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Hop salt offers an ingenious way of adding the aromas of hops to food, while leaving the bitterness out. Whether you will be sprinkling it over fries, using it to flavor roasted veggies or grilled meat or adding it to brines - chances are you will love the results!
What does hop salt taste like?
Did you know that the majority of what we taste (some say up to 90 percent) in food is driven by our sense of smell?
Yep - olfaction plays a key role in the perception of taste. In addition, we humans are biologically wired to reject strong bitter tastes, which is the main reason that we shy away from them in our food. (Not so much in craft beer as many Imperial IPA lovers can confirm:).
Let's just say that to truly enjoy our food we need pleasant smells first and foremost and even though we sometimes acquire a learned enjoyment of bitterness (it is in fact necessary in balancing the maltiness of craft beer) we would rather not encounter too much bitterness in our meals.
Chris and I are fans of using hops and hop salt for the enticing aromas they bring to food.
Whether used as a finishing salt or assigned more of a role in a dish hops can act as herbs in cooking.
Learn how to make your own Hops Salted Caramel Sauce to drizzle over popcorn, ice cream etc.
So, let's do this and make some hop salt!
By way of ingredients you pretty much need sea salt and hops. You'll also need a small container with an air tight lid. You will combine the salt with the hops, close the lid and wait for a few days while the hops are infusing the salt with their aromas.
There are two very similar approaches to making hop salt - using hop pellets or using whole hop flowers (dried). We love them both.
How to Make Hop Salt Using Hop Pellets
Hop pellets are simply female hop flowers that have been dried, ground into powder and compressed into firm pellets. Pellets are easier to store and transport because due to their compressed nature they take up less space. They also last longer. Most breweries and home brewers use pellets.
You can get hop pellets at your local home brewer supply store or from the various online equivalents. If you are not very familiar with the different hop profiles we recommend visiting a place so you can smell the hops and pick the ones you like the most.
For the hop pellet salt in this post I went through Chris' stash of leftover packets from various home brews and picked Cascade hops. Since the hops get completely mixed with the grains of salt, it is important that they are not very bitter.
Cascade hops are the most commonly used American variety, known as the original American citrus 'bomb' hop. They are commonly used as a finishing hop. Lower in alpha acids (i.e. less bittering potential) Cascade hops are perfect for adding to salt. They have a medium intensity citrusy aroma which is also part spicy and part floral.
The pellets I used were just a tad bit old (hops tend to lose their bittering and aromatic properties quite fast, even if stored properly), so I could afford to be generous with the quantity I added. With fresher pellets, especially if using a hop with a more potent flavor profile, I would have opted for using a much smaller quantity.
A general rule of thumb for this method of making hop salt is to use 1 teaspoon of ground hop pellets to each 1 tablespoon of sea salt. You can adjust the proportion up or down based on the flavor profile of your hops of choice and the freshness factor.
To make the salt simply grind the pellets in a mortar to a fine powder and mix with the salt. Taste to assess the flavor and add more ground pellets as needed. Close the container, shake the ingredients well and let the salt get infused with flavor.
How to Make Hop Salt Using Hop Flowers (Cones)
Using dried hop flowers (whole cones) is an alternative method. Here you simply place the hop flowers (cones) inside a container, cover them with sea salt and close the container. The hops will infuse the salt with aroma. Dried hop flowers are very fragile, so handle them with care because the leaves can fall apart easily.
Whole hops retain more of their essential oils (volatile aromatic compounds) than pellets because they are not manipulated (processed) and the glands containing these compounds are left intact. Many brewers use them for dry hopping - infusing the beer with more aroma without adding extra bitterness.
I used Columbus hop flowers (cones) to demonstrate this method. Columbus hops are high in alpha acids (i.e. have high bittering potential) but are used for both bittering and finishing, thanks to their sharp and pungent aromas. When used in their whole cone form they will infuse the salt with delicious aromas of black pepper, licorice, curry-like spice and very subtle citrus and as long as not mixed with the salt too much, will not add bitterness.
Which method you use is up to you and your intention for the hop salt you are creating. Playing with hop salt is fun and you can test many varieties of hops to find flavor profiles and intensity that appeal to your individual palate. We like having two or more different ones at any given time.
A cute little jar of hop salt makes a unique and always well received gift to craft beer fans. It can totally spark interest and open the doors to cooking with beer. Just saying, in case you have a friend who would love some.
Learn how to make you own Hops Salted Chocolate Covered Pretzels. Or how about these Hops Salted Fried Jalapeno Rings?
