evan_stone•9d agoProlific Poster

Rant: People who salt meat RIGHT before searing are missing the point

Watched a line cook at a spot I worked at in Portland douse a ribeye with salt and throw it straight on the grill. I told him to salt it 20 minutes ahead and he looked at me like I had three heads. The salt needs TIME to penetrate not just sit on top. I learned this after burning through 60 bucks of steaks at home trying to figure out why my crust was weak. Has anyone else had to convince cooks that dry brining is worth the extra few minutes?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jenny9d ago

I read this whole thing on a food science blog a while back about how salt actually breaks down the proteins on the surface of the meat, which lets it hold onto more moisture during cooking. That cook you worked with probably thinks salting right before gives you a crust but really it just sits there and pulls water out instead of letting it soak in. I learned this the hard way too when I kept getting steaks with a grey band around the edge instead of a nice even pink from edge to edge. The 20 minute wait is the difference between a salty surface and actually seasoning the whole bite. I remember the blog even showed a cross section comparison and the dry brined one was like night and day for color and texture.

ericp678d ago

Yeah that matches what I've seen too.