The Salt of the Earth

The value of taking the time once in a while to slow down for a country breakfast, an early morning stroll or just a moment to sit outside in the cool, refreshing breeze is immeasurable. This morning I cooked a western omelet with fresh jalepenos from our garden, orange tomatoes from a local farmstand in Peconic, and brown farm-fresh eggs from my parents' hens. It was amazing! All while Roger picked veggies from the garden and helped to turn over my dried out pansy flower bed in preparation for transplanted mums next month. It's nice to make time for things like this although it's not always easy.

I couldn't wait to write this post about a new find of mine and one of my first creations with it. My obsession with Food & Wine Magazine continues and was brought to life while in Le Gourmet Chef last Sunday. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I recalled an article that truly piqued my interest, explaining gourmet sea salts and how world-renowned chefs were using them creatively in their dishes. I thought it would be interesting to play around with salts but wondered where I would find some. Well, we happened to be wandering through the Tanger Outlets gourmet shop to look for a burger patty press and stumbled upon a shelf with various seasonings. There were some of the salts I had read about in a variety pack/sampler. I bought them for $8.00 (5 varieties in one container) and proceeded to do a salt tasting with Roger at home.

I knew a salt tasting would be risky but all of them were really interesting except for the Eurasian Black. That one tasted completely like sulfur. Not sure where that would fit into a meal but the others were very bold and specific. You could almost begin to imagine the various meats and seasonings that they would complement well.

My first trial was with the Sel De Guerande coarse sea salt. I ground slightly (not too fine) and added it into a pork rub that I created. The rub was neither a dry or a marinade. I suppose you'd have to call it a moist, basting rub. I combined the Sel De Guerande, fresh grated ginger, spicy brown mustard, Worcestershire, onion powder, seasoned salt (red), and cracked peppercorns.

When preparing the pork chops for the grill, I rubbed them entirely with sesame oil then I brushed on the above blended mixture. I covered all of the meaty areas of the pork and continued to brush on while turning on the grill as well. The flavor cooked in and the last of it formed a bit of a crust on the top. The seasoned salt may have taken over a bit but the rub was delicious nonetheless. I think I will become a bit more brave with my sea salt as I research some ideas. I think the Hawaiian Red Salt will be great for a smoky flavor either on a fish or a meat. I will certainly report it when I figure it out!

We should all have more salty creativity in our life.