Kitchen Technique: Salt-Roasting
I just found this great article and must say I’m more than intrigued. I will try this today on something, not sure what yet though. So have you ever heard of salt-roasting? No? I had no idea what it was until I found the article in the LA Times, they have some great stuff once in a while.
Anyway, basically it is baking stuff like fish or meat or whatever you want in salt to give it extraordinary flavor. That’s right, all you need is your chunk of meat or vegetable or anything and a box of salt. Basically all you do is bury your food in a mound of salt, put the dish in a hot oven and bake. Twenty minutes baking time is about average but I guess you just have to experiment . Apparently you can use any salt, I would go for organic sea salt though.
Once you take your food out of the oven, you just crack open the salt crust and peel away the salty excess and the result should be incredibly succulent and flavorful.
How it works
The salt melts and forms a crust, making a kind of “oven within an oven”. The effect is quite like steaming, but because salt is hygroscopic — meaning it absorbs any moisture — the surface of the food stays dry, giving a texture that is closer to roasted.
Salt-roasting [LA Times]