@SixZeroFour and I have been conversing about some ideas on smoked salt. I have purchased and used smoked salt before with great results, but decided to make a batch of my own.
The tools: I cut the handle off a splatter guard to use as my screen. The salt of choice is Maldon, one of my favorites. Maldon is made from seawater collected from the Blackwater River in England and has been continually produced since 1882. It consists of flakes, fine shards, and small pyramids. I use it as my go-to finishing salt for just about any dish. My logic for picking a finishing salt is that the smoke would be more noticeable on the food (as opposed to a salt that you add while cooking).
Wapiti gets the call. I used 1 chimney of Stubbs, 1 chimney of lump, and 1 chimney of fruitwood to provide the smoke, and used a water pan to keep some humidity in the smoker.. I dialed up 190 on Wapiti's ATC and went to bed, planning on a 12 hour smoke.
The payoff:
I put a pinch of the original salt next to the smoked salt to show the color change. The salt on the outer edges of the ring is dark and smokey - just what I am shooting for. The rest of the salt got some nice smoke, but I want it to be more intense. Next time I need to make sure I am raking the salt every couple of hours to get consistent smoke across the batch.
I plan on doing another 6 to 12 hour session with this batch to get it where I want it. The taste is fantastic and should do well as a finish on steaks, steamed/grilled veggies, and eggs.
Winz