Smoked Salted Caramels

Smoked Salt: Set grill temperature to 180℉ and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.

Take kosher sea salt, however much you want to smoke, and spread it out on a tray. Smoke on your Traeger for about 24 hours, stirring the salt every 8 hours.

Once it has smoked for 24 hours, take off the grill and use in all your favorite dishes.

Caramels: Prepare an 8” x 8” square pan by lining it with parchment paper, allowing it to hang over each of the sides by a couple inches.

In a deep saucepan, combine water, sugar and light corn syrup. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Do not stir the pan -- just swirl it. Stirring it will disrupt the caramelization. Boil until the mixture is golden brown.

In a separate small pot, combine heavy cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon of the Smoked Sea Salt or Jacobsen Salt. Simmer over medium heat until the butter is melted. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Stir in the vanilla extract with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches 248℉ on a candy thermometer. If it's under temperature, the caramels will be too soft and if it's over temperature, the caramels will be too hard.

Pour the hot caramel mixture into the prepared pan and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm. When the caramel is cold, pry the caramel sheet from the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut the caramels into bite-size pieces and top with additional smoked salt. Enjoy!