First off, I want to thank everyone who responded and replied to my Blogging Rant (see two posts down in my blog) and also for joining the chorus of pissed off bloggers on the topic of ATK.
If you haven’t heard what went on, then you were perhaps on a space shuttle mission or you live in a hippie commune, cut off from the rest of the world.
I recently caught an episode of Bobby Flay’s Boy Meets Grill and I was pleasantly surprised to see him blend sea salt and herbs to dress some lamb chops.
Although I’ve seen sea salt and dried oregano used as a finishing seasoning in Greece for many grilled meats, Bobby’s approach is to put the mixture on the meat just before grilling. Simple, but brilliant.
I’ve tried this “method”, if you will on three instances…once with a grilled fish, another time with chicken on the barbecue and most recently grilling lamb chops.
Each time I was left with a deeply flavourful dish that’s been simply seasoned with sea salt and your choice of fresh herb(s).
All one has to do is add some coarse sea salt and the herb of your choice in to a food processor and then pulse the mixture until it’s well blended.
The other day I tried Bobby Flay’s flavouring of sea salt with fresh rosemary and I simply brushed some olive oil on the lamb chops, sprinkle the rosemary salt on the meat and grilled the chops for 2 minutes a side for a nice, pink finish to my meat.
People, this is my summer grilling method of the year. Take your sea salt, food processor and pulse away with your favourite herbs. You’ll find the herbs really flavour whatever you’re grilling and this another one of those instances where you smack yourself on your forehead (okay, I did it twice) and say DUH!!!
I have some beautiful lamb loin chops in the freezer at the moment – and now I know what their fate will be!
Gimme lamb please! Especially a cutlet! Great idea for the herbed salt..so easy! I just did some myself with some “horta”..I’ll be writing about it soon.
I love putting fresh ground herbs on lamb chops before grilling them (inside unfortunately). I usually don’t use quite so much salt, but I would defintely try it.
Um YUM! I would have never thought to grind the salt and herbs together in the food processor! Smarty pants!~
Thanks for your comment on my Delish London Broil!!
Imagine all of the combinations you could come up with!!! This looks like something my family would love. The kids like to eat lamb chops with their hands straight from the bone… well, I guess we all do.
I just now read the ATK drama. Sorry, I have been on a space mission. Spaced-out with the kids home ALL-DAY-LONG for summer. 4 more weeks.
xoxox Amy
What a great idea. I can already see so many possibilities.
Yummy! I Think it’ll become my grilling method too, thanks to you!
Next time i’ll be in Canada i’ll give you a call and you better cook this drop dead gorgeous lamb for me..so masarap :-)
have a great weekend Peter!!
ps, i love your herb sea salt..that alone i could eat
I just discovered flavored salt too – will post about it soon… and yes, i was hitting myself on the head too – now why didnt i think of that!
Isn’t this wonderful! I know a lot of people cannot stand Bobby Flay, but no matter what his personality is like, the man knows his way around a kitchen!
The rosemary sea salt is gorgeous tasting on lamb chops, isn’t it.
Great post as ever, honey!
I love the herbed sea salt – it doesn’t dry out the meat? How much salt are you really putting on the meat and what’s the sodium impact?
Would have been cool to watch you smack yourself on the forehead….duh.
Foodycat, you’re gonna luv’em.
Peter, I’m gonna go nuts on horta when in Greece.
Shorty…you now have plan B with herbs and salt.
Leslie…so simple, eh? You’re welcome…that steak of yours is to die for!
Amy, pleased to hear your kids love lamb…many don’t…finger lickin’ good I say!
Dee, have fun with this concept.
Imma, you’re welcome!
Dhanngit, you’re welcome…the invite stands.
Arundathi, isn’t it wonderful? I look forward to reading your post.
Mary, I don’t get it…he cooks very good and most accounts, he’s nice to fans, stops to say hi, sign autographs…which other more liked celebs do not do!
Giz, how would I dry out the meat? All I’m doing is seasoning my meat just before grilling. Meat needs seasoning and this method with the herbs pulsed into it really flavours the meat.
