Smoked Garlic Sea Salt – Bold, Savory Flavor for Every Dish

Guest Post by Julie

Here's how to make Smoked Garlic Sea Salt, brought to you by Julie from Astoria, Oregon!

Dried slices of elephant garlic on Nesco dehydratorJulie's elephant garlic on Nesco dehydrator

Smoked garlic sea salt... hmm, just imagine its many uses for seasoning bland veggies—and meats!

Julie loves to dehydrate elephant garlic—and it is amazing!

In the image above, you can see Julie's slices of mammoth garlic dehydrating on a Nesco dehydrator. Read more about Nesco dehydrators here and see Amazon images coming up.

Frequently Asked Questions About Smoked Garlic Sea Salt

How do you make garlic sea salt?

Keep reading this page to see how Julie makes smoked garlic sea salt; and at the bottom of this page too you'll see additional tips.

Can I make garlic salt from garlic powder?

Yes and here is a simple recipe for making garlic salt with garlic powder:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp oregano or parsley (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Measure out 1 cup of salt into a small bowl or jar. Fine grain salt works best for even distribution.
  2. Measure out 1/3 cup of garlic powder. Make sure it is fully dried ground garlic, not fresh or paste.
  3. Add the garlic powder to the salt and mix thoroughly with a fork until fully blended.
  4. Optionally, you can also mix in 1 teaspoon each of dried onion powder and/or oregano or parsley flakes. This adds extra flavor complexity.
  5. Transfer the mixed garlic salt to an airtight container like a glass spice jar, or a half-pint Mason jar, to store.

This recipe makes around 1-1/3 cups garlic salt.

Use it to season meats, bread dips, popcorn or other foods whenever a garlicky, salty flavor takes your fancy. This homemade blend keeps well for several months when stored properly.

Dehydrating Elephant Garlic on a Nesco® Dehydrator

Julie says: "We start by dehydrating the elephant garlic in a Nesco® dehydrator at 125°F for almost 24 hours, rotating the pans every 8 hours."

Nesco DEHYDRATORS Available on Amazon

💡 Tip: Outside the U.S.? Most dehydrating temps here are listed in Fahrenheit — use our quick converter to see the Celsius equivalent for your machine.

Nesco FD-80A Food + Jerky Dehydrator
Nesco FD-80A Food + Jerky Dehydrator

Nesco FD-80A Food + Jerky Dehydrator

This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, perfect for snacks, fruit, and beef jerky. White with a top black tray edge, with a white lid.

  • 700 watts of drying power
  • Expandable to 8 trays
  • 15.25 x 10.25 x 15.63 inches (LxWxH)
  • Temperature range: 95°F – 160°F
  • Comes with: 1 Clean-A-Screen, 1 Recipe Instruction Book, 1 Jerky Seasoning & Cure Sample
Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore
Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore

Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator

This round Nesco Snackmaster comes with a jerky gun kit and 5 trays. It has a very light grey body with a darker grey lid.

  • 500 watts of drying power
  • Expandable to 12 trays
  • 13.5 x 13.5 x 9.25 inches (LxWxH)
  • Temperature range: 95°F – 160°F
  • Comes with: 1 Jerky Gun with 3 tip attachments, 2 Fruit Roll Sheets, 2 Clean-A-Screens, 5 Jerky Seasoning & Cure Samples, Recipe & Instruction book
Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express
Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express

Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator

This is the new version of mine as it has an updated lid. It's a light grey body with a darker grey lid.

  • 500 watts of drying power
  • Expandable to 12 trays
  • 13.5 x 13.5 x 9.25 inches (LxWxH)
  • Temperature range: 95°F – 155°F
  • Comes with: 1 Fruit Roll Sheet, 2 Original-Flavor Jerky Spice & Cure Packets

As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase.  Read disclosure here.

Nesco ACCESSORIES Available on Amazon

Nesco Fruit Roll Sheets 13.5
Nesco Fruit Roll Sheets 13.5" dia.

Nesco Solid Fruit Roll Sheets

Nesco LSS-2-6 Round clear plastic 13-1/2" diameter Fruit Roll Sheets, white.

  • 2 pk of solid fruit roll sheets
  • 1.6 sq feet drying area
  • Dry capacity up to 3 cups of pureed fruit per sheet
  • Check the red Amazon link to see which Nesco models these Fruit Roll Sheets fit
Nesco Clean-A-Screen 13.5
Nesco Clean-A-Screen 13.5" dia.

Nesco Mesh Sheets

Nesco LM-2-6 Round plastic mesh 13-1/2" diameter Clean-A-Screens, white.

