Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak

By SteamyKitchen / 827 comments »

Grilled Filet Mignon Steak – a recipe that I created and photographed for client Palm Beach Prime

If you are a steak-lover, I hope that the title of this post + luscious photo is enticing enough for you to read though the entire article. Because I promise you that it’s worth it. Even if you don’t eat steak, this is a must-read…as you can impress the hell outta your carnivorean friends. (and sometimes, when you’re a vegetarian in a herd of carnivores…it would just be nice to have that extra, “dude….you didn’t know that about steak???!” in your pocket.)

My entire family (including the 2 yr old kid) just adores any type of steak recipe…you could probably classify us as professional steak-eaters. In fact, it is my husband’s life-long quest to hone his grilling technique so that our steaks at home turn out charred crusty on the outside and perfectly medium-rare on the inside. With grill marks for show, of course. Seriously, we are too cheap to eat out and would rather cook a nice steak recipe at home. For the past 4 months, we have been experimenting with how to get full, juicy, beefy flavor of a ribeye with butter-knife tenderness of a filet mignon without paying up-the-butt for Prime cuts. And after 4 months of eating steak 2x a week, I think we’ve figured it out. So, my friends, I am offering you a very juicy secret, one that will turn an ordinary “Choice” cut of steak into a gucci “Prime” cut.

Do you know the joy of buying Choice and eating Prime? It’s like buying a Hyundai and getting a free mail-in rebate for a BMW upgrade!!!

Steak Recipe: Massively salt your steaks 15 min – 1 hour before grilling.

Notice that I didn’t say, “sprinkle liberally” or even “season generously.” I’m talking about literally coating your meat until you can’t see red. It should resemble a salt lick.

Let that meat be totally overwhelmed with the salt for 1 hour or less. Rinse, pat dry dry dry and then you’re ready to grill. Before y’all throw a hissy fit, just hear me out. I first learned of this technique from Judy Rodgers’ The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco’s Beloved Restaurant. Judy massively salts her chicken before roasting, and I’ve adapted the practice to steaks. Thanks to a couple of other books (McGee’s On Food and Cooking and Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here For the Food), and a few fellow bloggers, I have an explanation of how it works.

Oh, and if the drawings look like a 3rd grader did it, too bad….YOU try drawing with a laptop touch-pad and a glass of bourbon on the rocks.

How Salting Works

All of you who season JUST before grilling – this is what you are really doing to the meat. Did you know that? All the water comes to the surface and if you don’t pat super-dry, you’re basically STEAMING the meat. Plus, your salt just sits on the surface of the steak, leaving the interior tasteless.

Now – note that only a little of the salt gets to go back into the meat. Don’t worry – you aren’t going to be eating all that salt!

Bourbon does that to me too.

I can hear it now..BUT!!! What of all the water that stayed on the surface of the meat? Aren’t you drawing all the moisture out of the meat? Will it taste like a salt lick? (*%!*%!@#!#!!! I DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS STEAK RECIPE!!!

Pull your pants back on and keep reading…

Verification on Technique

Cook’s Illustrated January 08 issue (and you can also find it on their paid portion of their website. Just search for “Improving Cheap Roast Beef”) They salt a 4lb roast beef (big, fat, thick meat) and they are using 4 tsp kosher salt – therefore their steak recipe recommends salting for 18-24 hrs. It’s all related: thickness of meat : amount of salt : time.

Gucci Steak Recipe Key Points

• Use kosher or sea salt, not table salt <– that is important. It will not work well with tiny tiny grains of table salt. Plus, table salt tastes like shit.
• Use steaks 1″ or thicker.
• Follow my timetable (below)
• If you are Harold McGee, a member of Alton Brown’s research team or Mr. Burke my high school chem teacher…..and think I’m full of B.S…. please let me know. But guys, none of this was in your books. I had to formulate, extrapolate, hypotholate and guesstulate based on your stuff. Highly mental activity.
• I know this sounds awfully like salt-curing, which dries out meat (like beef jerky). But with salt curing, you use A LOT more salt and leave it salting for A LOOOOOONG time. We’re talking about a little tiny nap here – not weeks – just enough to break down the protiens.
• Again, don’t worry about all that salt. Only a bit of it gets absorbed into the meat. Most of it gets washed down the drain when you rinse off. Really.
• I know you’re going to ask…so I’ll answer it for you. Why not brine? You could if you really want water-logged diluted-tasting crappy steak.
• And yes, I know what “Choice” and “Prime” means – it’s the marbling. The salting doesn’t affect fat content – I’m using those terms as a figure of speech.

I understand that this method will cause chaos, confusion and controversy in your household. But I encourage you to experiment: try adding spices, crushed garlic and rosemary sprigs to the salt, which will then act like Christina Aguilera dragging its entourage of flavors with it into the meat. If confusion in the household becomes unbearable, just whack’em with the hunk of salted steak..

Grilled Steak Recipe with Garlic-Herb Butter

Steak Recipe Step 1: Buy a hunk of steak. I like mine 1.25 to 1.5 inches thick. Any cut of meat: Filet, Sirloin, Rib Eye, Porterhouse, T-Bone and NY Strip – they all work. You can do this with steaks less than 1″, just really watch your timing. If your steak is already superbly marbled – cut back on your timing! The fattier (more marbled) the meat is, the faster the salt works its way through the meat.

Steak Recipe Step 2: About 1/2 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of kosher/sea salt per side. Let it sit at room temperature during salting. You’ll begin to see water on the surface of the meat and on your plate. Don’t use anything other than kosher or sea salt, ok?

Here are guidelines….start with this and adjust salt + timing as you experiment.

MEAT	SALT/SIDE	TIME
Less than 1″	1/2 tsp each side	15 min
1″ thick cut – smallish girly-girl steak, about 4″ across	1/2 tsp each side	30 min
1.25″ -1.5″ (NY Strip, Ribeye) standard thicker steaks can sit longer to let the salt do its work throughout meat	3/4 – 1 tsp each side	45 min
1.25″ – 1.5″ manly-man T-Bone, Porterhouse – more surface area means you use more salt	1-2 tsp each side	45 min
>1.5″ Massive ginormous “Barney Rubble” porterhouse – our fav. I get the strip side, husband gets the filet side	1-2 tsp each side	1 hr or more

Step 3: Rinse all salt off, pat very dry <- that part is important. Season with fresh ground pepper (no more salt is needed). Grill to your liking. Hint: get yourself a grilling thermometer. Top with Garlic-Herb Butter immediately to let it oooooze and aaaahhze all over the steak.

Garlic-Herb Butter Recipe

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened (not melted, just softened)
handful of fresh herbs (any combination is fine. My fav is basil and parsley)
1-3 cloves of garlic, smushed in garlic press

To make the Garlic-Herb Butter, combine all ingredients. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap. Spoon butter mixture on wrap. Roll and shape butter into a log. Refrigerate to firm up for 30 minutes. Slice into 1/4” disks to top the grilled steaks. You can make butter up to 3 days in advance. Make sure you use unsalted butter – the steak is seasoned perfectly already.

Another use for herb butter?

***

Notice the consistency in ingredients (first photo and the one below): perfect steak always go so well with homemade shoestring fries or homemade potato chips. The green stuff is just to give color to the plate. Unless it has garlic-herb butter slathered all over it too.

***

Other steak recipes you might enjoy:

How to dry age steaks at home with Drybag method

Watch me talk about Kobe Beef Burgers on CBS

Artisan Steak Tasting – taste test of 6 steaks from small artisan ranchers

Skirt Steak Tacos Recipe & Parking Adventures of La Tacqueria

No Knead Bread – so easy a caveman 4-yr old can do it

Negative Calorie Chocolate Cake

Garlic Truffle Shoestring Fries

Tropical Island Salmon: cooking fish low ‘n slow creates the most dreamy, silky fish

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Categories: Featured, Gluten Free Adaptable, Musings, My Favorite Recipes, Recipes, Seafood/Meats

Ingredients: Beef, salt, steak

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827 Responses to “Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak”

1. 1
   

   brilynn — 8/28/07 @ 11:56 pm

   Sweet jesus, that middle pic of sliced meat is amazing. It’s almost midnight but I feel the need to buy a steak, fire up the grill and start salting immediately. Must. Have. Steak.

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   anh — 8/28/07 @ 11:59 pm

   Jaden, this is a very informative and funny post. I love it.

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   foodie — 8/29/07 @ 12:14 am

   ok, yeah yum. I shall jerky my next slab o’ cheap meat (fiance notwithstanding)

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   Nathan — 8/29/07 @ 1:05 am

   Any ideas on just how low you can go with the cut of meat before the salting won’t work? I mean, I’m guessing I don’t want to do this with london broil or brisket. Um, btw, I’m just pretending like I know cuts of cow.

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   Kelly Mahoney — 8/29/07 @ 1:15 am

   Great illustrations. I’d love to eat steak more often but price is sometimes a factor. These are some great tips, I’ll have to try it out.

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   wokandspoon — 8/29/07 @ 1:19 am

   Great post and I love the high school science lesson! I slept through my classes as well and remember nothing now!
   One question though – I’m not very salt-savvy so can you use sea salt instead of kosher salt?

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   Rose — 8/29/07 @ 1:22 am

   - a big applause to you Jaden. For the informations, the slides and the pictures…well it’s not a surprise that they are gorgeous!
   This post just changed my life.

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   Mongo — 8/29/07 @ 1:22 am

   One of the best posts I’ve read anywhere in a while. Mongo must get steak now.

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   kat — 8/29/07 @ 1:46 am

   I was gonna ask the same thing, can I use sea salt instead of kosher? Will definitely try this soon

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    Dolores — 8/29/07 @ 1:48 am

    Jaden, I think if you’d taught high school biology, more of us would have stayed awake through it. Although I confess that when my high school biology teach asserted the “average” menstrual cycle lasted two days, I dismissed everything she had to say for the remainder of the semester as hoo-haa.

    Looking forward to trying your take on grilled steak!

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    Big Boys Oven — 8/29/07 @ 2:42 am

    Such a lovely pieces of meat you have there. “So tender, so juicy, so full of flavour…… will make me hunger for more.”

    Thanks again for your award. Did you see the two piglets that I posted at http://www.bigboysoven.blogspot.com?

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    Meeta — 8/29/07 @ 3:01 am

    Jaden, you crack me up. Your artwork is absolutely fantastic I am sure you and my 5 year old would have a ball!! Now to the steak – I am drooling and dying and on my knees, begging for a tiny bite. That looks soooo good!

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    Wandering Chopsticks — 8/29/07 @ 4:08 am

    Marbles! Hehe, you should see my latest post. We are so on the same wave-length.

    BTW, this method works great with chicken. Ssssh! That’s the secret to fabulous roast chicken but don’t tell people it’s so simple or they won’t be so impressed when I make it anymore.

    My mom, however, douses her cheap steaks with baking soda, lets it absorb, then rinses it off. Then salt.

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    Nicole from: For the Love of Food — 8/29/07 @ 5:27 am

    Oh man….I just got back from the butcher with a week’s worth of meat! Now, I have a wait a whole week just to try this….it looks SOOO good! Oh, and I did pay attention in bio class…and I don’t even remember any of that anyways. It’s been too long and who cares anyways if it works and tastes good! Thanks for sharing!

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    LunaPierCook — 8/29/07 @ 5:29 am

    Ah, so you’re not saying which of the books was wrong, eh?

