Alternately, if you dry your meat with a duck it will promote the Mallard Reaction.
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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We call that the dryducken method
And if it's steak especially, leave it out for a half hour to get closer to room temp before cooking.
Ever since I learned this tip I've been cooking perfect steaks. Makes a huge difference.
And you can leave it uncovered in the fridge (use a rack and a drip pan) and the airflow will dry the outside. This gives a better sear overall.
If you don't have the time (or the foresight) to salt it hours ahead, the next best alternative is to salt RIGHT before cooking. If you salt 10-30 minutes before, osmosis will draw moisture out of the meat, which will then either be wiped away or evaporated. Salting hours ahead of time gives the moisture time to diffuse back into the meat with the salt it dissolved.
This is the right tip. If you can't dry brine with salt overnight, then salt right before you hit heat.
That being said, give me a 24 dry brine plus reverse sear any day.
Absolutely. Long dry brine is the preferred method, but if you just remember an hour before it's rime to cook, it's better to wait until just before it goes in the pan.
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This has virtually no impact. Salt is more important.
Depends on how you're cooking. It's all about that heat gradient!
Out on an open grill on medium heat for 20 minutes? Yeah, literally zero difference.
Pan fried on a cast-iron skillet that you've cranked up to ludicrous mode? That shit better be room temp if you want the inside to reach a safe temperature!
... and to those of you who cook steak but have never panfried: what are you doing? Get yourself some peanut oil, crank the heat to 11, and get cooking ASAP. Look up a guide because nailing the doneness will be hard, but I guarantee you that you'll become a better cook after a few attempts. It's a rite of passage, my fellow meatheads.
In the case of your own fried/ludicrous mode example, leaving the steak out at room temperature for even a few hours has basically no effect. It takes a long time for the bulk of the steak to warm any appreciable amount.
“After the first 20 minutes—the time that many chefs and books will recommend you let a steak rest at room temperature—the center of the steak had risen…not even a full two degrees…After 1 hour and 50 minutes, the steak was up to 49.6°F in the center”
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I'm not sure if it is covered in the article but you can achieve extra maillard reaction with a more deeply seasoned, juicer, tender steak with a dry brine.
It's super simple, it just takes time. Salt your steak all over and stick it in the fridge on a wire rack overnight.
If you check the steak within about 3 minutes you'll see the salt drawing out moisture into little beads on the surface. This would be a bad time to cook, you'd lose that moisture and waste energy boiling the surface liquid off your meat, resulting in a grey bland steak. Over the next hour the juices dissolve the salt, making the brine. Leave it for several hours and the salt will diffuse into the meat and... Do science to the protein (read the dry brine article on serious eats, it explains all!). This will make the interior of the steak extra juicy and the exterior extra dry for a great crust. If you put the steak on the rack the circulating air also dries out the surface.
If you're buying a decent steak it's well worth the near zero effort that this takes.
For the ultra lazy, typically me but I do love cooking some good steaks so it’s worth the effort, I’m assuming this is it: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-dry-brine
That's the one, thanks for linking. I typed that up on my phone and couldn't be bothered finding it, but Lemmy deserves better!
It's a good read, they have some great technique articles.
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Understood: I will freeze dry all meat before cooking it to remove all moisture.
You only want the surface dry.
Gotcha. I’ll carve off the edges of my steak, freeze dry those, and use meat glue to reattach them to the main, non-dried steak after.
Why don't you just cover the steak in those silica gel desiccant beads like a normal person? Weirdo.
Well that just makes good sense.
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Finally, an actual and legit YSK. Thank you very much my good sir.
There are people who cook wet meat? I mean there are people who do not know that baking soda is a wonderful tenderizer.
Hello, I am people
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That is true. I like using a propane torch. The water will evaporate quickly and you get that extra crunch very easily without cooking the inside too much. Especially with with first slow cooked meat and then finish with the torch. Water will evaporate from surface quickly.
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Does this apply to ground beef? Cuz I'm curious how I would effectively dry that without just making a mess. Is it just the same as a steak and patting it with a paper towel would be enough?
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thats interesting, now im curious if it would help for mine, i usually put a lite coating of oil on my steaks then cook at 700 degrees, i found the oil helps with the charring but still gets good marks on the meat.
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Adding some detail. Evaporating water takes way more energy than just heating it up.
When you put energy (heat) into water that's below 100c it gets hotter. When you add 4,184 to a liter of water the temperature goes up by 1c. If the water is already at 100c it takes 2,260,000 to turn that into 100c steam. The energy that goes into turning water into steam isn't going into the steak.
So if you put a wet steak on the grill it will create an insulating layer of steam that keeps the steak at around 100c (even if the pan is above 100c).
That's also why you only salt your steak right before or after heating it. If you let salt sit on the steak it will draw out moisture, reducing the Maillard reaction and drying out the steak.
For a great practical way to grill the steak perfectly, check out videos on "cold searing".
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The glass of water should be saved for last, and poured over the steak just before devouring.
Mmmm... Sloppy steaks. The waiters hate em!
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How do I know if the beef is dry?
How do I dry beef?
I tried googling, but I only get results about aged steak. Is that the same thing? I hope not
To dry the beef you just use a paper towel to pat dry the beef.
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Leave your steak/chops in the fridge either uncovered or loosely with paper towel, and the meat surface should be dried enough to get a good browning.
Does this apply to hamburger too?
A good amount of liquid is going to come out of beef regardless. That's why it's good to have a smoking hot pan or grate to start with.
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