Did Bobby Flay invent this method? I thought I had, lol! Danggit, I’m always the last to know…
By the way, Tarpon Springs was great! I thought of Kalofagas while dining on all that wonderful Greek food! YUM!!
OMG, I just want to reach-out through my computer screen and pick-up one of those lamb chops. Damn, they look so good! I agree with ya, herbed sea salt rocks! Nicely done as always Peter.
And i think people are still pissed at Bobby Flay since he stepped on his cutting board after his Iron chef battle against Morimoto.haha. He was a prick that day but i respect him as a chef.
we always marinate our bbq meat with salt, pepper and oregano before we cook it – while it’s cooking we brush it with oil mixed with oregano and a little oil
i love the look of that salt mixed with fresh herbs – i wish i had the energy to go collect it myself as do some of the locals in hania
Playing around with salt is my new thing! The possibilities are endless and can really transform a meal.
Peter-
Horta–
If you have a more precise fix on what greens are horta?
Wild greens are usually only edible and tender enough in the spring. I’ve eaten plenty of nettles and dandelion in my life
You have my total respect for dealing properly with those snails. I’ve eaten lots of ocean snails gathered on the Maine coast. Just gather in a clean coastal area. Steam a few minutes then pull out the meat with a toothpick or safety pin
The chops look delicious!
How about mutton sometime?
Thx
I find now this type of salt Peter and I heard is so yummy and Im really tempting to try it. How you make look soooo yummy!! I laugh when you talk about hippies! I was a little hippie Peter!! (many years ago) LOL xxxGloria
I’ve done salt with parsley ground up like that and use it all the time, but for some mad reason I’ve never thought of doing the same with other herbs….Doh!
Dumb Blonde ah?!
oh, i like it…i see some lavender salt in my very near future.
those are some beautiful chops – you’ve got a good source, i’m sure…
Simple, beautiful, delicious! Being Greek, I love lamb chops. Your photos are fantastic. Makes me hungry.
Hands down, that is just a gorgeous and delicious meal right there!
Those lamb chops are gorgeous! Please, please throw one over here, please! I love the simplicity of the cooking: simple, beautiful, and delicious.
Oh I love this idea, no food processor but I am sure I can come up with a way to blend the two.
Yum. Loooove lamb. I think this is a brilliant idea, thanks for sharing.
I like the sound of herbed salt and that lamb looks great!
Tonight’s dinner is grilled Frenched Rack of Lamb, and now it it going to have this herbed salt.
Peter there’s no need to smack yourself silly.
Wow, that sure is going to taste great on lamb… Bobby Flay is the grill master for sure! BTW, great blog you have here, it is my first time here, going to look around a bit now. I am a big fan of Greek food!
Sandie, I doubt but that’s the first place I saw it!
Zen, the herb sea salts are a wonderful and easy way to falvour meats…je t’aime herbe sels!
Kiwi, it’s very hot there now, not conducive to hikes, I hear you.
Courtney, I heart this herb salt.
Hi Dennis, welcome and thank you for your kind words. As for “horta”, it usually refers to Amaranth (Vlita) but nettles, chards are also lumped in as “horta”. It generally refers to any edible green that grows wild in Greece.
Gloria, please try the herb salt…guaranteed winner, even for hippies!
Jan, more like a cute blonde…bon appetit!
Andrew, we’re lunky here to have local Ontario lamb.
Jen, you know visiting here will get ya hungry.
Bridget, it was even tastier eating with my hands.
JS, often, simple is best.
Joanne, you’re very welcome!
Kevin, damn tasty it is.
Lori Lynn, you can’t see it but you’ll certainly taste it.
Sig, thank you and welcome…please do visit and comment often.
Wow, great idea! Looks beautiful. I will have to try this.
Sea salt, herbs and lamb. Kill me now, Peter! I’ll be grabbing lamb out of the freezer tonight!
Thanks! I will definitely be doing this! Love your blog!!!!:)
Sea salt with fresh herbs, now why didn’t I think of that!
