The One Salt Bobby Flay Uses For The Most Flavorful Steak (And So Should You)

Grill master Bobby Flay knows a thing or two (okay, more like a thousand things) when it comes to cooking meat. When firing up a steak, it's no surprise he's got the recipe for perfection. Flay knows how to cook a juicy steak every time (he likes his steaks cooked medium, by the way), and he follows a hands-off rule for perfect grilling. The Food Network star also favors a specific type of salt for optimally flavorful steak: smoked flaky sea salt. It's a fantastic flavor enhancer you should consider adding to your spice cupboard, too.

Smoked salt, as the name implies, is salt that has been wood-smoked to take on that distinct barbecue flavor of burnt wood. There are also some smoked salt products out there that contain smoke additives rather than being wood smoked. But wood-smoked salt is the way to go for the cleanest, purest flavor. One big benefit is it can quickly and easily make something taste grilled — even if you don't have a barbecue at hand. There are various other products out there designed to add smoke flavoring to dishes. Many of them, however, are much too strong, giving a veritable flavor punch to the mouth that can ruin a dish rather than enhance it. 

Wood-smoked sea salt, on the other hand, is much more balanced, harmoniously blending natural smoke taste with the pure saltiness of sea salt. Using smoked salt greatly enhances the flavor of meat, adding rich taste and that distinct smokiness of open-flame grilling. While different types of salt can be smoked, flaky sea salt specifically brings an added crunchy texture into play along with the smokiness, which is one reason Flay favors it.

Bear in mind that smoked sea salt is often used as a finishing salt, and some products specify they are made for that use. The smoked flaky variety shouldn't replace the regular salt in a recipe. Its subtle, special flavor qualities are wasted if used that way, and the coarse, flaky texture doesn't distribute saltiness to uniformly flavor a dish like a fine-grained salt does. For steak, the best application of flaky smoked salt is as a finisher, sprinkled on as a final step before serving. It can also be added to rubs and marinades. Keep in mind that you are adding saltiness with your incorporation of smoked flaky sea salt, so the amount of ordinary salt called for in a recipe should be adjusted accordingly.

In addition to purchasing a smoked salt product, you can also make your own in a barbecue or smoker. Hot smoking and cold smoking will both do the job. You'll need to use a coarse salt, since those varieties have greater surface area for taking in the smoke flavor than a fine-grained product like ordinary table salt. In addition to sea salt, Himalayan and kosher salt are frequently used.

The type of wood you smoke with will greatly impact the final flavor, so some experimenting may be needed to arrive at your preferred flavor profile. Applewood, hickory, and mesquite are some popular varieties used for smoking salt. Whichever way you go, the final product will deliciously amplify your steak, yielding up a final result Bobby Flay would be proud of.