Title: Salt Crust Cooking Information Page 1.
Categories: Info Seafood
Yield: 1 Servings

The use of salt has been pervasive throughout the history of culinary arts.

A universal seasoning used in all cuisines, salt intensifies the flavors of food when used in moderation. Beneficial to baking, salt adds strength to the gluten structure and controls fermentation. In the curing process it retards bacteria and mold growth due to its powers of moisture retraction. It prolongs the shelf life of dairy products and countless packaged foods.

Salt as a cooking vessel, also has a long history dating back several hundred years when Asian cooks, who preserved poultry with salt, rehydrated it and used hot salt as a cooking vessel because of its even heat conduction properties. Foods cook quickly and are surprisingly moist when cooked in salt, despite its natural tendency to draw moisture out of foods.

It is important to emphasize that cooking in salt crust does not result in an excessively salty product. During the cooking process, the protein is protected from direct contact with the salt by its natural skin or a wrapping (e.g. parchment or leaves). This protective barrier minimizes the transfer of salt to the protein. In the Madrid region of Spain, pollo puente de moros - baked chicken in clay utilizes a very salty clay soil as a crust for baking. Once baked, the result is a clay vessel which is broken at the table to reveal the moist and elegant surprise within.

This article will describe four variations of cooking in salt crust as taught by the chef instructors at the California Culinary Academy. These variations utilize either rock salt or coarse-grained kosher salt depending on the size of the meat, fish or poultry that is being prepared.

For large cuts, coarse rock salt is preferred due to its slow-dissolving characteristic. Thus, rock salt is the choice when baking a whole fresh salmon ideal for a buffet presentation. Another possibility is a variation of the classic Pacific Islander technique of using hot rocks to cook in a hole called an "imu pit." Pork shoulder baked in a salt crust is so similar in taste and texture to traditional kalaui pork that it's like creating a luau for one guest. For smaller cuts that make spectacular table-side presentations, coarse-grained kosher salt is used. Examples would include roasted squab in salt crust or filet of trout in a salt and cracked peppercorn crust.

previous

next