    Here it is, 5:30 a.m., and steak and eggs is sounding sooooo good. Maybe it’s not a good thing that the nearest Kroger is open 24/7!

    BTW, I’m wondering how well sea salt will do in this? Oh, and as an Aside, where the Hell is the recipe for your shoestrings and/or chips? Yer not gettin’ off easy there, lady!

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    radish — 8/29/07 @ 8:35 am

    What an awesome write-up and I LOVED the pictures – personally I thought they were excellent – did you go MS Paint on those? Will have to make steak soon – this made me really hungry!

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    scotte — 8/29/07 @ 8:41 am

    Great Post! I can’t wait to try with the giant hunk o’ meat in my fridge! THANKS! I’m thinking of blitzing the garlic/rosemary in the food processor with the salt…to extract more flavor? Think that might work, or will it be too much.

    Labor Day Weekend Fun!

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    Pragyan — 8/29/07 @ 9:45 am

    Jaden, This was such a informative post. As someone else also noted, wish our biology teachers had explained concepts in such an interesting and involved manner. Loved it.

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    Andrea — 8/29/07 @ 10:05 am

    I love this post! Very creative way to present the information…you are braver than I with designing your own graphics! I love, love, love a good steak but despise giving up an entire month’s dining out budget for it, so I think I will be experimenting with this very soon. Labor Day weekend, in fact!

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    Lynn — 8/29/07 @ 10:34 am

    Great slide show! I feel like I’m back in high school. I should be doodling on something. Except your lesson contained information I could actually use. I think you should call you fabulous technique dry-brining. It will be the centerpiece of your best-selling cookbook.

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    veron — 8/29/07 @ 11:19 am

    I am quite the carnivore. Love your drawings on the whole osmosis -reverse osmosis process! I attended a 3-day seminar by Harold McGee, and I tell you that man is a walking encyclopedia of Food Science.

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    jamie anne — 8/29/07 @ 11:43 am

    food never was so much fun….
    every post is just so hilarious… and innovative.
    but what in the sweet name of europe is kosher salt?
    we don’t get that stuff here…

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    Jim — 8/29/07 @ 11:47 am

    Your witty prose and those informative drawings just got you added to my daily reading list, yo.

    As for your idea, it’s awesomazing, but I am shocked the steak does not taste like an oversized salt lick. Will have to try as soon as possible.

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    SteamyKitchen — 8/29/07 @ 12:01 pm

    Brilynn – go get yourself some BIG HUNK O MEAT!!!

    Anh- Thank you!

    Foodie- What’s wrong with your fiance??? He doesn’t like meat?

    Nathan – I’ve only used Porterhouse, Strip, Ribeye and TBone. I think Sirloin would work as well, but I don’t think Brisket or Skirt would work – as they are pretty grisley.

    Kelly- I know what you mean!! I hate paying so much money for good meat. Me …cheap.

    Wok & Spoon- YOu slep through high school too?!? Good. I’m not the only one.

    Rose- I’ve been known to change lives through food.

    Mongo- Mongo must try new technique now….

    Kat- Yes! Use sea salt!

    Dolores- If I had taught high school biology, we’d be eating everyday.

    Meeta- One day we shall meet and our kids will have a blast with us in the kitchen. xoxo j

    WC- I’ve tried with chicken too….and it is so delish! I used to drink the marble drink too. How did you get the marble out???

    Nicole- thank you sweetie

    LPC- Ahhh…i’ve anticipated your inquiries, old grasshoppa….links to the fries and chips are live now.

    Radish- I stumbled my way through Illustrator. Though I guess I coulda used MS Paint – much easier to manipulate.

    Scott – I think maybe a rough chop – but not much more than that or it may just overwhelm the steak.

    Pragyan- thank you very much!

    Lynn- I don’t know if I have the patience to write a cookbook – we’ll see. But either way, it is a juicy post, eh?

    Jamie Anne- Thank you and nice to meet you. Just use sea salt.

    Jim- Love that word…”awesomazing” and no it doesn’t taste like a salt lick – you have to wash away the surface salt.

    Veron- Thanks to you my friend – you got me asking all those questions. I would love to one day meet Harold McGee. Actually, I’d love to cook for him.

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    Marvin — 8/29/07 @ 12:24 pm

    Wow, nice diagrams. Very Good Eats and Alton Brown-esque. I am by no means part of AB’s research team, but I’m pretty sure you are correct with your extrapolations. Nice job! Mmmmm, bourbon.

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    caitlyn — 8/29/07 @ 12:32 pm

    I’m not even a huge steak fan, and I *still* drooled over your photos (and it’s not even dinner time)! If anyone else drew those slides, I wouldn’t have bothered reading them, but I knew you would make them really funny (and you did).
    Now…for those of us without an outdoor grill…ya think this would work on a Foreman? =)

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    LunaPierCook » Blog Archive » Blog Roundup, with Food — 8/29/07 @ 1:06 pm

    [...] on Steamy Kitchen, Jaden has posted a method for cooking steaks perfectly, each and every time. There are lots of little scientific diagrams, but the photos are what [...]

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    Wandering Chopsticks — 8/29/07 @ 1:22 pm

    Jaden,
    Just unscrew the top. I bet your boys would have a ball trying to figure that out.

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    W — 8/29/07 @ 2:15 pm

    I found your website through another food blogger website and have lurked at various scrumptious post that you’ve done. This is the first recipe that I feel I can definitely try without having levels of error in the cooking It looks delicious and I can’t wait to cook steak this week. Thank you

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    eastmeetswestkitchen — 8/29/07 @ 2:24 pm

    Wow! Can’t wait to try it for dinner tonight!

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    Kym — 8/29/07 @ 3:45 pm

    I am a PhD student in Biochemistry and I think you did a fantastic job on your explanation and drawings. The one discrepancy I can see is that the water only leaves the steak while the “salty water” does not go in. So how does the steak get more salty? There is already salt (or sodium ions) in the steak but they are diluted with water. When you put the salt on the steak the water is sucked out (by osmosis) this increases the concentration of the salt already in the stake. This increased salt concentration causes the proteins to unfold (or denature) as does the high heat of cooking and this is what makes a more tender steak. Very good post.

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    tigerfish — 8/29/07 @ 4:36 pm

    I just slept through your biology-chemistry class but when I sniffed and saw the steak, I woke up! But at least your humor in class kept me there. I would have skipped the class if it was another boring instructor. There’s a PhD in you – Permanent Head Damages (PhD) ?! Buahahah!

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    JanG — 8/29/07 @ 4:46 pm

    This is fascinating stuff. I’m going to scare the hell out of our little dining group when we meet in 2 weeks and they find forty bucks worth of ribeyes covered with salt, waiting their turn on the grill. I.ve always wanted to be a cooking star, and it’s about to happen thanks to you, Steamy.

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    Banzai — 8/29/07 @ 5:01 pm

    Nice!

    I think Alton would smile and nod at your explanation. Are you gonna be a food-hacker now?

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    Chubbypanda — 8/29/07 @ 5:16 pm

    Well done! *ba dum cha*

    I love Alton Brown. Thanks for the great steak tips.

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    Ady — 8/29/07 @ 5:25 pm

    Thanks Jaden today I have learned somenthing more about grilling steaks, your way to teach is so fun that I could stay to listen you all the time.
    Thanks

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    Dr. Biggles — 8/29/07 @ 7:59 pm

    Hey,

    That’s funny. You reminded me of a story. I was at my favorite charcuterie stall at the farmer’s market, years ago. One of the staff and I were talking about whole chickens and related. She said that, where she works, they salt the chickens over night and cook the next day. Said they were delightful and I should try the same.

    I did, but my own variation. I used some fancy Italian very coarse sea salt and used the procedure you laid down.

    It was weeks later that I found out Kim had recently worked at Zuni. Der.

    Biggles votes for NON-brined meat. The only time I’ve enjoyed it was with quail, in the smoker.

    Biggles

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    birdseyechili — 8/29/07 @ 8:02 pm

    Jaden – thanks for the intro, I will try this on the weekend

    Kym – thanks, I totally get it now!

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    Kevin — 8/29/07 @ 8:39 pm

    Those photos look amazing and so delicious! I am really craving steak now. I will have to try the melting herb butter on the next steak that I make.

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    JEP — 8/29/07 @ 8:40 pm

    Even as a serious vegetarian, I loved your illustrations, photos & write-up!

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    daphne — 8/29/07 @ 11:30 pm

    oh Jaden! That was great! I love your quirky and funny posts. You know, i have this urge to rush out and buy a slab of steak! hahaha. Will definitely try this method. As a poor postgrad student… this is very very practical AND useful! I bet my bf will thank you for a long time to come. =)

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    Andy — 8/29/07 @ 11:50 pm

    Fantastic post! Such great tips. For a minute there I thought Alton Brown had taken over your blog.

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    Big Boys Oven — 8/30/07 @ 12:40 am

    Right! We just did my steak the way you did them….OMG, they turned out so fascinatingly superb!

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    Big Boys Oven — 8/30/07 @ 12:40 am

    Right! We just did my steak the way you did them last night….OMG, they turned out so fascinatingly superb!

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    Kitt — 8/30/07 @ 2:18 am

    Yum! Will definitely try this.

    Did you really mean 2 teaspoons on the salt? Seems like a small handful would be more than 2 teaspoons. But I’ll apply the -ish factor in any case.

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    B — 8/30/07 @ 4:47 am

    That is such a good tip! I can’t afford super nice steaks, but now I have science on my side!

    B
    http://handtomouthkitchen.wordpress.com

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    Lydia — 8/30/07 @ 7:24 am

    Great post, Jaden. I love your slides and the explanation of why this works. Now I’ll have to try your method. Yum!

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    PeachyMango — 8/30/07 @ 9:06 am

    Man that looks sooooooooo good! Thanks for the info, I’ve always wondered how restaurants could get their meat sooo tender…

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    Valli — 8/30/07 @ 11:23 am

    Wow!! What a recipe changing technique to create tender juicy steaks!!! Thanks for the tip Jaden!!!! I enjoyed your article immensely….

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    Ian — 8/30/07 @ 1:29 pm

    Hmm. After reading such an interesting post (with mouthwatering photography) I simply had to run home and test this last night. I picked up a couple 1.25 inch thick cuts of sirloin (about 10 oz. each). Salted with Kosher for an hour, rinsed, patted dry and grilled at high heat. While i was able to get a nice medium-rare, then leanness of the meat kept me from getting a good char. Tenderness was on par with non-salted sirloin. Most importantly, though, the steak was noticeably too salty throughout. I’d almost compare it to ham. I’m happy if others find success, but I’ll probably go back to my dry-rubbed rib steaks, marinated strips, and naked filets.

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    SteamyKitchen — 8/30/07 @ 1:46 pm

    Hey Ian, Thanks for your comment – I’m really surprised that you didn’t find success in the method. I’ve tested over 34 steaks in different thicknesses. The biggest difference being I kept my cuts to Porterhouse, Strip, TBone and Ribeye (as I recommended in my post) – and not Sirloin as you had tried.

    I owe you a steak, my friend. I’ll tell you what. I’ll buy you a nice Strip steak and let’s try again. Because I *know* it works. Email me a local butcher or supermarket phone number and I’ll gladly buy you a steak!
    xoxo jaden

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    Garrett — 8/30/07 @ 2:55 pm

    One of the best posts I have ever read. Ever. Nice Job, J!

