys read the word "Pakistan," in your minds are you hearing "Pock - iz - tahn" or "Pack - is - stan" rhyming with "plan"?

After all I have read. This made me laugh? Weird huh?

mjc613 wrote:You don't get the grill marks, but isn't that just for looks?

xercess wrote:
No, food browning is part of the Maillard Reaction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction

Actually, mjc613 is correct. Grill marks are pretty much just for looks. The Maillard Process occurs during browning, regardless of whether there are grill marks. The Maillard Process, for example, happens when you brown foods in a flat pan or rounded wok, and neither produces those striped grill marks. It also occurs under a broiler, and even in an oven, and there are no grill marks. So while I agree that browning is important for flavor, having grill marks isn't important.

North316 wrote:And soap residue... No offense, but washing one of these with soap would be stupid.

If you are against washing this with soap, you might as well also be against using soap on a normal BBQ grill, pots, pans, etc. Metal, Teflon, ceramic, etc are also normally don't allow the growth of germs, and the heat of cooking would kill them anyway.

In for one and very excited about it!!!

sdc100 wrote:Interesting. I just assumed that the process was simlar to dehydration with salt, a form of food preservation that humans have used for thousands of year. As for encrusting, it really doesn't add too much salt since most of the salt stays outside. It's like turkey brining in that respect. Google recipes on salt crusted fish and chicken. Keep in mind that the piece of meat is dead, so no active transport takes place. In other words, no physiological process pulls salt into the membrane; that needs active transport. Instead, only passive transport is involved, i.e. osmosis, and in that case, water moves out of the cells. Salt doesn't move in. Any salt is superficial and remains on the surface, which would presumably drip off during cooking.

You do not encrust the meat like as in long term curing (salami, jerky etc.) because you are not trying to preserve it. This is a short term method for pure taste value. The meat needs to get air, that is the process of dry aging. When you are cooking or brining a fish or chicken in salt, you are locking out air so it ends up moister, the salt in that case wakes up the moisture to start moving it around but the contact time vs curing is short so it doesn't pull it completely out. That short contact allows the fibers to break down and reabsorb the moisture and the salt itself, seasoning the meat. That is why salt cured or brined meats are higher in sodium.

Bryguyf69 wrote:If you are against washing this with soap, you might as well also be against using soap on a normal BBQ grill, pots, pans, etc. Metal, Teflon, ceramic, etc are also normally don't allow the growth of germs, and the heat of cooking would kill them anyway.

That is a completely aweful comparison. And no, I would never touch my grill with Soap, ever. I heat the grate, brush it with a stiff bristle brush, and then wipe it with oil. If anything is left after that, it is not dirt or bacteria, but seasoning and flavoring; no different then a cast-iron pan.

My comment on not using soap on the salt was in response to the comment on need to get in the cracks and crevices of the salt block. Pots, pans, creamic, etc do not have these crevices and do not have natural pores to obsorb either food particals or soal residue, so no, I do not have a problem using it in that application.

Has anyone had their tile shipped out to them, yet? I've gotten plenty of other Woot items sent my way since, and I realize it hasn't been a full 5 business days, so I'm mostly curious.

ThunderThighs wrote:Wine,Woot shipments (even non-wine) take a bit longer than shipments from our other sites. Allow at least 2-3 weeks.

The FAQ:

How long is shipment going to take?
You should get your wine in 2-3 weeks, often sooner. We know the wait is kind of a drag. But it's still gonna taste good (maybe even better), and since we leave it to the wineries to get the wine to you, you can count on their experience to send their wine using their expert methodologies.

Thank you! It should've occurred to me to check the FAQ for winewoot, specifically, rather than the general FAQ.

Anyone else have a ridiculously hard time opening their bag for this? I couldn't get mine open Had to ruin the bag to get it.

Is there a contact for the company perhaps I could get another bag somehow.

My bag came ripped when it arrived

I ordered two of these and received them today. One of them was broken. I called WMB international to inform them that one was broken. They referred me to their sister company who handled the Woot deals. They apologized and said they would send another one out. Their phone number is 562-256-9335. I asked if they would email me when the shipment leaves and they said they would do that. Overall Good Customer service so far.