Recipe
Hops Salt Recipe
Ingredients
- coarse sea salt as needed
- hop pellets as needed , (your favorite hops) or
- hop flowers cones dried, as needed , (your favorite hops)
Instructions
Hop Pellets Method
- Using a mortar and pestle, grind hop pellets to a fine powder. Mix 1 teaspoon of ground hop pellets to each 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Mix amount as needed. let hops infuse salt for at least 24 hours before using.
Dried Hop Flowers (Cones) Method
- Fill an air tight container with salt and place one or two hop flowers. Add more salt. Place a few more hop flowers. Add more salt and so on until filled. Close with lid, give a very gentle shake and let infuse for 24 -48 hours before using.
Notes
- The fresher the hop pellets/flowers the better.
- Finishing hops are preferred to bittering hops (more aroma, less bitterness).
- Handle dried hop flowers with care as they are very fragile.
- Use about 1 teaspoon or 2 hop flowers to 1 tablespoon salt as a guideline only. Vary as per your preferences.
- Store in an air tight container in a dark place. Best used within the first few weeks after mixed.
Nutrition
parisaline
craftbeeringI admire your dedication to sharing valuable information.
STANDARD SALTS
Wow, it looks very interesting. I'll use Himalayan pink salt due to its health benefits.
Standard salts
Thanks for sharing this with us. It looks interesting.
Joel
Trying this tonight with 4 almost dried cascade flowers to 2 tbsp coarse sea salt. Another recipe suggested adding some of the lupulin powder as well, think that's too much? Any other spices go well to mix in as well? Maybe to create an all purpose seasoning off this salt/hop base?
CraftBeering
Hi Joel,
I would think it might get too bitter, so start with small additions and taste. We make a Citrus bomb seasoning using Cascade and Mandarina Bavaria along with various citrus peels so this is something you can try and recreate. Oregano goes with Cascade pretty well too, a touch of garlic powder perhaps.
Christopher
Will it go bitter when cooked for a long time like regular hops?
CraftBeering
Hi Chris, it really depends on the hops used. If the hops have very high alpha acid content or not, and the time too. Not sure what you are planning on making, but if you choose a classic British hop variety (ex. British Kent Golding/Fuggle) with low alpha acid content and high on aroma you will probably be alright in terms of getting aroma and no bitterness.
CraftBeering
Another thought - if you must use higher alpha content hops you could infuse the salt for a few days and then before adding it to a dish, sift it. The coarse salt crystals will remain while most of the hops powder (assuming you used ground pellets) will get through. A tip for this approach is to use the Diamond Crystals coarse salt versus the Norton brand. The crystals in the former are different - smaller, lighter and not as salty. Generally, you will use more (about twice as much) of this salt than the Norton brand equivalent to achieve the same salt flavor addition. My thinking is that more crystals will get infused, you will sift the hops out and will end up using more salt to achieve the same saltiness. By doing so you will end up adding more hops aroma infused crystals. Hope it makes sense!
Milena
Saltean salt
It sounds so amazing. I am definitely going to make this hop salt. Thanks for sharing.
Ittefaq trading
Wow! This is something really interesting. I use Himalayan salt in cooking so I am going to try this recipe using this salt.
Elizabeth
This is awesome! Can you use it right away as soon as you make it or does it need some time to infuse?
CraftBeering
Hi, Elizabeth,thank you for stopping by! With the pellets you can use the salt you prepare right away, with the dried flowers method it would be a good idea to wait a day at least. So stoked you will be trying! We constantly end up with small quantities of hops leftover from Chris' home brews and it is so fun to mix different salts, compare them and guess what foods they may work best with.
Marvellina | What To Cook Today
This article is super informative! I've never heard of hop pellets in my 38 years of life 🙂 I can't wait to see how you guys put it to use in recipes!!!!
CraftBeering
We have one coming up:)
The Bearded Hiker
Just went on Amazon and bought some Cascade hops! Love this and your photos are beautiful.
CraftBeering
Thank you Jaxx! You will love the salt, Cascade are my favorite to flavor with:)
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I can totally believe that with regard to smell. Makes total sense. The power of smell is just huge! I guess that's why they put pies or cookies in the oven when people are trying to sell houses, lol 😀
I love flavoured salts, but have never in my life had hop salts! What a neat idea! I often forget to use them and then when I do, I wish I use more often, ya know? It definitely would make a lovely gift for beer lovers, nothing like homemade. I can't wait to see what you bring to us using this. I'm sure it's going to be awesome! I see cocktail, perhaps 😉 ?? Hope you guys are having a lovely weekend, Milena 🙂
CraftBeering
Certainly Dawn! A lot of ways to employ hop salt in food and cocktails:) Just took some pictures for a future post!
CraftBeering
Totally so Kelsie! Hope you have a great weekend!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
Flavored salts are so fun! I love the extra dimension they add to food; I'm already thinking about ways to use this! Happy Friday, Milena!