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    Ian — 8/30/07 @ 3:10 pm

    Very generous of you, J, but save the money for a top-shelf bottle of red to go with your steak the next time. I’m not put off the technique, and I know I’ll be trying variations of this again, until I get it tweaked to my tastes. Maybe a thicker porterhouse this weekend with some applewood smoke…

    Again, great post, and a beautiful blog.

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    Patricia Scarpin — 8/30/07 @ 3:18 pm

    Jaden, you kill me – this is so funny! I absolutely love your post and I don’t even eat meat – that’s how great your writing is!

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    Amy — 8/30/07 @ 3:53 pm

    I love your illustrations, they’re awesome! I do this with roast chicken too, like WC, but it never occurred to me to do this with steak. Can’t wait for rib eye to go on sale.

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    joey — 8/31/07 @ 4:28 am

    Fantastic post!!! My husband is definitely a season-right-before-grilling guy but I’m sure he will be open to experimenting and trying your method when I show him your photos We are so trying this ASAP!

    If you were my biology teacher I would be a genius! I love those drawings!

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    Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy — 8/31/07 @ 6:57 am

    Hi Jaden – Excellent as always. Happy Blog 2007! You’re one of my picks

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    So Good Blog/News Round-Up 8/31 | — 8/31/07 @ 11:04 am

    [...] Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen shows you how to “Turn cheap ‘choice’ steaks into Gucci ‘prime’ steaks.” [...]

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    Cynthia — 8/31/07 @ 11:16 am

    You need to stop this downright vulgar, food porn that you are practising!

    I just got back from teaching my first class of the semester, it is 11.15 a.m. I have not cooked a thing and I just had some cereal so you can imagine my outrage at this post! (lol) You are the best.

    Have a great weekend!

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    David — 8/31/07 @ 12:57 pm

    Great information!

    Now if you could only turn my funky old shoes in shiny Gucci loafers, I’d be even happier…

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    Ellie — 8/31/07 @ 10:18 pm

    Awesome post – and I LOVE those step by step explanation pictures

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    Traci — 9/2/07 @ 10:48 am

    I stumbled across your blog today and I have to say for the first time, I actually enjoyed science…anyway, I’ll be trying the salt trick this weekend. Great blog!

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    Sapph — 9/2/07 @ 11:30 am

    Oh my, this looks and sounds WONDERFUL!! Hubby and I are going to be trying this little trick. Like Traci, I just stumbled across you for the first time today – I’ll definitely be back – you’re terrific!

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    eastmeetswestkitchen — 9/2/07 @ 12:14 pm

    Made it and it was a hit! Thank you!!! **happy dance**

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    Joel — 9/2/07 @ 6:19 pm

    1) You’re increasing the intracellular salt concentration, which should cause some proteins to denature, which is why the meat should be tender.

    2) You’re also inhibiting the loss of moisture to air during cooking, which is why the meat should be juicy (this is not negligible).

    3) If you were to coat with salt and cook right away, you would not have either effect, because the osmotic gradient wouldn’t have time to reach equilibrium (as you correctly describe). In fact, you’d accelerate the loss of moisture to the environment (this is how curing works).

    4) The chemicals that impart flavors from spices are volatile – they evaporate easily, which is why you can smell them – and hydrophobic. They are unaffected by the process of osmosis that you describe – because they’re not soluble in water – but do work through diffusion. During your marinade time, the volatile flavors are diffusing into the fat in your meat while the salt is doing its work in the water.

    I’m sure this is much more complicated in reality, but that’s a simple explanation that I’m pretty sure is correct.

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    Reya — 9/2/07 @ 6:20 pm

    This post is dangerous to men with pregnant, meat-craving fiance�s. :3 I want one. NOW.

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    David Jenkins — 9/2/07 @ 7:57 pm

    As always Jaden, you are a rock star!!! I made both your steak recipe, and the recipe for your corn at a party today and both were AMAZING!!! You helped contribute to an awesome spread of grilled goodness for a going away party for a friend. When are you getting your show, you more than deserve it! (and thanks for the nice comment yesterday!)

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    RandomEsq — 9/2/07 @ 10:25 pm

    Well, I will give this a try tomorrow. Steak is my favorite food, as well as the favorite food of my dog, Little Filthy. We shall provide a verdict tomorrow.

    More drinking and steak, please.

69. 69

    Random Esquire | Webwise and Randoms…and food. — 9/2/07 @ 10:41 pm

    [...] with kosher salt…very heavily.� Like mascara on a whore heavily.� Here, even better, look at this website that describes how to do this and why it makes your steak taste taste like [...]

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    savory fan — 9/3/07 @ 3:11 am

    Thank you for this article.
    Today only some bloggers posts really interesting content. I love your blog and have to say that your pictures are fantastic. My mouse is watering only just looking at them

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    ilingc — 9/3/07 @ 7:55 am

    osmosis? what is that?

    i just got a new grill pan! do you know what it’s going to be christened with? I’ll let you in on a secret.. some gucci prime steaks!

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    Birdle — 9/3/07 @ 12:27 pm

    I’m confused about the idea that you are taking a “poor” cut of meat and using your salting technique to make them good. In our neck of the woods, porterhouse, rib-eyes, etc. are already fabulous steaks. A filet would be the only one more tender.

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    SteamyKitchen — 9/3/07 @ 7:51 pm

    Birdie- Good question. The USDA grades beef in the following 3 main categories: Select, Choice and Prime (there are 8 or so in total, but these 3 are what you would normally find in a supermarket. Select is the cheapest stuff with less flavor and tougher quality.

    Choice steaks is what most would normally classify as “pretty good stuff” – more marbling, much better flavor.

    Prime is the gooooood grade – the premium quality that restaurants and high-end butchers sell. Only 2% of all beef is graded Prime and usually restaurants and hotels get dibs on the best of the best first.

    This technique is for taking “choice” meats and making them as tender as the prime grade.

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    Rob — 9/3/07 @ 9:22 pm

    I tried your ‘salt solution’ tonight on pork chops and it was a real hit. They came out so tender and flavorful. Thanks so much, I can�t wait to try in on a Chuck Eye steak, it’s a cheap version of a rib eye.
    Thanks again,
    Rob

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    Sithean — 9/4/07 @ 2:10 am

    Oh my gosh, does that look good! This post was perfectly written and perfectly timed! We are in the process (movers coming tomorrow) of moving into a gorgeous house with a great deck and patio which just cries out for a grill. I was just telling hubby that I can’t wait to snag a grill and start actually doing some cooking, but that I didn’t know where to start. You, my dear, are a Godsend. Thank you so very much for taking the time and effort to oh-so-carefully put together this incredibly detailed and funny posting. We do appreciate it! (I’ll keep you posted, gal!)

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    Oishii Eats — 9/4/07 @ 2:14 am

    Girl, I hear you on the pre-salting the meats. I made Zuni Cafe’s Short Ribs Braised in Chimay Ale and pre-salted those ribs for 24 hours. It made such a big difference! Anyways, love your post and illustrations mama!

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    james — 9/4/07 @ 9:57 am

    Great, now its 8:50 in the morning and I’m jonesin’ for a steak. Can’t wait to try out this method.

    Also, I’ve ready that a good way to get the outside “restaurant charred” is to flash char it on a cooking pan (dry – no oil or nothin’) in the oven at a high temp. for about a minute or two per side. and then grill to your liking. have you (or anyone) ever tried this?

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    Ample Sanity — 9/4/07 @ 10:05 am

    [...] can download and use Pixelpost for free. Someecards. When you care enough to hit send. Recipe: How to Turn Cheap Choice Steaks into Gucci Prime Steaks In Games: Lure of the Temptress. Pricilla Gone Missing. Radio-Canada Games (French). Nightmares. [...]

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    Santa Claus — 9/4/07 @ 1:10 pm

    This post makes me very hungry and I have a lot of weight to put on over the next couple of months I’ll be trying the salt technique soon.

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    Jaded — 9/4/07 @ 1:20 pm

    Damn, if that’s not food porn, then I don’t know what is. I love the close up picture right before the recipe.

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    Harlem — 9/4/07 @ 4:08 pm

    Where’s the money shot???? Seriously, I will try this with my next cheap steak.

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    LadyVolFan — 9/5/07 @ 10:09 am

    Jaden, I convinced my hubby to try this on our strip steaks that we bought for our fancy anniversary dinner-in. He rubbed them up with garlic, italian seasoning and lots of salt…the results were AMAZING!!!! Of course I think it helped that I also convinced him to get the grill screaming hot and not look in every 2 minutes.
    Great pics and a truly fabulous blog!
    Laura

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    henrychan — 9/5/07 @ 12:45 pm

    This is awesome! Relax protein, Relax! (pat the meat)…Relax… haha.. great funny post.

    Thanks for always sharing!

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    Gourmet Travelelr — 9/5/07 @ 3:12 pm

    This looks amazing and the salting tip really does the trick! My husband is Argentine and loves grilled meat and this is what they do when they have their ‘asado”. We recently had grilled strip steak with chimichurri (dried oregano, dried chili flakes and a bit of garlic, vinegar and olive oil). Try it!

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    Rain — 9/5/07 @ 8:34 pm

    I ended up with salty meat too although I must admit it was tender and juicy. I used kosher salt and a rib eye but I must have sensitive taste buds because a few hours later I’m still drinking water ‘-) I may give this another try when I’m feeling adventuresome.

    Off to try the negative calorie cake ‘-) I really enjoy reading your blog. You’re inspiring me to try new things.

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    Scott — 9/5/07 @ 9:06 pm

    Alright…that was awesome! I gave it a try tonight with absolute success. Thank you thank you thank you! I hope to get my readers to click over and try for themselves.

    Here are my results:

    http://sseichinger.blogspot.com/2007/09/salted-beef.html

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    Dell Arlon — 9/5/07 @ 10:18 pm

    Excellent! Thanks for an informative piece! I can’t wait to try it out!

    I enjoy cooking for freinds, my best buddy in particular and he’s a big steak eater! This is awesome!

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    Jamie — 9/5/07 @ 11:29 pm

    I never liked steak, it’s too much meat for me. But your post just made me drool! And I can’t believe that you actually made me want to try it out!

    BTW, the Chinese have a traditional dish called Salted Chicken, one whole chicken will be marinated with a lot of salt then tuck in some chinese herbs into the stomach and wrap with paper (we call it oil paper), then place it in the middle of a big ‘wok’ filled with heated COARSE salt, practically cooking the wrapped chicken through the heat transmitted through the salt for 30-45 min. Then woala, you get a perfectly tender and moist and delicious chicken.

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    Melinda — 9/6/07 @ 5:25 am

    Post number 89…I am way behind everyone! I have been on holiday and have just returned.
    This post makes me angry at myself. I stayed awake during all the science stuff and use all these osmosis/reverse osmosis/ osmotic gradient/ diffusion/active transport principles for my work as a renal nurse. I never thought about using them for my steak grilling. It makes perfect sense to me. Yet…I have always salted just before grilling. And, not surprisingly, it does taste steamed. I am anxious to try it now. So… you are a smarty pants.
    I have missed reading your posts while I was away!