  • 2 pk of mesh sheets
  • 1.6 sq feet drying area
  • Check the red Amazon link to see which Nesco models these Clean-A-Screens fit
Nesco Trays for series 20 + 30 Dehydrators
Nesco Trays for series 20 + 30 Dehydrators

Nesco Trays

Nesco WT-2SG Round Speckled Plastic 13-1/2" diameter Add-A-Tray.

  • 2 pk of speckled round trays
  • 1.6 sq feet drying area
  • Fits 20 Series and 30 Series Food Dehydrators
  • Check the red Amazon link to see all the Nesco models these Add-A-Trays fit

As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase.  Read disclosure here.



Use A Propane Smoker for Smoked Garlic Sea Salt

Julie then smokes it in a smoker and enjoys the results of her labor, but wondered if we had any suggestions or improvements to what she was already doing.

Our short answer: No.

Wright's All Natural
Hickory Seasoning
1 Quart - Liquid Smoke

Wright's All Natural Hickory Seasoning, Liquid Smoke, 1-Quart
Wright's All Natural Hickory Seasoning, Liquid Smoke, 1-Quart

Julie continues: "After that, we have a propane smoker we use to smoke the garlic.

We use a 'Misto' sprayer to spray liquid smoke and then put the garlic on a small screen (see a photo of the sprayer below - shown on the right, next to the big red bottle of 'Wright's All Natural Hickory Seasoning').

Dry smoke for one hour. The garlic comes out toasted brown."

As an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases. The price you pay does not increase.  Read disclosure here.

Wright's Hickory SeasoningWright's Hickory Seasoning

Safety Tip: Handle Spicy Garlic Without Regret

If you're sensitive to handling raw garlic, please check out my 10 Tips for Handling Spicy Garlic here, prior to dehydrating it!

Crush Dried Garlic In a Magic Bullet™

Julie says, "After crushing it in a Magic Bullet, we mix it with a fine sea salt and use it for seasoning on a double-steamer chicken after it's cooked."

Crushed smoked garlic, ready to be mixed with fine sea saltJulie's magic smoked garlic, ready to be mixed with fine sea salt

"We also smoke our own sea salt by mixing pink Himalayan and white coarse sea salt with crushed garlic. Smoke the mixture for seven hours—spraying occasionally with liquid smoke. It is amazing."

Vacuum Sealed and Packed Smoked Garlic Salt

Julie says "It is so good, I wish you could sample it!"

Closeup shot of Julie's Smoked Garlic Salt, ready to be mixed with fine sea saltJulie's Smoked Garlic Salt
Vacuum-Packed Smoked Garlic SaltJulie's Vacuum-Packed Garlic Salt
Jars of Julie's Smoked Garlic SaltJars of Julie's Smoked Garlic Salt

The Ideal Way to Use Smoked Garlic Sea Salt

Julie's powdered smoked garlic saltJulie's powdered smoked garlic salt

The best way to store your smoked garlic sea salt is by vacuum-packing it.

Julie continues: "We just vacuum-packed about 60 jars of homemade smoked garlic sea salt. We are going to be smoking the elephant garlic tomorrow!

We steam chicken thighs with our sea salt and Spade L Ranch Seasoning—and use the garlic powder for taste after."

Thanks so much for sharing, Julie!

If you came to this page before reading about how to dehydrate garlic, read how to dehydrate garlic here.

Additional Info. on Making Garlic Sea Salt

Making garlic sea salt at home using dehydrated garlic is easy and delicious!

Here are some tips:

  • Start by slicing fresh garlic cloves as thin as possible. A mandoline works great for uniform slices.
  • Arrange garlic slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 125°F to 135°F for 6-8 hours until very brittle.
  • Allow the crispy garlic chips to cool fully, then grind them to a fine powder using a dedicated spice grinder, small food processor, or mortar and pestle.
  • Transfer the powder to a small bowl and mix in fine-grain sea salt using a 2:1 ratio of salt to garlic powder. For example, mix 1 cup fine sea salt with 1/2 cup garlic powder.

Optional - You can further enhance the flavor by also grinding/mixing in a couple of tablespoons of dried parsley, onion powder, red pepper flakes, etc.

Transfer your homemade garlic sea salt to an airtight glass spice jar. Label the jar with its contents and date. It keeps 6+ months when stored in a cool dark place such as a pantry.

Sprinkle your custom garlic sea salt blend on meats, roast veggies, salads, buttered bread, popcorn - wherever you want a nice salty, garlicky kick! Adjust the garlic ratio to taste and have fun experimenting with flavors.

Thanks for stopping by to read all about Julie's smoked garlic sea salt! Share it with your friends, too.

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