Make Your Own Smoked Salt 
I was standing in the grocery store the other day, sniffing jars of smoked sea salts. They all smelled very good, but I couldn't get past their prices.
"Why," I thought to myself, "are these sea salts SOOO expensive?"
Of course, if I didn't have a recipe already at home telling me how to do it myself. I would naturally assume it took some special processing and special ingredients to get them this way. BUT, IT DOESN'T.
Smoking salts at home is super easy and you can make enough to share with your neighbors. And it won't cost you an arm, a leg and your first born.
There are four methods to making smoked salt: Stovetop, Wok, Charcoal Grill and Gas Grill (see bottom of post for direction of other methods). I chose the Charcoal Grill method to make Mesquite Smoked Sea Salt. I already had a bag of Mesquite chips on hand, so I said, "why not start here?"
HERE'S ALL IT TAKES TO CREATE SMOKED SALTS
- 2 cups wood chips, soaked in cold water for 1 hour, then drained
- 2 cups coarse salt (kosher or sea)
Set up the grill for indirect grilling (putting all your hot coals to one side and leaving a cool side to work from). Toss the wood chips on the coals. Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pie pan and place it on the grate away from the fire. Cover the grill and adjust the vent holes to medium heat (350F deg.).
Smoke the salt for 1 hour. Cool the salt to room temperature, then move it to a jar and cover.
Prepared grill.
Set tin foil pan on the cool side of grill, away from coals.
One hour later.
Allow to cool completely before storing.
$1.29 and one hour of my time for 1/2 pound of smoked sea salt.
HERE'S THOSE OTHER SMOKING METHODS
Stovetop Smoker Method: Place the sawdust in the bottom of the smoker. Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pie pan and place it in the top of the smoker. Place the smoker over high heat. When you start to see wisps of smoke, reduce the heat to medium, tightly cover the smoker, and smoke the salt for 20 minutes. Cool the salt to room terperature, then transfer it to a jar, cover, and store away from heat and light.
Wok Method: Line the bottom of the wok with aluminum foil (a 6 inch square will do) and place the sawdust on top. Set a round wire cake rack in the wok. Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pie pan and place on the wire rack. Place the wok over igh heat. When you start to see wisps of smoke, reduce the salt for 20 minutes. Cool the salt to room temperature, then transfer it to a jar, cover, and store away from heat and light.
Gas Grill Method: Preheat the grill to medium. PLace the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat until you see smoke. Spread the salt in a thin layer in an aluminum foil pan and place it on the grate away from the fire. Cover the grill ans smoke the salt for 1 hour. Cool the salt to room temperature, then transfer it to a jar, cover, and store away.
Looks easy enough. I’ve never used smoked salt. I’m looking forward to seeing what you use it with.
Wow, this looks quite easy, and those expensive salts form the gourmet section are always on my drool list. I’d love to try experimenting with different kinds of wood-chips to see what flavors come through with the salt.
The next batch to I want to try will be oak. I’m also curious about using liquid smokes to flavor the salts. The store bought salts are very strong, much stronger than this home smoked recipe. I’m also wondering if I could find more smoke flavors in liquid form than in real wood chips, for instance apple wood. Where is a Texan suppose to find apple wood?
Cool! We smoke meat fairly often and I am always looking for things to throw on while we have the smoker going. This looks great. Thank you!
Jill, I don’t think I would use oak to smoke salt. Oak doesn’t leave a good flavor on food products, IMO.
As far as getting stronger smoke flavor, use a smoker with wood chunks rather than a charcoal grill and wood chips. I would also poke several very small holes in the bottom of the pan to allow the smoke to pass through the salt.
Apple wood chunks and chips can be purchased at any BBQ Galore store or such. Or do a online search.
http://www.bbqgalore.com/
Anyway, thanks for the idea. I’m going to try this in my smoker.
Hey Oat, thanks for the tips. I’ve smelled apple wood smoked sea salt. It’s mild and smells good. Thanks for the BBQ Galore link. I’ll check that out.
Just for clarity, I don’t use charcoal briquettes. I use all natural Cowboy Charcoal (found at Lowe’s). It’s not made with coal, fillers or chemicals. It’s starts fast, burns hot and creates a clean grilled flavor. I wouldn’t use anything else.
I hickory smoked some salt yesterday in my Meco smoker and it turned out really good.
Jill, thanks for letting me know about the Cowboy Charcoal.
You’re welcome, Oat.
I could not disagree more with Oat’s opinion on using oak. Oak is the worlds most common wood for smoking meats. When I’m going to smoke I buy 2 stacks of logs. (1 of oak and 1 of hickory or mesquite) I use a mixture of the 2 woods at all times. Maybe Oat doesn’t care for the specific flavor of oak and that’s ok. To each his own. But saying that it’s no good for food products is too broad a statement. I’ve also used different fruit tree woods on occasion and they all do a good job. I stick with oak, hickory and mesquite because they’re cheap and readily available in Houston.
I’m BBQing for my friends wedding rehearsal dinner this Friday and in addition to the meats I’m going to smoke salt for the first time. Thanks for the tips.
Well Ralph, how did the rehearsal dinner turn out?
It went well. I cooked 2 – 12 lb briskets, 1 rack of spareribs, 4 salmon filets, 10 burgers, a pot of baked beans and about 5 lbs of one of my homemade sausages using oak and pecan. (I don’t know why I typed hickory instead of pecan in my previous post. I’ve never used hickory.)
I forgot to buy coarse salt to smoke, but since the weather here is finally cooling off I’m sure I’ll fire up the smoker again in a few weeks. I’ll post back with the results.
Mmm, that all sounds good – wish I had been there.
Yes, please keep me posted. I’m curious which wood you will use and how it turns out.
I haven’t smoked anymore salt. I still have plenty leftover from the first attempt.
About the pecan wood, do you use it alone or add it with other woods?
this is awesome Jill. i need that for a canape. how can i make smoked sea salt on gas gril or stovetop? Please let me know asap. thank you
I always use either 1/2 oak & 1/2 pecan OR 1/2 oak and 1/2 mesquite.
Hi, does anyone know of a online site where I can purchase Applewood liquid smoke? thanks Geoff
I would like to salt (with smoked salt) a brisket, for 2/3 hrs, rinse, and cook. comments??????
Good morning Ron!
I did a little searching around and couldn’t find proof of success on salting a brisket. I’ve never salted meat before cooking it and I’m not about to guess and have you lose a perfectly good cut of meat.
The idea of smoked salt may not leave enough smoked flavor on the meat as we might think. I use smoked salts, such as Alderwood, Applewood, and my favorite, Chihuaha de Mexico smoked black salt. I’ve learned I can get the most out of their flavor in wet rubs & dry rubs for grilling and adding them at the end of my recipes. The smoked flavor and aroma doesn’t linger when I’ve added it at the beginning.
I tend to be miserly with my smoked salts. They are pricey. And because I don’t have a money tree in my yard, I wouldn’t think to cover an entire brisket, then rinse it off. And the rinsing process, I would think, would remove what little smoke flavor was absorbed by the meat. I don’t like being negative to new ideas, but these are my first concerns on the topic.
Keep me posted on what you do. I’m interested in the outcome.
Any thoughts on using smoked salt for brine? I think it might be interesting.
Hi Mosmoker,
I wonder if the smoked salt would really have a difference in a brine. When I’ve cooked with it, it tends to lose its essence in the early cooking stages. But when applied at the end, I get more taste for the buck.
I would try a liquid smoke first to see if it would penetrate well. Or would that be too much you think?
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