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    elaine — 9/6/07 @ 12:32 pm

    tried this on our english steaks and have to say it was gorgggggggggeeeous!
    ty so much (although i now have probs with waist line due to excess steak consumption)
    xxxx

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    Stephanie — 9/6/07 @ 12:39 pm

    This looks so incredible. I’m always so afraid of salt for some reason. I think I watched too many scary news stories in my youth about salt and heart problems. I mean, I used to leave the salt out of bread and cookie recipes. Then I called my mom and was like, “Why don’t my cookies or rolls turn out like yours???” And she told me to go through all the steps and then told me what an idiot I was for leaving the salt out — that there was an actual scientific reason for salt in those recipes. (It’s totally OK if it’s SCIENCE! How come I didn’t get the memo on that one? I must have been sleeping that day, too.) These pictures, though, are enough to help me work through my fear of salt. Like aversion therapy. Thanks!

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    BuffyO — 9/6/07 @ 2:41 pm

    Fabulicious!! Can’t thank you enough for this tip, so easy and scientifically simple!! Good one!

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    Chemistry Teacher — 9/6/07 @ 8:45 pm

    I just printed out your article so I can post it in the classroom. Gotta show those kids that chemistry is “useful”.

    Your salt rub accomplishes one of the main functions of a marinade; i.e. tenderizing. (But the salt rub is *easy* which makes a lot of us happy!) An acidic pH will also help denature proteins which is why most marinade recipes have vinegar, citrus or tomato in them. They’re usually salty as well.

    Another issue is cooking time: heat will also denature proteins but it takes a loooong time (that’s why long-cooked soup/stew/bbq-smoked meat gets to the point where it just falls apart.) At first, though, moderately high temperature causes the proteins to clench up which results in tough-as-shoe-leather meat.

    Since beef is the meat with “toughness issues,” it should be cooked low and slow or really quick and hot (before the “clenching” happens.) NEVER cook beef for a medium length of time (like 1/2 hour or so) unless it’s been tenderized, marinated or otherwise totally mangled.

    I’ve seen Harold McGee speak, too, and he was definitely awesomazing.

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    TikiPundit — 9/6/07 @ 9:08 pm

    A great cooking tip and really good humor: the best foodblog post I’ve read in some time! Well done.

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    Fay — 9/7/07 @ 9:04 am

    That is the sexiest steak I have seen in a long time, girl!

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    Lori — 9/7/07 @ 9:20 am

    Jaden,
    I red your first article in CL, “Jaden voyage” and your secret to a perfect
    steak. I had just brought home a bunch of Elk meat from Colorado and decided
    to try it out.
    After coating my very plump and jucy thick cuts of Elk with the Kosher salt
    and waiting an hour, I was… well, “dismayed” would be putting it mildly to
    find them sitting in about a quart of their own juice and looking (and
    feeling) like old raisins. The (very expensive) meat is ruined, I thought!!!
    And here I have guests coming to eat it in a half hour!! Well, ya gotta have
    faith, as the song says, so I cooked it up and hoped for the best.
    Now, Elk meat does have a reputation for toughness and dryness and I have to
    say, this came out much better than the appearance after the salt bath would
    have suggested. It was relatively tender and moist, could be cut with a
    butter knife as you promised and my guests enjoyed their taste of Colorado
    very much, flavored with the salt and some crushed garlic I had added.
    Thanks for a great tip and keep ‘em coming!
    Sincerely,
    Lori

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    brokecollegekid — 9/7/07 @ 10:23 am

    *mouth is watering* I know what I’m cooking for dinner! Steaks may be really expensive, but thankfully it’s pretty easy for college students to get on food stamps Do you know any good recipes for the leftovers???

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    Matthew — 9/8/07 @ 12:00 am

    You are funny! Thanks for the advise. You mentioned chicken. Reckon any meat can take this salting method? Fish too? I slept during bio and chem also. (;_;)

    Thanks!

    Have a nice meal.

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    carmen — 9/8/07 @ 2:14 am

    Yum! I just tried this method with a steak I had sitting in the fridge. Turned out brilliantly. This is going to be my new method for summer BBQs!

100. 100
     

     Colin — 9/8/07 @ 9:38 am

     Hi Jaden,
     I got here through an email from Deborah at Life in the Fast Lane. Glad she sent it too )

     I was a professional chef for many years in a restaurant serving Elizabethan style food, from original recipes, until I became disabled and alas I had to give it up.

     You have described the method of dry-salting very well. For those that have asked in the comments, it works equally well on joints like brisket.

     Another point, people shopping for red meat always look for meats that are bright red and blood still oozing, that’s a big mistake. They shy away from the meats that are brown in the belief that it is off, it isn’t, that’s the way it should be.

     Think back to the years before the advent of refrigerators and freezers, meat was ‘hung’ for several days and longer. Meat, fish, poultry and game were salted and stored, retained finer texture and taste.

     Mouthwatering post, great pics and love the recipe

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     s'kat — 9/8/07 @ 12:56 pm

     these pictures are killing me! Must… have…. meat….

     Love the science lesson, complete with fun graphics as well.

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     knight_47 — 9/8/07 @ 1:06 pm

     Mmmm! that looks good!

     but when you say rinse the salt off, do you mean, rinse it off with water, or just try to shake off as much salt as possible?

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/8/07 @ 1:58 pm

     Knight – rinse with water to get all of the salt off. then pat really dry.

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     Al — 9/8/07 @ 2:07 pm

     Isn’t it unhealthy to eat something so salty?

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     SusieJ — 9/8/07 @ 2:10 pm

     Thank you. My kids love steak too! This is awesome.

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     Barbece Bachelor — 9/8/07 @ 2:12 pm

     It looks really good. Are your photos professionally done?

     You give some great tips. Thanks.

     We will mention you on our site http://www.barbecuebachelor.com

     Thanks.

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     Geoff — 9/8/07 @ 2:19 pm

     http://www.meat.org

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     Mr. Spooge — 9/8/07 @ 2:32 pm

     I don’t know which is prettier – Jaden, or the steak (where I come from, that’s a compliment).

     I am “Grill Master” at my house. I typically grill 2-3 times a week, year-round.

     To comliment these tasty morsels of meat, invest in a good grill. Get a cast iron grill, or a beefy grill that will retain heat and throw some BTUs at your meat. My grill does 72,000 BTU – if yours does put out at least 40,000, you’re using a lantern, and you will never get a good char on the outside, and pink goodness inside.

     Want to kick up your herb butter to notches unknown? Drizzle some truffle oil into your herb butter, and then get ready to enjoy your $100 steak. A bottle of truffle oil lasts a loooooong time, and costs maybe $13 at your local quality supermarket. You just need to add a tiny amount of oil – truffle oil is VERY powerful. It makes garlic and herbs turn into a symphony of flavor on top of your steak.

109. 109
     

     Vilnius — 9/8/07 @ 2:41 pm

     Jaden, this may well be a colossal dumb question but isn’t the meat going to be salty with all that salt, even when patted dry?

110. 110
     

     River Styx — 9/8/07 @ 2:50 pm

     My god you are awesome.

111. 111

     The Futile Cycle » Blog Archive » Pseudo Food Science — 9/8/07 @ 2:52 pm

     [...] I saw this post, where they suggest heavily salting a steak before grilling in order to make it taste better. [...]

112. 112

     designverb - Weekend Links — 9/8/07 @ 3:01 pm

     [...] – Coca-Cola Happiness factory: animated commercial…very nice! – Huge LED Ceiling In Beijing: nice picture here, videos here. – Morph Thing: Morph famous faces together, or yours! – Great Bus Ads! – An interview with Ferran Adri� on his favorite places to dine in Barcelona with link! (I want to travel now) – Bill Clinton On David Letterman. – Removing a Cork inside a bottle: I’m not sure why you would need this, but would be a good IQ test. – Printing out all Spam installation – Turning Cheap Steaks into Gucci Prime Steaks! [...]

113. 113

     » Blog Archive » How to turn cheap steaks into “gucci” steaks. — 9/8/07 @ 3:03 pm

     [...] Read full juicy article (here) [...]

114. 114
     

     Kenneth — 9/8/07 @ 3:20 pm

     Cool! If you don’t mind we will featured this recipe at:

     http://www.CheapAssFood.com

115. 115
     

     GW — 9/8/07 @ 3:21 pm

     Killing animals for our food causes immense, unnecessary suffering in the world.

116. 116
     

     GBeer — 9/8/07 @ 3:23 pm

     God damn you are hot , AND you can cook a badass steak.

117. 117
     

     matt — 9/8/07 @ 3:38 pm

     I want to eat your sex and have steak with you.

     It can be in any order.

     wow.

     wow.

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     Benjamin — 9/8/07 @ 4:02 pm

     Seems that people love your article! As do I. I am eager to try this the next time I cook a steak. Obviously, we’re not consuming all of that salt, but I am always pleased that people aren’t afraid of a little sodium chloride. My girlfriend is terrified when I season with salt, salt pasta water, or eat tomatoes with it.

     And you have a great sense of humor — pithy yet degenerate.

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     RandomEsq — 9/8/07 @ 4:02 pm

     I subscribed to the comments of this entry and I have to say, meaning no disrespect, they are almost as interesting as the entry itself. I thought I really enjoyed steak but I feel like I’ve just been *eating* it compared to some other folks.

     Hope all is well,
     R.

120. 120
     

     Nelly — 9/8/07 @ 4:38 pm

     Your use of expletives undermines your credibility.

121. 121
     

     Ch� — 9/8/07 @ 4:44 pm

     This is how Brazilians cook their meat. Look up Brazilian & tri-tip steak. Have never heard an explanation though… Good show!

122. 122
     

     botunda — 9/8/07 @ 4:44 pm

     I now have yet another reason to go buy steak!! can’t wait to try it!!! I will also subscribe to your blog as this was the funniest post that I have come across in a while

     Thanks!

123. 123
     

     Steve — 9/8/07 @ 4:47 pm

     Try this method on a flat iron steak.

     It works great.

124. 124

     These Photos Will Make You Cry » Frenzied Daddy — 9/8/07 @ 4:53 pm

     [...] Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen’s post on how to improve the quality of your meat with a handful, no, two handfuls, of salt have hunger inducing photos of delicious looking steak. [...]

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     Bill — 9/8/07 @ 4:54 pm

     Sickening.

126. 126
     

     Meater — 9/8/07 @ 5:56 pm

     Did you know this is what the main purpose of kosher salt is in the first place? Making meat kosher involves soaking it in brine or doing what you did to the steak and that is to completely salt it like crazy to extract all the blood. In the process this starts to do exactly what you’ve already documented and that is to make the meat super yummy.

127. 127
     

     MoronHunter — 9/8/07 @ 5:58 pm

     So basically when the author used some mild expletives in a useful and good recipe, it’s an affront to the English language?

     Get off your horse. Better yet, go cook something.

     Haters around when it comes to meat.

     Sheesh.

     I’m trying this tonight/tomorrow!

128. 128

     blurredbrain v2.1 » Blog Archive » For your consideration…. — 9/8/07 @ 6:00 pm

     [...] ….a steak recipe. [...]

129. 129
     

     Tim Cuthbertson — 9/8/07 @ 6:10 pm

     You have a great writing style. I loved the little thing where you pointed to one of the graphics and said, “i am rosemary, not a green centipede”.

     As to your steak method, I actually learned almost the same thing from a newspaper article 20 years ago. Your method is absolutely correct. I remember way back in the 70′s, fine restaurants would cook big steaks encrusted with rock salt.

