Any Southern man worth his salt ought to know that his sodium is best not sourced from a Morton column. Having said that, these days there are a hell of a lot of craft salt choices out there and it can start to become overwhelming when trying to decipher which is right for you. Should I go with Pink Himalayan? What about a combined spice mix compiled by Whole Foods in a grinder that seemingly costs $15 dollars per ounce? Why would anyone want an “Every Day Blend”? Does that mean that most people use those spices every day or that it becomes an every day blend if you use it every day? Kind of a self fulfilling label, yeah?
If you ask me, the best place to start is responsible, domestic, eco-friendly sourcing. And if responsible sourcing isn’t your thing, maybe you’d be delighted to hear that the brand I’m going to recommend you also recently took home a Food Award for one of their offerings from, Southern Living Magazine, as the Best Seasoning of 2016.
I’m talking about a wonderful American made good, painstakingly crafted by the sweet folks at Bulls Bay Saltworks. Bulls Bay Saltworks is located near Charleston, SC and they believe that good salt starts with a clean water source. Fun fact, Charleston boasts the cleanest water on the eastern seaboard, filtered by oysters, clams, and other wild seafood in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, home to one of the healthiest saltwater ecosystems on the planet! To create their salt, they collect water from this resource and evaporate the liquid off of the solids using a greenhouse located on their property. This greenhouse, affectionately deemed The Solar Tunnel, utilizes the natural forces of both wind and solar power to lift the liquid leaving the scrumptious salt behind.
Q: Even they have a large offering to choose from, which of their offering is your favorite?
A: I’ve personally used their Charleston Sea Salt, Bourbon Barrel Smoked Flake Salt, and Red Mash Sea Salt. While these are all wonderful, I have to say my favorite is the Red Mash. Coincidentally, this is also their product that won the aforementioned, Best Seasoning of 2016 from Southern Living’s Food Awards. The Red Mash is a collaboration product they did with another Charleston local food company called Red Clay Hot Sauce, wherein they blended their original sea salt product with Red Clay’s Fresno pepper mash which lead to a salt blend with a low lingering heat and a ton of depth to boot. Highly recommended for any dish which calls for heat, which is all of them.
Speaking of, see below for one of my signature recipes using not one but 2 of Bulls Bay’s delectable offerings. I give you step one of three on how to make one of my best dishes, Southern Carbonara, which guarantees a call back if executed correctly for your lady gents. Here’s how you make the Zucchini Pasta from scratch. Stay tuned for steps 2 and 3, and fellas, listen closely.
If you’re interested in scooping up some of Bulls Bay Saltworks’s Sodium for yourself, visit them here at their website or follow them on Instagram @bullsbaysaltworks.
Yours Truly,
Ryan
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