dry-brine 101
Dry-brining is the best thing you can do for a steak or roast if you happen to have at least 40 minutes before you plan on cooking it.
Here are the main reasons why you should dry-brine, in my own simple words:
It’s easy- sprinkle with salt and chill in the fridge on a rack.
You’re not using anything other than the steak’s juices to self-flavor the meat. What happens is the salt draws out water from the meat (meat is 75% water) and it creates a brine on the surface of the meat with the salt. Then, the salt brine is absorbed by the meat. Genius!
Over time, after the salty brine has worked its way into the meat, the cold fridge air will dry out the surface of the meat. This will make it easier to get a fantastic sear on the meat when it’s cook time.
Since you’ve already salted the meat, all you have to do is sprinkle with pepper or whichever other ingredients you’d like, and proceed with your recipe. Just remember to try and get your meat to room temperature before cooking for a more even cook.
How to dry-brine
Ensure your steak or roast is at least an inch thick.
Prepare a tray with foil and put a rack on top.
Sprinkle flaky salt all over the meat, and place on the rack.
Chill in your fridge from 40 minutes to overnight.
Get meat to room temperature before proceeding with recipe. It will look much darker which is totally normal due to the myoglobin moving deeper into the meat. That’s it!
Detailed how-to instructions in Steak Simplified, page 89. Pre-order here.
Here’s how to do it:
Photos by John Magdalinos - Apertura Project
