Salt of the Earth: Easy to Make Herb Salts From Your Garden

It's OK to get salty every once in awhile. Especially if it means using your end-of-season garden scraps to create your very own herb salts, which can be rubbed on meats, sprinkled on vegetables, or even used in the bath.

If you're like us and just got around to tidying up your garden before winter, you probably have a bunch of herbs, either still fresh or dried. Here's how you put them to work.

Gather herbs and remove leaves from stems. Dry on a sheet pan or drying rack.

When completely dried, pulse 3/4-cup of mixed herbs with 1 cup of your preferred sea salt in a food processor or blender.

Feel free to experiment with different herb combinations. Jennifer tried mint, sage and lavender.

You can also use other dry ingredients, like dried citrus zest or toasted or ground spices. Here are some combinations we like:

Thyme-Rosemary-Lavender
Lemon Zest-Sage
Lemon Balm-Mint
Bergamot-Strawberry Leaves-Orange Zest
Rosemary-Sage-Fennel Fronds

So now what?

You can use your homemade salt as a dry rub on meat or fish before grilling or roasting.

For wet, brined meats, add 1 cup of your salt to 1 gallon of hot water until dissolves.

Refrigerate until cold and add meat (about 3 hours for a whole chicken and about 8 hours for a whole turkey). Make sure bird is completely submerged in liquid (you may have to make a few gallons depending on the size of your bird or pot).

After brining, rinse bird in cold water, pat dry and roast.

You can also sprinkle on your roasted vegetables.

Want to use your salts in the bath?

Steep a 1/2-cup of the herb salt with about 1 gallon of boiling water. Strain and add to a bath with Vitamin E oil for a pop-up aromatherapy spa.

photos by Jennifer McCafferty