Peter – this is such a fantastic idea! Can’t wait to give it a try.
Brilliantly simple! I’ll trust you that the end result was delicious (those lamb chops certainly look luscious); in the mean time, the sea salt-herb combo is really pretty! I would even put that in a small decorative bowl and bring it to the table in case dinner guests want to season anything else with the salt!
These lamb chops flavoured with herbed sea salt looks so delicious! Glad I found your food blog – so many good food and after I learn a few recipes, I can impress my friends by telling them that now I make greek cuisine! ;) (just kidding)
The salt is so beautiful, glistening with its goodness. I like making a fair amount at one time and then air drying it so we can use it in the winter.
i’ve always liked mr flay. i’ve also always liked salt. and herbs. particularly rosemary. my point is that this is a helpful post–thanks. :)
Hi Peter, just a couple of words to join your “Blogging Rant” against those cockerels and send my support to Melissa, Bravo for her! It’s absolutely outrageous! It’d be as if you couldn’t take a picture of a couple of kissing lovers because Robert Doisneau can sue you for copying his masterpiece… I don’t know much about law but I know for sure you can not patent or copyright “ideas”. If you don’t want to be copied, take your words and keep them under lock and key. Anyway, it’s all about bloody money…Nevertheless,and even though I know it’s Melissa’s favourite part… please Pete, try to be a little bit specific in your explanations…sometimes, we, your readers, are eating while reading you! lol !!!
Great idea about herbed salt, I heard about it on Jamie Oliver’s show and what I use is flavoured sugar, it also works v.well with desserts. Nice sunday ;-)Nat
Sorry, I wanted to say “try to be a little less specific in your explanations” (when it comes to depict certain unpleasant tastes…) Hehe! Anyway, it was a joke.Nice sunday everybody! :-DNat
Great idea! The sea salt in your first photo looks gorgeous.
Hi Peter,
I found you due to the dustup with Melissa and Evil Chef Mom. CI is out of control.
More importantly, your lamb looks phenomonal (I love Greek food and miss the Aegean).
–Marc
Lisa, thanks…I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Christine, I like your spontaneous ways!
Pam, I smacked my head again asking the same thing.
Thanks Kristen, hope you like it.
Neen, great idea…as a finishing salt and yeah, looks darn perty!
Noobcook, thanks & welcome!
Laurie, I make small batches.
Grace, your musings always give me a smile! ;)
Nat, gotcha!
Panda, it caught my eye too!
Hi Chef & welcome…hope you visit again & often!
I just smacked myself for the third time. I would never have thought of this Peter:D
You beat me to the post! :) I made a rosemary salt and was going to post about it. Now I’ll be known as the copy cat. LOL.
See, my problem with this is that the herbed salt is so pretty, I’d never be able to persuade myself to actually use it… ;)
Hey Peter, great tip – look forward to trying it out :)
DUH!!! So simple, so great! I adore this easy and obvious tips that enlighten our dishes!
Gracias Chico :D
excellent idea! maybe i cud do this with chicken breasts ^_^
love that sea salt w.herbs ~ looks gorgeous….just wanna scoop that up n’ scrub legs with it !
Love the herbed salt–that would be great on many things and nice looking on a table.
I normally ignore Bobby Flay because anything he does is usually overdone but that’s a really good method.
Simple but brilliant, as you said.
Peter, I’ve been internet-less for a week now and I’m glad things are back to normal : )
This lamb looks amazing!! Did I tell you a French professor at my school used to have this yearly gathering where we roast a whole lamb over a spit… well this past year we were doing just that and a few Greek guys came to our pavilion to let us know that the lamb was not close enough to the fire to get a nice char. We listened and it turned out DELICIOUS!
Greeks definitely know their lamb : )
I love the idea of the seasoned salt!!
Clever, clever, clever! I love this idea. We always do our lamb chops on the BBQ just with salt (hubby is a bit of a lamb purist…!) but I’m sure I can sneak some rosemary salt past him.