     I am interested in trying the truffle oil, too. Excellent article!

     Tim

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     Brettorical — 9/8/07 @ 6:14 pm

     Very informative and well written.
     Definitely going to try this for dinner tomorrow!

131. 131
     

     epic — 9/8/07 @ 6:29 pm

     ummm America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated cover this topic very nicely…basically …what your doing with the “kosher” salt…is “kosher”ing the meat as they do in the koshering process

132. 132
     

     Max — 9/8/07 @ 6:35 pm

     simply AMAZING!!!

     thanks

133. 133
     

     Drexl — 9/8/07 @ 6:35 pm

     Great tips…gonna try that next week!

     Beautiful art as well!

     A meat eater and an artist…..who wouldah thunk it?

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     Dan — 9/8/07 @ 6:58 pm

     To Mr. Spooge at #108: I hate to break it to you, but $13 truffle oil is pretty much the biggest scam imaginable. It’s mostly olive oil with an artificial flavoring. Granted, I like it, and I do still use it, but it’s a little hard to justify the price once you realize that it doesn’t contain any actual truffle.

     As for the steaks, I’ve actually used this secret on more than one occasion to impress a girl, and, of course, now that the secret is out, I will have to go back to my old story about me being a secret agent. And, because of you, I will now die sad and alone and unloved. But, at least I will be well fed, thankyouverymuch.

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     Sharon — 9/8/07 @ 7:10 pm

     This sounds fantastic. I wonder if doing this to VEGETABLES that you bake along with a roast would do similar. Speaking of which, I am going to try it on a roast, and let it sit for longer than an hour…..3-4 hours???

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     Nick — 9/8/07 @ 7:20 pm

     I do this all the time with cheap steaks. The trick is to use a lot of sea salt. I find that best. I use a lot of salt and some pepper, and also a little olive oil. I let it soak into the meat while I light the grill. (I use a charcoal fired.) Once I get the coals lit I put the grill plate on top of the coals, wait for about 10 minutes for the thing to get REALLY hot and then I place the steak on for about 5 minutes on each side with the lid on. If you really want the thing to have the grill marks, you need to take the meat and place it directly onto a VERY hot part of the grilling plate. makes those lines nice. For an extra touch place the meat sideways one side flip and flip again. If you need to try pressing it. Although I find it makes the steak a little dry.

137. 137

     Pollywogs! » Blog Archive » On a lazy afternoon, in the summertime… — 9/8/07 @ 7:26 pm

     [...] Apparently, salt tenderizes steak. � Not a little salt, but apparently PAINTED with salt for two or three hours, then rinsed and patted dry.� Apparently the salt is pulled inside the tissue and breaks down the protein? [...]

138. 138
     

     Richard. — 9/8/07 @ 7:54 pm

     Very nice article ! I’ll be back to read more from you…

139. 139

     GRABBINGSAND » Blog Archive » links for 2007-09-09 — 9/8/07 @ 8:31 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks (tags: cooking howto recipes tutorial)    Read More    Post a comment [...]

140. 140
     

     Eric — 9/8/07 @ 8:47 pm

     Funny! You are a great writer. I find it hilarious to read so much foul language – on a cooking site of all things! Very funny and refreshing take. You are now my new favorite source for recipes.

     Also, as a an uniquely qualified recently graduated architectural student, your diagrams are really impressive. They remind me of the illustrations sometimes accompanying sake on the table in a sushi joint. Cute, a little off and with a great sense of humor. Not too mention, they are as skilled and fun to look at as any I have seen by the greatest, most talented diagram artisans who have or ever will have existed.

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     Kenny — 9/8/07 @ 9:21 pm

     Your photography is amazing. Food photography is notoriously difficult and you have a real knack!

     Looking forward to trying the salting process.

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     Al — 9/8/07 @ 9:29 pm

     Ok, I still can’t see how taking a week’s worth (or more, a month?) of the RDA of salt at one go is good for me to eat?

143. 143
     

     Al — 9/8/07 @ 9:32 pm

     Redact that last -didn’t see the email. Most of the salt washes out (though I think I’d soak the meat in fresh water for a while even so.)

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     JohnB — 9/8/07 @ 10:43 pm

     “Let rest for 5 minutes.”

     That seems, to me, to be a l-o-n-g time (about as much as the grill time for a single side).

145. 145

     Much like filtering cheap vodka…. « smooth noodle maps — 9/8/07 @ 11:05 pm

     [...] add salt to steak, making crappy steak good steak, eating cheap — jhorna @ 9:05 pm …How to turn cheap choice steaks into gucci prime steaks. [...]

146. 146
     

     lowdown — 9/8/07 @ 11:12 pm

     I did some 1.5″ thick ribeyes using this method. We thought they were some of the best steaks we’ve had. The herbed butter really made it. The shoestring potatoes were an excellent side.

147. 147

     Bluecigar » Salty, Melty Steak — 9/8/07 @ 11:17 pm

     [...] I think I made the best steak ever. I was surfing this morning and came across this post about how to turn choice steaks into prime steaks. Basically it is a way to brine beef, using only salt. Take some steaks, cover them with salt, and [...]

148. 148
     

     David Chesler — 9/8/07 @ 11:33 pm

     The Agitator sent me here. My thoughts are what Meater said at #126 — sure sounds like salting and soaking. They don’t call it kosher salt for nothing.
     (I understood that meat to be broiled [or grilled] is not required to be kashered first, since the prohibited blood would drip away — but that doesn’t mean you can’t.)

149. 149
     

     totalabyss — 9/8/07 @ 11:40 pm

     Wow this was some great reading. I will have to try this in the next day or so.

     Any advice on how long to actually cook steak on the grill? Whenever we throw it on we either dry it out by leaving it on too long or take it off too early and it ends up too bloody.

150. 150

     A steak idea worth trying « Later On — 9/8/07 @ 11:44 pm

     [...] Posted in Recipes/Cooking, Beef, Daily life, Food at 8:44 pm by LeisureGuy Something to grill this week. [...]

151. 151
     

     ACG — 9/9/07 @ 12:04 am

     I gave this a try with a good cut of meat and what we found was that it was indeed tender but that the tradeoff was that we felt as though we were licking a rock of salt the entire meal.

     We covered the steaks in salt on all sides for about 2 hours… then fully rinsed all the salt off of them… and then patted them thoroughly dry.

     The problem is that so much salt gets aborbed into the steak.. i mean SO much.. not a little… a LOT…

     Be wary of trying this if you don’t like massively salty dishes.

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     Justin — 9/9/07 @ 12:16 am

     As a graduate from from the Art Institute with a Bacholer in Science…you have given a good receipt for a a good rub. I personally use the following receipt for steaks…2 parts olive oil to 1 part balsamic vineager. This is the basic formula. Next, I add one tbsp sugar, fresh cracked pepper to taste, salt to taste, and any other spice that comes to mind. Let marinate for a minimum of two hours. Grill at medium heat on each side for five minutes…cooking the steaks to medium well. Anything beyond would be criminal.

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     noahcarter.com » Blog Archive » links for 2007-09-09 — 9/9/07 @ 12:22 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen (tags: cooking steak recipe) [...]

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     Ryan — 9/9/07 @ 1:25 am

     Your picture shows a bunch of table salt on the meat. If you think that is Kosher, you are very much mistaken.

     Kosher salt is NaCL – just like table salt. It has a much coarser grain so it is funtionally “less potent” (since when you grab it there is more air in between the salt particles per volume) – and it’s coarser grain makes it stick better to the surface of the meat.

     Also – you can’t buy prime cuts in any supermarket I have ever seen. The best cut of meat an average consumer can buy without pre-ordering it from a butcher is a choice cut. So – when you call them “cheap” you are lying to people.

     You should retitle your article “How to make the most expensive steak you can possibly buy in your supermarket taste as good as a steak you can’t buy.” – and what’s genius about it all is that so few people know what Prime steaks taste like they wont have any idea if your mushy steaks resemble it at all.

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     meatman — 9/9/07 @ 2:25 am

     Hmm… haven’t tried this.. will be doing this tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.

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     Gerard — 9/9/07 @ 2:32 am

     I can buy prime cuts in supermarkets around my house. Not sure where people live who can’t. Arkansas?

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     buddydvd — 9/9/07 @ 3:31 am

     Hi SteamKitchen,

     Congrats on getting dugg! Pong, HenryChan, and I read Digg everyday. That’s a big feat! Congrats!

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     Weekend Reading - Money Articles Worth A Look - SavingAdvice.com Blog — 9/9/07 @ 8:36 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks: Here’s how you make that inexpensive steak taste like a top of a line steak. [...]

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     Martha — 9/9/07 @ 8:36 am

     For Ryan at 154 – Did you *even* read Jadin’s article???? She does use kosher salt and/or sea salt – it says so in the article. Also, she does use choice meat – not prime – as she states in the article too. She does not recommend table salt as she explains in the article that it has iodine and will make the beef taste like iodine. Are you an idiot???

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     Shawne — 9/9/07 @ 9:08 am

     My father in law showed me this and I never understood how or why it worked (I don’t think he did either). I mainly used this for grilling rump roasts, but never tried it on the much thinner meat cuts. Also, I never cleaned the salt, but would grill it with it on the roast still. The grill will normally cook off the majority of the salt (it just falls off from the bleeding). I will clean it next time. Thanks for the explanation of what it does…now I will try it on all my meat cuts.

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     Susiej » Cooking Red Meat — 9/9/07 @ 9:38 am

     [...] first good news I have for you, is a mouth watering post on Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen, called How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks Into Gucci Prime Steaks. Complete with photos, and science slides on osmosis, she explains how salt, lots of salt, can [...]

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     Kristovsky — 9/9/07 @ 10:11 am

     I have just tried this method with some pork chops. To be fair it tasted very very nice, if a little salty.

     However I really don’t think that this method is something to make a habit out of because consuming that much salt in a single sitting is INCREDIBLY bad for you. Too much salt for too long will dramatically increase blood pressure which ultimately will lead to heart disease.

     For these reasons I would suggest revising the method to use much less salt but to let it infuse with the meat over a much longer period of time.

     Chemically speaking the salt doesn’t get ‘used up’ once it has denatured a protein. It simply passes by the protein, breaking the weak hydrogen bonds which causes its ‘globular’ shape, and then moves on via diffusion (not osmosis).

     This would suggest that only a very little amount of salt would be required to yield the same results. While there is the slight disadvantage of time the improvement in nutritional content would be vast!

     I am no sous chef when it comes to cooking but I really think this theory is worth looking into and experimenting with. Because a lot of people are reading this article they may feel it is okay to eat this much salt. It is no secret that it isn’t. Ever.

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     AMERICAN CARNIVORE — 9/9/07 @ 10:41 am

     Getting started~~

     http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/3326/hpim0039nm7.jpg

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     How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | The Best Article Every day — 9/9/07 @ 11:26 am

     [...] Written by Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Hillary Clinton for President » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks — 9/9/07 @ 12:30 pm

     [...] Written by Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     David B. — 9/9/07 @ 12:57 pm

     Jaden, you are the best. This is a great tip, but what really makes it work for me is the profanity. The dichotomy between your sweet photo and your naughty vocabulary has me swooning. Please swear even more, and I will be your loyal reader henceforth. Thank you!

