We were in a deli in Mt. Airy called Concetta’s Main Street Bistro, and I saw this Himalayan salt block on a shelf in a pretty, decorative stand. One wall of the deli offers items like handmade pasta, Italian cookies and condiments, and international olive oils. Concetta’s makes the best, stuffed sandwiches and subs using thick slices of artisan breads and rolls. They have a large menu and will gladly make special orders. I ordered a Concetta club sandwich and could barely finish half of it. The reuben was thick and gooey; you can always get breakfast too. When I asked about the salt block, at least four employees tried to assist.
Himalayan salt blocks are used for a method of cooking where you heat the salt block, then use it as your cooking surface. Before cooking, I read some instructions on different websites but next time I will be able to tell you more because I ordered a cookbook for it. The prices online for the salt blocks are quite high for some reason – $25-$35. The rose and crystal colored precious mineral is mined in Asia and is a quarter- to a half-billion years old. It’s full of minerals like magnesium, iron, zinc, and manganese, and is naturally anti-microbial so clean-up is easy. To cook on it, you slowly bring the temperature of the block up to about 500 degrees and then quickly (3-5 seconds) sear the meat on it.
In the picture I’m pointing out on the package of the steak, how the farmer at Hedgeapple has numbered each package of meat with which cow the meat came from in case the customer wants to see the parents of that cow out in the field or for some reason that piece of meat needs to be traced back to its origin. I also show how I trimmed the extra fat off of the steak and then sliced it lengthwise across the grain to make thin, wide strips. I also sliced a tomatillo and combined it with the meat.
Below is a video of cooking the fajita (flank) steak on the salt block. Wet ingredients do not go on the salt block, so I dried the meat first with paper towels, but should have pressed it down more; you can see in the video it was a bit wet, which can draw more salt out of the block than desired. But the fajitas were excellent anyway!
A few weeks ago, I went to lunch with some people from work to try a new Mexican restaurant. We were the only ones there which is unfortunate because I the food was quite authentic. I ordered vegetable fajitas, expecting mostly onions and peppers, and was pleasantly surprised with a wide range of vegetables. From now on, I’ll be expanding on my vegetable fajitas at home.
Vegetable and/or Steak Fajitas
1-2 lb flank steak cut diagonally in strips
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C gluten-free, low-sodium, organic soy sauce (tamari)
3-4 crushed cloves garlic
2 T lime juice
1 t ground cumin
Slice meat and put it in zip bag. Whisk oil, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, and cumin; add to bag and combine with meat. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Allow steak to marinate for 1 hour in refrigerator.
Sliced vegetables (onion, bell pepper, zucchini, red potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, tomato, squash, mushrooms, etc.)
1 T coconut or avocado oil
1 T gluten-free, low-sodium, organic soy sauce (tamari)
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
Sea salt and ground pepper
Sauté vegetables until tender.
