Salt Block Root Beer Steak

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You’re probably wondering what a salt block root beer steak is, and you’d be right to, because well..until now, that has definitely not been a thing.

Here’s what happened: I had two exciting new products burning a whole in my kitchen, waiting to be used.

1) My still unused Christmas present: a Himalayan pink salt block from the Meadow. Salt blocks allow you to cook foods at 600-degree temperatures, while the salt rapidly sears proteins, caramelizes sugar, and yes, adds a wee bit of salty deliciousness. By the way, this is how beautiful it looks before you get into the nitty gritty of grilling on it:

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2) A bottle of McCormick Root Beer Concentrate that came my way as part of McCormick’s Flavor of Together program, a yearlong initiative to share 1.25 million stories about how flavor both unites and defines people across the globe.

So, what exactly is root beer concentrate? Well, it’s kind of like vanilla extract, except instead of vanilla it adds a dash of root beer flavor to whatever you’re cooking.

In 1889, Willoughby M. McCormick went door to door selling one of McCormick & Company’s first products, Root Beer Extract. From there, the product quickly rose in popularity and led to a trending sensation of root beer floats and root beer home brewing in the early 1900s. In 2014, McCormick marks its 125th anniversary by celebrating the role flavor plays in all of our lives, inspiring flavorful conversation, and giving back to communities around the world. They asked me to come up with my own Root Beer Concentrate recipe…and clearly I was not going to make a plain old root beer float.

I’ve glazed meat in coke before, so I figured, why not root beer meat?

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Some Fizz in Your Dessert: Root Beer Cupcakes

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These root beer cupcakes are not any ordinary cupcakes. They’re sprinkled with Poprocks on the top, giving a fizzy, carbonated sensation with each bite. The cupcake itself is a basic vanilla cupcake, topped with root beer frosting. The Poprocks shouldn’t be added until just before serving. The root beer syrup I used to flavor the frosting is from Sonoma Co., and the unflavored Poprocks are from here. I’ve also included a foolproof quick tutorial on how to frost cupcakes without tips or a piping bag so you can avoid replicating BS’ amazing cupcake turds.

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Root Beer Cupcakes

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Cocktail O’Clock: Dutch Root Beer Float

Mmm…root beer float — such a perfect drink/dessert combo, except it almost feels like there’s something missing…oh right — booze!

2 oz. Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
6 oz. chilled root beer

Add the vodka directly to a tall glass, then top with root beer, and lastly the ice cream (add slowly, as it has a tendency to overflow).  Garnish with a long straw and enjoy!

Find more summer cocktail ideas in Endless Cocktails.