Salt Block Beef Spirals and Shrimp with Dipping Sauces

Posted on May 24, 2011. Filed under: Appetizers |

I make this on a 8″ Himalayan salt block. There are a few places on the internet where you can purchase them. It sounds a little crazy to cook things on a big block of salt, but it always comes out nicely seasoned (not too salty). You do have to be careful with shrimp and seafood since the water content seems to make it saltier. When I do shrimp I strain it well and keep the block as dry as possible.

I have served this as an appetizer several times and everyone always seems to enjoy them.

Ingredients:

thin sliced round steak (approximately 1/4lb per person)
shrimp (I use precooked, jumbo)
skewers and toothpicks

Blue Cheese-Garlic Sauce:

5 oz blue cheese
3/4 cup cream
1 clove garlic
1 tsp pepper

Ginger-Soy Sauce:

6 tbs soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp pepper
1 tbs fresh ginger, grated

Mayonnaise-Mustard Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp capers, chopped
1/2 tsp tarragon
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Miso Sauce:

2 tbs 1/4 tsp miso
1 1/8 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
3/4 tsp garlic
2 tbs green apple, grated

Mustard Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbs sesame seeds
1/2 tsp garlic
2 tbs dry mustard
5 tbs milk
2 tbs cream

For each sauce just combine the ingredients. The Miso Sauce may need to be microwaved for a few seconds to melt it. I make them the day before so the flavors have a good chance to combine. Ginger-Soy is always a favorite, but my personal favorite is the Mustard.

For the beef, cut it into thin, bite-sized strips.

Roll each strip and skewer with a toothpick. This is about 1lb.

To cook the beef I heat my salt block on a wok stand on the stove. I start with the temperature on 1. Then I increase the temperature 2 notches every 10 minutes until it reaches 9. It takes about an hour. If you don’t have a salt block you can use a hot griddle or grill.

Grill for several minutes on each side. I like cooking them in small batches so there are hot ones that keep coming off the grill.

Serve warm with the sauces.

I have started precooking the beef sous vide for an hour at 131° and chilling before putting them on the salt block.

Before cleaning the salt block let it cool completely. Put a small amount of water on it, scrub with a brush and repeat until most of the food has been removed.