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By Root 883 0

remove it from the fire before or immediately after the food is cooked. As juicy slices of flank steak come off a sizzling hot salt block, things get exciting: guests become unruly, you yourself are hungry, and we often forget to turn off the heat immediately. This is especially true when you’re using a charcoal grill. Charcoal heat can’t just be turned off—even gas grills can take considerable time to cool down—and the salt block is a heavy, scary-looking white-hot thing that does not invite handling. The salt block is thus left to continue toasting in the 700°F temperatures of your charcoal kettle grill.

Don’t let this happen. Keep several pot holders or grill mitts on the table by the side of the grill and remove the salt block from the fire just before the food is finished. This both gives you greater control as you remove the food from the salt block and means you can race straight to the table once you do so, allowing the salt block to cool down and minimizing the amount of blackening from the cooked proteins. Clean the salt block as soon as it has cooled to room temperature, usually a few hours later. Removing any carbon or excessive food will keep your block cleaner and better-looking for longer.

Cleaning and Storing

Be sure the block is fully cooled to room temperature before washing. Wet the salt block lightly under warm water, then scrub vigorously at any areas where food has stuck or any areas that appear glazed, as happens with cooked fat. Rinse with water again to wash clean. If necessary, repeat this process until satisfied. Note that no salt block will ever return to its full preheated splendor. Pat the block dry with a clean rag or paper towel and set the block on a drying rack. Store the block in a place where humidity is at a minimum or wrap salt blocks in several layers of paper towel and seal in a plastic bag to store. I keep some of mine on the windowsill, except during periods of major, protracted rain storms … which happen all too frequently in Portland, Oregon.

SALT STONE-BAKED DINNER ROLLS

MAKES 1 DOZEN ROLLS

Crusty, chewy, salty dinner rolls whose textures and flavors play wonderfully off the slowly melting pat of sweet cream butter you place inside: these are the perfect accompaniment to the salad or cheese course, and will provide an irresistible distraction from the main course of prime rib or leg of lamb. If you have children, keep the rolls on reserve until after the kids say they can’t eat another bit of their meat or veggies. Then sit back and behold how they magically create enough room for a marathon runner’s share of salty-yeasty carbs.

1 recipe soft pretzel dough, minus smoked salt

3 (8 by 8 by 2-inch) blocks Himalayan pink salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Prepare the pretzel dough as described up to the point that the dough is risen and punched down, but before it is punched down and divided.

Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Roll a piece into a ball, then stretch the top of the ball over itself, making a sort of seashell shape. Squeeze the edges together so the dough ball is smooth and shiny on one side and has a creased seam on the other. Place the ball, seam side down, on a sheet pan and move on to the next. After you have formed all 12 rolls, cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 1 hour in a dry warm place.

While the rolls are proofing, place the rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Heat the salt blocks as described in Heating.

Remove the plastic wrap from the rolls, and push down lightly on each of them to create flatter rolls roughly the shape of bagels without holes. Brush the tops with a thin film of olive oil, making sure that the oil does not drip down the sides and collect underneath the rolls, where it will inhibit the salt from interacting with the dough. Using a small spatula, transfer the rolls onto the salt blocks and close the oven door. Bake for about 12 minutes, until puffed and pale brown.

Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack with a spatula and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Turn off the oven and allow