Salting Steaks

[LarryR]

I've read about this method many times but never got around to trying it until last night. SO was out of town so it was another weekend where I could grill what I wanted and take as much time doing it as I wanted to so I thought I'd give this a shot.

In short I was very impressed with the method. It took what was a nice 20 oz choice grade bone in ribeye into an incredibly tender steak that was quite franky much better than the ribeye I recently paid $40 for (at what is supposed to be a great steakhouse on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, boy was I disappointed), I paid $4.99 a lb for this one.

I made the mistake of leaving the salt on just a little too long, between 1:10 - 1:15 (was enjoying my gin and tonics just a little too much) and I probably should have rinsed the salt off at :50. It was a bit salty, only other spices I put on her was fresh cracked black pepper and course garlic powder w/parsley.

Overall impressed with the method and can't wait to try it again. You can find more info

HERE

Salted, used about 2 to 3 T per side

After salting little over an hour, should have rinsed around 50 min. and taken a before shot. You can tell the protiens have been broken down when handling it, hard to describe but felt like it would fall apart.

Should have gotten her hotter

[T Rex]

Hey Larr, interesting read, nice job on the steak! Soooooo, both Mrs. T Rex and myself use minimal salt in our food soooooooo, do you think we would find this too salty or should I give it a go?

I like the idea that you can also add garlic or other spices with the salt to add additional flavors and I am always eager to try something new.....

T Rex

[LarryR]

As long as you don't salt as long as I did I think you'd be OK. For the size of steak I used about :50 min would have been perfect. Let me know if you try it and your thoughts.

SO is wanting to go out tonight for a belated B-Day dinner for me and I'm trying to talk her into staying in and getting a couple of nice porterhouses and using this technique on them. Crack a nice bottle of wine (or two) and just hang out around Hestia tonight. Sounds like the perfect evening to me, unfortunately it's my dinner yet I don't get to choose what I want to do, go figure, damn broads, can't live with them can't live without them, grrrr . . .

[ThreeDJ16]

Larry, have to admit, I was pretty skeptical and nervous about possibly ruining a meal with this technique. Was glad I risked it tonight as it was an excellent steak. Noticed while rinsing off the salt that care had to be taken as the steak was close to fall apart tender already. Did 45 minutes of salting combined with blackening season and the taste was perfect while the bone in ribeye was super tender.

Been a long time since I have seen anything really different and interesting to try with with steaks. Thanks for posting it.

-=Jasen=-

BTW, I really loved this explanation!!

[LarryR]

Jason glad I could introduce something different. I'm like you, don't run across much new that often, but this one's a winner in my book!

Doing bone-in rib eyes tonight and I'm going to use this method again, however this time I'm going to shoot for a salt period closer to 50 min.

[Tucker]

vcool

I am going to give this a try.

Thank you Larry for bringing this to the forum.

I have a bamboo container of sea salt next to the stove I cook with all the time, but never thought of this.

sweeeeeet

[primeats]

Same here Tucker, gonna have to give this a go. Heck if I ruin it the first time I can probably find something else to use the next time. And truthfully, my 17 year old son will probably inhale it anyway( sorta like my Airedale!)

[LarryR]

Did three more steaks tonight

I did this again this evening for the SO and my 8 yo son. Didn't tell SO what I was doing and she commented that his was the second best steak I'd cooked her. Didn't tell her until after the cook how I'd prepared the steaks and she remembered seeing this on a cooking program and being skeptical.

I salted for 50 minutes and that seemed to be perfect. All the steaks were about 24 oz Harris Ranch Choice bone in rib eyes. Threw them on the KK for 3 minutes each side on the sear grate at 550 dome and they were perfectly med-rare. Having a great time with this method.

[White Mamba]

Kinda of a quick dry age

Thinking about it, it makes sense that this replicates the process of dry aging sans the beefy dry aged flavor. I will have to give this a try soon.

[primeats]

Don't forget that aging not only improves tenderness but it tends to intensify flavor as well .

[seanwiley]

interesting thread. I saw a refrence to salting chicken too. Any idea if that was with the skin on or off? And if skin on, does that change the texture of it?

[LarryR]

interesting thread. I saw a refrence to salting chicken too. Any idea if that was with the skin on or off? And if skin on' date=' does that change the texture of it?[/quote']

When using this method with Poultry they recommend going under the skin if you're cooking skin on. In terms of texture I don't think it would change it.

I like this method so much I'm doing it again tonight for my bachelor evening meal. Going either Porterhouse or Rib Eye, haven't decided yet.

[mguerra]

Re: Salting Steaks

I'm trying this tonight on some fajitas. They are salting now and I will give them 30 minutes in the salt, then rinse. Then a light brush of olive oil to hold the fresh cracked Madagascar pepper and minced garlic. Thence on to the fire with a piece of pecan smokewood, wrapped in foil with a little vent hole, facing down in to the fire. It's my el cheapo quickie version of Syz's iron pot and pasted lid smoke pot!

[mungeti]

Re: Salting Steaks

Hey guys. I have utilized this method to some success. I did not understand all the chemistry behind it, but I knew what good taste is. I would like to offer another method that I think you find very tasty. I cooked this the other day, and did not think of taking pictures. Let me run this by you all. I like to buy roasts from Sam's. They are all vacuum packed sometimes I buy goose neck roasts. Meaning cheap grade bottom rounds. They turn out well if you cook to medium rare, my favorites are top rounds. In this case you get what you pay for. Buy them with a thick fat piece on the top. Again, these are vacuum packed.