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     Jeff Barr’s Blog » Links for Sunday, September 9, 2007 — 9/9/07 @ 1:10 pm

     [...] Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen: How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks – “For the past 4 months, we have been experimenting with how to get full, juicy, beefy flavor of a ribeye with butter-knife tenderness of a filet mignon without paying up-the-butt for Prime cuts.“ [...]

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     rodney — 9/9/07 @ 1:50 pm

     Very interesting! As hey say, chemistry was born in the kitchen. I work in a lab doing tuberculosis research, and when we’re purifying one of our proteins we also use a ‘salting out’ process where we drown the protein in salt; causing it all to clump together and precipitate while all the junk we don’t want stays dissolved.

     Oh hey! If you could rig two metal plates on either side of the steak with seasoning on both sides, and connect the plates to either end of a large battery, it would push and pull (depending on the charge on the molecules) the seasoning inside the steak incredibly thoroughly! We do that with proteins, it might also work for cooking. It’s called a ‘western blot’.

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     Henry Hong — 9/9/07 @ 1:51 pm

     The esteemed Mr. McGee’s first name is Harold, not Howard. I am an occasional contributor to Baltimore Citypaper’s food column, and have eaten dozens of steaks prepared dozens of ways in the interest of research. I use a similar technique to cook very thick cuts of sirloin, usually choice, basically covering the entire surface with salt, but only for 15 minutes. This method imparts nice, thorough flavor, but does not in my experience affect tenderness at all. A good example of the effect of heavy salting is the process of koshering meats. Nice flavor, but not any more tender or juicy, imo.

     Osmosis does indeed enhance meat’s ability to retain moisture, but this generally occurs in dissolved salt, since the particles are then small enough to penetrate dense meat such as beef to any significant depth. Tenderness results from numerous factors, but the bottom line is a leaner choice or select grade steak will never be as tender as a well-marbled prime grade steak without some sort of cellular breakdown, such as aging, in which enzymes do the job, or introducing a chemical such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or bromelain (pineapples).

     Denaturing protein is really hard to do, and generally happens in extreme conditions, like cooking. Salting does the opposite, and of course this is why it’s been used for millenia as a preservative. Also, I challenge you to be able to tell the difference between iodized and non-iodized table salt – I’d be mighty impressed. In your photo you show a porterhouse, which is in fact a strip and a filet mignon attached to the bone, so it’s not unusual that at least part of your steak would be very tender – filet is tender because it’s an underused muscle, not due to fat content, and as such choice and prime filets taste very similar. Never buy prime filet! Congrats on getting dugg, but I think this method is pretty dubious. In case you’re curious, here’s a link to my steak articles:

     http://www.citypaper.com/archives/browse.asp?byline=Henry+Hong

     Keep fighting the good fight – hooray food!

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/9/07 @ 2:02 pm

     Henry- sorry about mis-spelling McGee’s name. I have his book and regularly read his blog, so yeah DUH.

     As for the proteins- I’ve found quite a few books and online articles from reputable sources:

     Alton Brown: I’m Just Here for the Food page 184

     Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking
     http://books.google.com/books?id=GnEuAAAAMAAJ&q=denatured+protein+salt+intitle:On+intitle:Food+intitle:and+intitle:Cooking&dq=denatured+protein+salt+intitle:On+intitle:Food+intitle:and+intitle:Cooking&as_brr=0&pgis=1

     Emily Kaiser, NY Times:
     http://www.emilykaiser.com/text/000421.php

     Judy Rodgers, Zuni Cafe Cookbook: Judy salts all of her meat at her restaurant. Read the beginning chapters of the book for salting technique.

     Actually, just do a google search on “Zuni Chicken Salt” and you’ll find hundreds of people who use the early salting method.

     So…it’s not that I pulled his stuff outta my ass! Henry – read those articles and comment back on your thoughts. I’ll add more resources as I find them in my bookmarks.

     
     xoxo
     jaden
     

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     Henry Hong — 9/9/07 @ 2:03 pm

     Oops – high salt levels can indeed denature protein, but if such a level were reached within the meat iteslf, it would be far to salty to eat. Harold McGee posts on eGullet, and has shared some pretty cool info on meat tenderness in the past, fyi.

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     The special steak and tempero « Later On — 9/9/07 @ 2:30 pm

     If you have a chance – read Leisureguy’s wonderful article on Brazilian Temprero, THE mother-sauce of all mother-sauces!!!
     http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/the-special-steak-and-tempero/
     -Jaden

     [...] in Recipes/Cooking, Daily life, Food at 11:30 am by LeisureGuy I linked earlier to this way of preparing a steak for the grill. The Wife commented that it reminded her strongly of the way we [...]

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     Kimberli — 9/9/07 @ 2:37 pm

     My girlfriend Kaye called me up and told me about this method. Can’t wait to try it. I’ll let you know how it turns out this coming weekend. Thanks for all the humor throughout your site and you are beautiful!

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     White Collar Forums » Blog Archive » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks — 9/9/07 @ 3:03 pm

     [...] Written by Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Sharon — 9/9/07 @ 3:36 pm

     Everyone here is so smart…except for me that is. I used a skinny steak. I did not have kosher or sea salt on hand, so I used pickling salt…just a tad coarser than table salt, along with garlic and rosemary.

     The steak was so salty it was inedible. Was my main misteak (haha) the thinness of the meat or the salt I used? Or both?

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/9/07 @ 3:38 pm

     Sharon- Got to use a thick cut! Can’t use skinny steak. Kosher or sea salt works.

     Maybe I need to make an online video!

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     chocolate spice — 9/9/07 @ 4:37 pm

     you know, i have nv cooked before. But you are tempting me to try with this tip. my bf just sent me this website link. i think it is a big hint. hint taken dear!=p

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     Henry Hong — 9/9/07 @ 4:52 pm

     Thanks for responding! I followed both links. Harold McGee describes how protein can denature, but does not relate that process with tenderness in any way, nor does he indicate that it can be done by salting the surface of a dense piece of meat. The second link seems to be a cursory profile of a chef and her preferred method, which is pre-salting, and salting in general, but does not mention beef at all. Poultry takes salting well because the muscle fibers are less dense than beef – this is also why poultry benefits more from brining than beef. Beef can be brined, in fact most supermarket deli roast beef is brined – the brine can comprise up to a fifth of total weight. Moisture does inhibit the Maillard reaction (browning), but the small amount drawn to the surface by normal salting is quickly overcome if your cooking surface is sufficiently hot. In the interest of fairness, I will try your method tomorrow and report back. But all the research I’ve done, both scholarly and applied, contradicts the theory that salt=tender. If you’d like I can send you some sources I consulted, but they are quite numerous and I don’t want to litter on your comments. University of Nebraska has done extensive research on beef, I recommend a site search for details on tenderness factors.

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     Carl — 9/9/07 @ 6:01 pm

     Just tried this with two 1 inch thick sirloin steaks, thawed, covered in non-iodized sea salt for one hour, rinsed well, patted dry, then BBQ’d 5 minutes a side.

     The meat *was* tender, nice texture.

     It was also horribly, terribly salty.

     Une

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     alex — 9/9/07 @ 6:54 pm

     You are soooo BEAUTIFUL!

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     links for 2007-09-09 at graemef.com — 9/9/07 @ 7:35 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks I am offering you a very juicy secret, one that will turn an ordinary “Choice” cut of steak into a gucci “Prime” cut. (tags: cooking steak howto) [...]

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     Mark W — 9/9/07 @ 8:09 pm

     It was good – and it did imrpove the flavor quite a bit.

     I generally like my meat well seasoned, so it worked great. My wife wants me to try again with a little less salt next time. We had a 1 inch strip and I used 1 teaspoon. Next time I will use a little less and see what happens.

     But it is fun to try something new. Thank you agian.

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     Rockin' Rich — 9/9/07 @ 9:15 pm

     I salt almost everything, which I later realized is similar to “koshering” it. (Kosher, btw, just means clean, not blessed or circumcised. Hah!)

     But I usually just soak the meat or chicken in a solution of salt with a little sugar. It’s brining, and doesn’t require measuring or any of that other crap you mention. Just eyeball it. And when your done, let pat it dry and let it rest and soak up the excess water on paper towels.

     But if you really want a tender steak for not a lot of money, the trick is to buy really tender � but cheap� cuts.

     Try “hanger steak” a/k/a beef hanging tenderloin. It’s like skirt steak but usually half the price. You won’t find it in most supermarkets, though, unless you ask the butcher to put some aside for you.

     Another great cut is called chuck fillet or eye of chuck. Very similar to rib eye and Delmonico… for a lot less.

     Chicken steak (not fowl but cut of beef) is very tender too, but kind of bland, taste-wise.

     Just make sure you grill it at fairly high heat, with a bit of garlic and pepper (and salt if you haven’t already salted or brined the meat. )

     (And leave the butter for a nice piece of bread the next day!)

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     Alex — 9/9/07 @ 9:42 pm

     My wife and I were so curious to try this, but ended up a little disappointed. We liberally coated a 1 1/2″ thick cut of steak with salt and let it sit for 3 hours. Then we rinsed, patted dry, and grilled it. It was tender, but SO salty. My wife now says that she thinks her tongue is swelling up from all the salt.

     We’re going to try it again using only 1/2 teaspoon of salt per side, and see if that works better.

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     Lorie — 9/9/07 @ 9:53 pm

     WOW! Thank you for the new recipe! We had a 1 1/2″ Porterhouse steak on sale at the market.

     Used 1 tsp kosher salt on each side and let it sit for 1.5 hours.

     IT WAS AMAZING!!!!

     We had people over for supper and they said it was the best they’ve had.

     Next time I’ll try the butter on it as well.

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     Stanford — 9/9/07 @ 9:55 pm

     We just tried it and loved it.
     I don’t understand why this technique works for some and not others. I wonder if people are following the instructions?

     Anyways, we truley enjoyed it.

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     links for 2007-09-10 « memor.ia blog — 9/10/07 @ 12:17 am

     [...] Jaden�s Steamy Kitchen � Blog Archive � How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prim… (tags: recipe diet) [...]

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     Johnny — 9/10/07 @ 12:40 am

     I’m giving this a shot right now, but I’m curious if the salting is suppose to be done on a fully thawed steak for an hour, or if it can be done while the steak is defrosting still?

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     Jim — 9/10/07 @ 1:56 am

     My favorite is to salt and then sprinkle with soy sauce. Rather than rinsing the salt off, I wipe off with paper towel before grilling. I also like to salt the steaks the day before and keep in the fridge until going on the grill.

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     Fran — 9/10/07 @ 3:49 am

     Just tried this today- steak was soooo soft! It was practically falling apart after i rinsed the steak. i used too much sea salt but it was still the best steak i’ve ever made. Definitely will try this again and fine tune it. Thank you! the garlic butter was perfect too!

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     Dennis — 9/10/07 @ 6:47 am

     Wow,

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     Martha — 9/10/07 @ 7:10 am

     We tried this last weekend. I followed the instructions precisely, adding in the rosemary and garlic. I used 2″ thick rib-eyes and sea salt. Like others said, horribly salty. I could barely eat it. The husband thought they were good, albeit salty. For hours after the meal, I could feel my arteries and heart straining from all the salt. I don\t think I’ll be trying this method again…sorry.

