Zuni Cafe Rabbit cure question

Has anybody tried the rock salt pre-salt per Judy Rodger's Zuni Cafe Cookbook?

Where she defines various salts, she basically says that rock salt is mined from the ground rather than sea salt, and can vary a whole lot. She doesn't mention any texture, but I still think of rock salt as course stuff you toss to deice.

In the "All Purpose Rabbit Cure" she says (about rock salt):

Measure 1 ounce (5 teaspoons) rock salt per pound of rabbit....

....Rinse each piece of meat....Make sure you remove all the kernels of salt...

In the comments on the fried rabbit:

The germ of the idea (the rock salt part) came from a gifted 80-plus year old Texas chuck-wagon chef named Milum.....

Calling the germ of the idea the rock salt must mean it's important. But why? The texture? Could I use my super course Esprit du Seleil (sp??) sea salt?

Or where can I buy food grade rock salt? Never looked for it before.

I didn't want to give the recipe away here, thus the ... stuff, but I think I included all there was on the salt.

Thanks!

Nancy

P.S. Thanks to kl5 for turning me on to this book when we were talking about small chickens. It's great, and usually much more informative than this rabbit/rock salt thing. And her description/picture of cutting up a rabbit in her alternate form is really wonderful, I hate those horrible bones in the loin.

By the way, I did find a source for cheap rabbit, the local tiny little Mexican market with a meat counter (2.69/lb).

Nancy

Morton makes a food-grade rock salt for making ice cream. I'd imagine it's not the easiest salt to find, but you might be able to find it locally.

If that doesn't pan out, you can get a 4lb box of it from Indio - the "World's Most Complete Manufacturer and Distributor of Mystical Products".

Rather than using it to make ice cream, they recommend you "Sprinkle in front of your home or business to protect the property from evil conditions." $4, plus shipping.

I would look in the Chicago area, first. I believe Bob S. uses rock salt for making ice cream, he probably has a source...

About ice cream -

Since that salt is just used to get the ice colder to freeze the cream, and never touches the finished product, I don't know that it even has to be food grade.

I might just wing it with super coarse sea salt and see how it turns out...

Nancy

Morton's rock salt is explicitly a "food salt", so it's food grade. I can't imagine it matters much one way or the other if you do coarse sea salt vs rock salt. It's all just NaCl. So use your coarsest salt.

I think WF also sells rock-salt-sized sea salts, possibly baleine coarse? not sure.

Rock salt isn't just NaCl. There usually are bits of other crushed rock, which are likely to be some form of limestone. The main risk of using rock salt in food is biting into a piece of rock and possibly breaking a tooth or two. The original recipe's emphasis on removing all bits of rock salt probably reflects awareness of this risk.

The idea of using special rock salt for making ice cream seems a bit bizarre to someone whose family has made ice cream for several generations using ordinary rock salt. You want to be careful not to let brine get into the ice cream because it really messes up the flavor and texture. Same plus appearance applies to grease from the gears assuming your crank freezer is old enough to use steel gears. Food grade rock salt for making ice cream seems like another silly way to separate people from their money for no good reason.

Nancy Sexton wrote:Or where can I buy food grade rock salt? Never looked for it before.

Nancy,

I was at Paulina Meat Market yesterday and noticed, Tidman's Natural Rock Salt Coarse crystals. Cost $4.49 for 500g.

Enjoy,
Gary

Paulina Market
3501 N Lincoln Ave Chicago
IL 60657
773--248-6272

I have had the same problem with her recipe for home-cured anchovies, which also calls for rock salt. I found some beautiful fresh anchovies at a fish store on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx a couple of years ago, and absent any rock salt I used kosher salt. They turned out beautifully at first, but after a few months packed in salt they became quite dessicated and very salty. I think the difference is that rock salt granules are larger, which means you don't end up with the entire surface covered in salt crystals (and hence a milder cure). If I was going to do it again, I would use coarse sea salt.

I've seen rock salt at one or more Treasure Islands.

Fillay