I cut the top of the vacuum pack off (right at the seam) and pull the meat out of the bag. I wash out the bag and also the meat. I take kosher Rock salt and knead it into the Fat. I put the meat back into the bag and put soy sauce in the bag. You really cannot put too much in. The goal is to get even coats across the meat. Let it soak in the fridge for 24 hrs. Obvious standing it up or in a piece of tupperware to prevent any spills. Pull the meat out 2 hrs before cooking. I take off the salt and replace with a very thick coating of Montreal seasoning on the fat piece of the meat. I mean thick coating. Cook to medium to medium rare. Your friends and family will think you are some sort of cooking genius that we all know we are. This method works for NY Loin roasts as well as Rib roasts. Happy grilling.

[mguerra]

Re: Salting Steaks

My fajita adventure was a bust. It had nothing to do with the salt. Skirt steak isn't very tender, but can often be purchased tenderized. I bought the non-tenderized; and wound up with tasty shoe leather.

If you live in Texas, buy the HEB seasoned and tenderized fajitas, they are superb. Straight, non-tenderized, non-seasoned fajita meat is not. Of course you may have an effective method to tenderize it. The salt crust did not achieve this.

I'll try it again on another cut.

[Syzygies]

Re: Salting Steaks

Skirt steak isn't very tender

Cuts Of Beef - Best Value Cuts of Beef]There are two types of skirt: Inside and Outside. It’s a coin toss as to which is better; Inside Skirt is great because it doesn’t have as much membrane to be removed' date=' but Outside Skirt is a little thicker and a bit less stringy.[/quote']

One of life's cheap thrills is blowing someone away who's never had skirt steak. It may well be my single favorite cut of beef. (I prefer Prime, and/or outside, if available.)

Skirt steak needs to be cooked very quickly to medium rare, and sliced thin against the grain; the classic tenderizer is good knife work. Away from my KK I'll cook it in a cast iron striping pan.

My favorite way to cook skirt steak over a fire involves Sous Vide: heat it in a vacuum pouch to 134 F to 138 F (a matter of taste) for an hour in a water bath, then show each side a raging fire for 30 to 60 seconds, slice and serve.

Ordinary FoodSaver bags aren't food-safe to simmering temperatures, but SousVideSupreme has a line of sous vide bags suitable for home "external clamp" vacuum sealers.

They also sell sous vide chamber bags by the 500 (everyone else sells by the 1000). I'm waiting for a shipment to dial in the "dead Greek guy" (Archimedes' principle) method of using chamber bags without a chamber machine: Immerse the bag in water, clamp, and seal. I love appropriation, my favorite moments come in hardware stores, using something for a different purpose. Here, of course a company that sells oxygen absorbers would make the clamp I'm daydreaming about needing for this! (Actually, I saw a set of assorted clamps in a King Arthur catalog, figured someone was making it for them, and Googled...)

Sealing a bag this way is a manual dexterity task that wouldn't work in a restaurant, but restaurants mangle classic braise technique to accommodate the quirks of a chamber vacuum sealer: You can't seal hot liquids, because they would just boil off at low air pressures, fouling the pump. So they sear afterwards, losing that chance to infuse these flavors into the braise. My approach would allow braises in the classic order, searing first and deglazing the pan into the sous vide bag.

To experiment with this one doesn't need specialized equipment, just a big pot of water on a low flame.

[TheNakedWhiz]

Re: Salting Steaks

If someone wanted to try Sous Vide without investing a lot of money, is there a way?

[bryan]

Re: Salting Steaks

Yes.

Put product in ziptop bag to fit.

Insert open product bag into gallon bag.

Submerge both in water that comes up close to top of gallon bag.

Reach in and seal product bag. (below water level to evac air)

Seal gallon bag also keeping out air and water.

Adjust heat unit to maintain desired water temp for cook.

Insert bags and put something on top to keep bags submerged. (small wire cake rack)

Cook to time and temp.

Heat will give enough convection for home cooking.

Suggest that you plunge product into ice water for a quick cool down when you take up from water.

1) At this point you can BROWN and eat now. (500F 1-2 min per side is great) (Don't worry about product being cold)

When sliced product will be perfect cooked (pink) from edge to edge with NO grey outer edge.

2) Freeze (in bags). On cooking day follow above directions. Thaw but.. do not go thru room temp step for browning.

[Syzygies]

Re: Salting Steaks

Yes.

+1. I'd add, ordinary ziplock bags aren't food safe at simmering temperatures, though (like smoking, not wearing a seat belt) one can get by without obvious consequences, and people do.

However, SousVide Supreme does sell suitable zip pouches for exactly this method.

If the bag clamps work (I'll report when they arrive), even better. One can seal chamber vacuum bags (get the kind rated food-safe for simmering) using an external clamp "home" vacuum sealer, and these bags are impossibly inexpensive. I ordered a separate sealer because the 5mm seal represents a significantly better seal than my FoodSaver, and it was cheap compared to a chamber vacuum machine.

The $160 SousVide Magic can control a hot plate or dumb rice cooker. It's completely understandable to us: It's a Barbecue Guru for indoor water baths! Hard to imagine regretting that purchase, even if one only cooks with plastic bags once or twice. I also use mine to precisely control simmering stock, and pots of beans, and braises. My favorite setup is to put a New England bean pot inside a giant covered pot of water, control the water bath, and braise in the bean pot. I can actually stick my hand in to move things, and taste for salt! Just try to do that if your dinner is encased in plastic. When I'm trying to rush a bread dough, I'll use the same setup, but with a 90 F water bath, and put the dough to rise inside the bean pot.

[ThreeDJ16]

Re: Salting Steaks

It may well be my single favorite cut of beef. (I prefer Prime, and/or outside, if available.)

Skirt steak needs to be cooked very quickly to medium rare, and sliced thin against the grain; the classic tenderizer is good knife work. Away from my KK I'll cook it in a cast iron striping pan.

Ditto!

-=J