     However, Jaden, I love your blog and will keep visiting!:-)

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     wade — 9/10/07 @ 7:15 am

     i’m sceptical, as the english phrase goes, “you can’t polish a turd”…. i love steak but only eat it rarely so i make sure that when i get it i only get good, aged sirloin taken from grass fed organic cattle. And if your eating good quality meat, you want the quality coming through, not masked by salt, or garlic or, god forbid, blue cheese sauce.

     Why would you want to pass off a cheaper cut as top quality stuff anyway? Theres plenty of nice ways of cooking cheap cuts, without serving it as a slab with fries. The basic principle is that the cheaper the cut, the lower and slower you cook it – i wonder if the effect you are acheiving chemically could alternatively be obtained by cooking the cheap steak for a while in a very low oven, say 50 degrees, after first blowtorching the outside to get those chargrilled flavours?

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     iPood:Blag » Blog Archive » Mmm… Steak — 9/10/07 @ 9:54 am

     [...] Link [...]

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     Stella — 9/10/07 @ 9:55 am

     We made steak last night and it was so incredibly juicy. I think he only let the salt sit for half hour. The salt was perfect – maybe the key is not let it salt for that long.

     You are getting such big response with this! As a caring reader, let me give you some advice. Don’t take all the comments to heart. It is easy for people to hide behind a keyboard and post comments anonymously. I’ve read some of the comments – and they sound a bit nasty.

     Just know that you have fans worldwide and we appreciate your humor, recipes and stories. That is all that matters, right?

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     David — 9/10/07 @ 9:57 am

     I tried this last night but I forgot how to get the salt off of the meat. I figured that rinsing it off would only add water to the meat so I tried scraping it off instead. Guess what – the steak was tender, but salty as heck. The meal still got good reviews, but I’m itching to do it again only with the rinse off and pat dry method.

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     Kim Huffman ( a guy ) — 9/10/07 @ 12:41 pm

     Tried this method on lamb chops last night…with garlic and rosemary….I may have put too much salt on for too long ( 3hrs ), the result was a tad too salty, but the garlic and rosemary really infused the chop. I will experiment with shorter/less salt modes…
     Love your blog, Jaden !…one that people can easily relate to, and have fun in trying new recipies!

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     Bill — 9/10/07 @ 3:00 pm

     OK, I’m a vegetarian and haven’t eaten steak in over 25 years. But I’m also an ordained rabbi (but not employed as such) with a few comments that might be relevant.
     Jews who observe Jewish dietary laws carefully have been doing the salt/rinse/pat dry routine for a few thousand years. The Torah explains that the soul of an animal resides in its blood. Therefore we salt all red meat to remove all the blood. That’s part of what “kosher” means. “Kosher salt” is not itself kosher; it is coarse salt used to make meat kosher.
     Now here’s the funny part:
     Not all Jews maintain this practice. Most Jews in the US today have long abandoned it. One of the reasons we frequently hear for why they don’t maintain it is, “Kosher meat just doesn’t taste as good; it’s all salted to death; the blood is what makes it taste loud.”
     Well, your recipe might now provide my rabbinical colleagues with a retort. I shall pass it along.
     Maybe you’re Jewish .

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     Chinois — 9/10/07 @ 5:11 pm

     wade (193), Salt enhances flavour, it doesnt mask it. I believe that’s a basic principal.
     The slow oven cooked method you mention is another method of achieving decent juiciness. Heston Blumenthal decribes it in his book ‘Perfection’ which can probably be found online somewhere. It takes 24 to cook though.

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     Janet — 9/10/07 @ 6:24 pm

     Would this work on baby back ribs? I can’t seem to get my ribs tender enough.

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     noahcarter.com » Blog Archive » My del.icio.us bookmarks for September 7th through September 10th — 9/10/07 @ 9:08 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap â

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     Tim — 9/10/07 @ 9:41 pm

     Tasty, juicy but dear god it’s WAY TOO SALTY! I’m going to pass on trying this one again. Gotta go down a few gallons of water now.

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     Chuck — 9/11/07 @ 7:29 am

     Great Post!
     I live close to Gillette Stadium & will try this tailgating at the next Patriots home game.

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     Michael Cook — 9/11/07 @ 8:02 am

     Hey,

     how did you know i have daddy issues…

     my steak tip of the day is that small potatoes make the steak look bigger!

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     Michael Cooke — 9/11/07 @ 9:14 am

     Michael Cook: that’s my name (sort of); give it back!

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     Dennis — 9/11/07 @ 5:08 pm

     Ok,
     I just got done with the 1 hour salting I have rinsed and dried the steaks while I was waiting I made the butter getting ready to throw them on the grill now I’ll post again after dinner

     everything looks so Yummy!!!!

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     Henry Hong — 9/11/07 @ 5:28 pm

     Jaden-

     As promised I went ahead and tried this technique before making a final judgement. I used a 1.5″ thick strip steak. I did not use ribeye because that cut is generally tender anyway, regardless of grade. Actually most steak cuts will be fairly tender – marbling as graded by the USDA relates more to juiciness and flavor than tenderness. Anyway, I used 2 tsp of Diamond Kosher salt (smaller grains than Morton’s) per side on one half of the steak, leaving it on for one hour and then rinsing and patting dry. I applied a normal amount of salt to the other half one minute prior to cooking, just so it would be closer in flavor to the heavily salted side. I cooked to medium rare, and served bites from each half to two tasters. Result – no difference in tenderness, and pre-salted steak was too salty, even after rinsing. I actually also cut the steak laterally, to remove the browned surfaces, and noticed that the center of the pre-salted steak wasn;t salty at all. This indicates to me that the salt penetrated only a small distance into the beef.
     Sorry – this method did not hold up to side by side comparison for me.

     For the record, salt tolerance can build up significantly – we asians are particularly susceptible because we use dissolved salt so often (soy sauce). If you go without salt for a week, you will become highly sensitive – this happened to my mom when she did this to treat her blood pressure. Conversely if you eat a lot of salt, you will become desensitized to it to a certain degree.

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     Tim — 9/11/07 @ 6:11 pm

     You’re a stone cold fox with the kind of sharp wit that makes me want to do many foul and fun things to you.

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     Fred — 9/12/07 @ 1:44 am

     Have to try that steak sometime soon

     Osmosis happens due to natural forces. Water molecules migrate to make salt concentration the same on both sides of the membrane. Reverse osmosis uses external force to make the osmotic process occur in reverse. Externally supplied water pressure pushes pure water through the membrane, and the salty water remains on the other side to be flushed away.

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     SusieJ — 9/12/07 @ 9:25 am

     Is this safe for those on salt-restricted diets?

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     Mark Vogel — 9/12/07 @ 10:44 am

     Jaden:

     Hello. Thank you for writing.

     Did you also read the first part of that article “Salt of the Earth I”?

     The negative responses to your post are inevitably from people afflicted with what I call “American Food Neurosis” who undoubtedly cling to the mistaken notion that salt is bad for your health.

     I address that in the first part of my article on salt.

     Salt indeed does cause the protein strands to denature, and thus become more tender. I still favor brining but your position is scientifically sound.

     You can find the first half of the salt article and all my other published work at my website:

     http://www.foodforthoughtonline.net/

     Mark

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     Jason — 9/12/07 @ 1:16 pm

     I love you.

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/12/07 @ 1:29 pm

     Jason,

     As long as you feed me Godiva chocolates and Guinness beer, I’ll love you too.

     whoever you are….

     Steamy

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     Black &Bleu — 9/12/07 @ 10:28 pm

     You must have no tastebuds. I tried this with a decent cut, slightly less salt than prescribed and exactly one hour. The result was almost too salty to eat. Buy good, aged meat and forget this salty trick.

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     Bayou — 9/12/07 @ 10:47 pm

     Mine wasn’t too salty.

     After reading this, I just bought the Zuni Cafe cookbook and now I totally understand the salting method. I cooked our chicken last night after salting for 48 hours (as Zuni directed) and it was delicious. Haven’t tried their bread salad yet though.

     We did the steak tonight and salted for one hour. It was absolutely perfect. This is how we’ll make our chicken and steak from now on.

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     Daniel Sm. — 9/12/07 @ 10:53 pm

     I have the Zuni Cafe book too – but I don’t recall any mention of salting steak. All I remember is that she recommends salting a chicken for 3 days.

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     Daniel Sm. — 9/12/07 @ 10:56 pm

     oops. I hit submit before I was done..

     We eat at Zuni Cafe all the time (about once a month) and always order her famous Roast Chicken….so I KNOW that the dry salting method works fabulously. She salts her chicken for 3 days – 3/4 tsp per pound.

     So I can’t see why 1/2 tsp per side for 1 hour would make the steak too salty.

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     Deborah — 9/12/07 @ 11:56 pm

     I tried this salting technique with roast chicken and it was fantastic, really tasty, tender and not too salty at all. I stuffed bunch of fresh sage from our garden and garlic in the cavity of the breast which gave it delicate notes.

     The skin was deliciously crispy and didn’t need any basting. What a great dish!

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     Deborah — 9/13/07 @ 1:11 am

     By the way I like this recipe so much I did a review of it on my blog

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     Heretical Ideas » MAKING STEAK BETTER — WITH SCIENCE! — 9/13/07 @ 1:43 am

     [...] have to admit, when I first read this post on steak preparation, I was a wee bit skeptical.
     Read the whole thing, for both the science and the pictures�aren�t you a little skeptical, too?

     But at any rate, a couple of nights ago I was forced to eat dinner alone, without my lovely wife. I�ve been cooking a lot more lately, had a couple bucks in my wallet, and figured what the heck? So I ran (okay, drove) to the local grocery store, picked up a cheap sirloin round cut, and took it home. I let it sit in the salt while I whipped up the rest of dinner (in this case, I prepped some homemade mashed potatoes, put them on the stove, and then ran drive to the liquor store for a six-pack of Newcastle Brown Ale). After an hour-ish, I followed the directions, rinsed off the salt, patted the steak dry, and pan seared it on the stove.

     And oh lord, was it easily the tenderest sirloin I had ever had. I feared that it wouldn�t be, so I had deglaced the pan with a little Worcestershire sauce, scallions and mushroom. The sauce I ended up with was delicious, but the steak didn�t really need a drop of it.

     Seriously, this method of steak prep works. Try it yourself. Just be careful and make sure you use only sea or kosher salt. Iodized salt is almost certainly going to taste really, really nasty in your steak. And really, you should only use sea or kosher salt anyway.

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     myah — 9/13/07 @ 12:22 pm

     This is the MOST EXQUISITELY written recipe of types I’ve ever seen or read! Man not only do i want to cook some cheap steak to taste like BUTTAH but I want to hang out with you and your fam! Thanks for making a gal smile and mouth water

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     veron — 9/13/07 @ 1:13 pm

     Henry, why don’t you try Judy rodger’s method for comparison too.
     3/4 tsp salt per pound of meat for 24 hours, I tried this with the famous Zuni Roast Chicken, Prime Rib, and especially duck breasts. The results are so juicy and tender it was impossible to dry out even if you cook it to well done.
     I have attended Harold Mc Gee’s lecture series and even he does not have all the answers. That’s why at the beginning of the lecture he laid the ground work of how to perform accurate experiments in the kitchen, so we can test stuff on our own in our kitchen.

