Making rosemary salt isn’t tricky. Making the perfect rosemary salt can be tough. Following the tips I share in this article for the best rosemary salt, you’ll turn out the perfect salt blend every time.
First things first, I was spending a ton of money on this store-bought salt because I use it on just about everything. Pricing on this is similar to other flavored salts you can buy commercially, hitting the pocketbook at about 35 dollars per pound.
It’s always cleverly packaged so it doesn’t seem that expensive, and if you’re only using it on occasion it’s fine. But if you’re like most of us, you’ll love this seasoning and want to use it more than what’s economically reasonable to buy off the shelf.
I love it on roasted potatoes, but it’s good on steak, pork, and especially lamb. Anyway, after spending way more on this stuff than I care to admit, I decided to make it myself. It took a bit of experimenting to sort it out, but what you’ll find below—be sure to check out the tips section—will produce the perfect rosemary salt texture and blend.
What Is the Best Way To Dry Your Own Rosemary?
Rosemary can be dried a number of ways. The easiest way is just to tie harvested stalks in bunches with butcher’s twine, and hang them in a dry place. Over time, herbs like rosemary will dry out.
I prefer using either a dehydrator, an oven, or my grill. It’s certainly faster than just hanging them. The oven is the most convenient, but there are definitely advantages to using a charcoal grill to dry out rosemary. The charcoal infuses a subtle flavor into the herb that an oven simply can’t.
What Is the Best Salt for Rosemary Salt?
With so many salts to choose from, this ends up being a common mistake for making rosemary salt. I prefer either coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt. I don’t use table salt, which is way too dense and well, salty.
Stay away from table salt when making this recipe and go with a quality kosher or sea salt.
Tips For Making Rosemary Salt
The Blend: Be sure to follow the directions below for the best textured rosemary salt. Too much grinding and you end up with powder. Not enough grinding and it’s difficult to spread evenly on meats and veggies.
The Rosemary: You can buy dried rosemary and make a quick salt mixture, but the flavor will suffer. Buy or grow fresh rosemary and dry it yourself.
The Storage: You can store rosemary salt for a long period of time in the right environment. The salt should be kept in a moisture-free and cool place. I recommend storing it in a Mason jar. A glass jar that seals airtight is perfect.
Homemade Rosemary Salt Recipe
Serves: 10 | Prep Time: 10 mins. | Cook Time: 20 mins.
Ingredients
½ cup sea salt flakes
¾ cup rosemary leaves, removed from stalks
Zest from 1 lemon
How To Make Homemade Rosemary Salt
Step 1: Preheat the grill or oven to 200°F.
Step 2: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. The foil will make it easy to pour into the grinder later.
Step 3: Mix salt, ½ cup rosemary, and lemon zest on one side of the foil-lined tray. Place the ¼ cup rosemary on the other side of the tray. Be very careful not to mix these two piles together at this point.
Step 4: Place on grill over indirect heat or in oven for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Remove from the grill or oven and let cool to room temperature. Form foil into a funnel for an easy and mess-free pour into a coffee grinder.
Step 6: Add the salt, ½ cup rosemary, and lemon zest to a coffee grinder and blend it coarsely. Be careful not to over grind or you’ll end up with powder. Pour into an airtight container.
Step 7: Blend remaining ¼ cup rosemary in coffee grinder until it becomes a powder.
Step 8: Pour into the same container with the coarse salt mixture, cover, and shake to blend.
Step 9: Store in an air-tight container.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sea salt flakes
- ¾ cup rosemary, removed from stalks
- Zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the grill or oven to 200°F.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. The foil will make it easy to pour into the grinder later.
- Mix salt, ½ cup rosemary, and lemon zest on one side of the foil-lined tray. Place the ¼ cup rosemary on the other side of the tray. Be very careful not to mix these two piles together at this point.
- Place on grill over indirect heat or in oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the grill or oven and let cool to room temperature. Form foil into a funnel for an easy and mess-free pour into a coffee grinder.
- Add the salt, ½ cup rosemary, and lemon zest to a coffee grinder and blend it coarsely. Be careful not to over grind or you’ll end up with powder. Pour into an airtight container.
- Blend remaining ¼ cup rosemary in coffee grinder until it becomes a powder.
- Pour into the same container with the coarse salt mixture, cover, and shake to blend.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Made this in a big batch for the summer with some fresh rosemary I grow. I’m blown away.
Thanks Joseph – so glad you enjoyed it. it makes great gifts at the holidays too!
-M
Is the 3/4c of rosemary dried already?
Hi Joanne – that’s fresh rosemary before it’s dried. Hope that helps!
-M