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     Henry Hong — 9/13/07 @ 2:11 pm

     veron-

     As I’ve stated previously, I have done a sizable amount of research on the specific subject of steaks. I though this post was about making a leaner choice cut closer in taste and texture to a prime cut, but for some reason many commenters continue to bring up poultry and the Zuni Cafe cookbook, for some reason. The research I did was based on myriad sources, and I base my opinions of actual application of method and taste testing my friends with the results. If you read any of my stuff, you’ll see I am very careful about the results I claim. I am not particularly interested at this time in salting per se, I wanted to see if specifically, salting would affect TEXTURE, not juiciness or flavor (which i already know is true). My instinct and research leaned towards no, so I followed Jadens REVISED instructions to the letter, and most importantly, used a valid control for comparison. I don’t see that any other commenter did that. In my case, I used the same cut and divided into salted and non-salted area to ensure consistent texture as a baseline. And for me, the method failed, and produced precisely what I predicted it would. Btw, the friends who taste tested were not told anything about this post or what I was doing, merely to describe the meat they were eating. I don’t know that I care to put any more effort into this, or why you think I should? But I do appreciate your replying, and as Jaden has said, we are all sharing our passion for food, which is great.

     -Henry

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     Henry Hong — 9/13/07 @ 2:17 pm

     veron-

     I also wanted to mention that in my research I tried many different methods of improving choice grade steak cuts, including wet aging, dry aging, larding, and marination. None equaled the texture produced through thorough marbling. Marinating in pineapple puree, which completely denatures the protein cells, resulted in a mass of grayish goo. Tenderness that we are accustomed to in beef is a product of collagen interacting with muscle cells, not really anything at the molecular level, in my opinion. Juiciness, however, is.

     -Henry

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     veron — 9/13/07 @ 3:11 pm

     Hi Henry – I’m not sure if this will help and I have not read all your comments and this has nothing to do with salting… If it is texture you are trying to change, I wonder if you have tried baking soda? This is a trick used by Chinese restaurants to tenderize tough cuts of meat. Although if too much is used it might completely denature the protein walls as the pineapple puree you mentioned.

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     Henry Hong — 9/13/07 @ 5:04 pm

     Veron-

     I mentioned that baking soda is something used to alter the structure of beef in an earlier comment. If you’ve ever had beef treated with it, you will agree that it is a terrible way to prepare beef- yes, it is easier to chew, but has none of the resilience or mouthfeel that one looks for in good beef. Flavor is also severely affected. It’s a shortcut, again, one of numerous I tried, and in side by side comparison, aged prime grade beef possesses a combination of tenderness, moisture retention, and flavor that just blows away most average grade cuts (choice or select), no matter what trick you try to apply to it. I say that with confidence because I actually cooked and tasted the many different resulting steaks. Steak is a treat – kick in the extra few bucks and know you are eating something special.

     -Henry

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     Jess — 9/13/07 @ 5:23 pm

     Jaden,
     Your diagrams are hilarious. You go girl. Best chemistry lesson I’ve ever gotten.
     Jess

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     veron — 9/13/07 @ 5:27 pm

     Henry – I just thought it would be interesting to experiment but you apparently have done an exhaustive test. I do order prime cuts from a chef lady who gets her meat from restaurant suppliers. My favorite is CAB DA NY strip , more than wagyu which is supposedly well marbled or CAB Tenderloin . Another one I just discovered that has that great meaty flavor and texture is the CAb flat iron steak – Now I am making myself reallly hungry !

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     mark — 9/13/07 @ 5:28 pm

     I used the method on boneless pork loin chops that were a little over 1″ thick. It worked like a charm. This method produced meat that was tender, flavorful, and juicy–without the sponginess you often get with brining. I can’t wait to try it with lamb and beef!

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     Henry Hong — 9/13/07 @ 5:33 pm

     Veron-

     Yes the flatiron cut, an unsung hero! Did you know this cut was only “discovered” in the nineties at the U of Nebraska? It is supposedly the second most tender cut behind tenderloin, and there are only two per cow. Around here it’s about $5 per pound, a total steal. Apparently most commercial butchers are still unaware of how to extract this cut, and leave it attached to the blade roast. Tragedy!

     -Henry

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/13/07 @ 11:35 pm

     This is a post from Nick -I thought I’d share:

     Hi Jaden, pretty crazy isnt it!
     I’ve found the recipe for Heston Blumenthal’s steak. It’s slightly different to how it’s
     printed in the book (possibly copyright issues?) but is the same idea. The timing has
     gone up to 18 hours now!
     I’d recommend reading up on him as you’re interested in experimental cooking. There
     are quite a few recipes on the internet with detailed descriptions. He’s also done a tv
     programme (perfection) in england which is interesting. Might find it on youtube or the
     like. Here’s the steak recipe.

     Nick

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     Giavasan » Play — 9/14/07 @ 2:01 am

     [...] – How to Turn Cheap Steaks into Prime Steaks. [...]

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     Play » WinnySpot — 9/14/07 @ 2:21 am

     [...] – How to Turn Cheap Steaks into Prime Steaks. [...]

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     After the pasta the meat « thoughts of a cold mind — 9/14/07 @ 4:20 am

     [...] http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks/ [...]

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     LiberaMente — 9/14/07 @ 5:32 am

     http://bello...

     Vi auguro un Buon Fine Settimana postandovi questo consiglio che ho trovato per ottenere una bistecca ottima anche da una carne di seconda scelta. Ora non è tanto questo consiglio in sè che mi ha interessato, quanto le figure qui sotto …

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     veron — 9/14/07 @ 10:59 am

     Jaden, very interesting article Nick sent you. I need to try this because this kind of contradicts something McGee said and I need to double check my notes. The article said to cook to 120 F but I thought the silver skin does not break down at a temperature of 136F(and this was cooked for 48 hours!). And no fat has rendered – although some of this can be accomplished by browning.

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     Ruth’s Chris Steak House | Linisus Blog — 9/14/07 @ 8:21 pm

     [...] course, if you’re serious about making steaks at home, take a peek at How to turn cheap choice steaks into Gucci prime steaks. I’ve yet to try it, and dad is incredibly skeptical, but if it means saving a lot of money [...]

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     Jay — 9/15/07 @ 1:50 pm

     do you salt both sides?

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     » Cooking: Turn a $5 Steak into a $50 Steak — 9/15/07 @ 2:00 pm

     [...] menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments. How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden’s Steamy [...]

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     Mmm…Steak. — 9/15/07 @ 2:06 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Cooking: Turn a $5 Steak into a $50 Steak · TechBlogger — 9/15/07 @ 2:09 pm

     [...] menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments. How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden’s Steamy [...]

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     Abscondio — 9/15/07 @ 2:17 pm

     I like the idea of blowing my meat up.

     http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc98/6_6_98/bob3.htm

     Be Safe!

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     Loose — 9/15/07 @ 2:34 pm

     I have been doing this for a long time. Its a well known grilling tip that salt will also trap in the moisture while you are slow cooking. For those of us who slow cook ribs, we use a dry rub that is chuck full of salt. My wife and I are students prefer quick and easy. We actually use a variation of your butter herb and melt some butter and Mrs. Dash in the microwave before I grill and baste the steak with it once per side and once before I pull off the grill. Another thing that I don’t think you mentioned was to let your meat sit for 5 minutes after cooking under a tinfoil tent.

     Thanks for the tips.

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     joe — 9/15/07 @ 3:05 pm

     Wow, I’m inspired. I don’t know who you are or where this idea came from but it looks delicious!

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     pk — 9/15/07 @ 3:09 pm

     Harold McGhee is my hero!

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     Brian Deeley — 9/15/07 @ 3:13 pm

     Great Post! I’m going to add this salting technique to a trick I read in Cook’s Illustrated. They actually provided a great explanation of how to get a great crust on the outside of the meat and describe an old high school chemistry experiment where you put a styro cup with water over a bunsen burner and the cup doesn’t burn until the water has evaporated. This explains why dry, dry, drying the outside of the meat is so important because the energy of the heat is being expended on vaporizing the moisture rather than charring. So CI suggesting a sort par-cooking (drying) the meat in the oven at a low temp for about 20 minutes. When the moisture is absent from the outside of the meat, it stays at a much higher temp and chars much faster. And getting to “browned” asap keep more moisture inside the meat.

     So I’m expecting these two techniques to result in an outstanding steak!

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     Scott’s Stacking Blocks » Turn a $5 Steak into a $50 Steak — 9/15/07 @ 3:39 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Arsenio — 9/15/07 @ 3:49 pm

     Hi,

     This is how osmosis works. The concentration of salt on the outside of the cells is larger than inside. This throws off the equilibrium of the cells and the cells want to excrete some of the water from within them to help concentrate themselves. Kind of like reducing a broth. Then, when this happens you often get denaturing of proteins or basically its like a breakdown of their structure. All of the steak is protein right? Exactly, so you’re pretty much tenderizing the meat and “dry aging” through water excretion at the same time.

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     Salty Slabs » randomosity » Blog Archive Salty Slabs » — 9/15/07 @ 3:54 pm

     [...] Perfect Steaks You may also want to browse: No related posts,  [...]

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     Techzi » Blog Archive » Cooking: Turn a $5 Steak into a $50 Steak — 9/15/07 @ 4:08 pm

     [...] menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments. How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden’s Steamy [...]

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     Wolf — 9/15/07 @ 4:11 pm

     Very nice post.
     I have 4 ribeyes currently ‘dry aging’ in seasoning in the fridge right now for grilling in a few hours. Will have to try this next time.}:P
     Although, I’ve never had complaints about my steak grilling yet. Even my bachelor neighbor who’s a cook drools over them and any roasts I smoke, LOL.

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     Vince — 9/15/07 @ 4:12 pm

     Tried it last night. Much too salty, even after rinsing.

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     Run With Scissors » Blog Archive » Make cheap steak taste better — 9/15/07 @ 4:16 pm

     [...] I’ll be trying this soon, trip report to follow This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]

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     links for 2007-09-15 » a big guy in a big city — 9/15/07 @ 4:21 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen (tags: cooking food steak recipes howto recipe beef science delicious tutorial toread) [...]

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     JR — 9/15/07 @ 6:22 pm

     Love this! I know what I’m gonna be making tomorrow.

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     Raull — 9/15/07 @ 6:23 pm

     Mouth-watering post! I really got to try this. Just recently discovered the “joy” of cooking and I’ve been doing some cooking lately. Got to share this with my wife. Keep it up.

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     Dinnerblogging § Unqualified Offerings — 9/15/07 @ 6:52 pm

     [...] tried the Steamy Kitchen steak-tenderizing method tonight. The test meat was a thick chunk of certified-humane center-cut sirloin from Whole Foods. [...]

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     Jorge — 9/15/07 @ 10:33 pm

     THANK YOU JADEN!!!! I bought the cheapest inch-thick fare they offered at my local H-E-B. It was the same I had previously tried and sworn off: $7/lb USDA Select. Using your technique, it came out buttery-er and juicy-er than the 23.00 steak at the best steakhouse in town. For those interested, the USDA grades steaks in descending order as: Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, Utility, Cutter. I am yet to see a Wal-Mart or HEB stock (or label) anything below “Select”.

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     Handmade Hatter » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks. — 9/15/07 @ 10:40 pm

     [...] This is some, um, juicy stuff. And useful too! The trick is to coat the steak with plenty of salt. And here is what happens, in unscientific terms: “Salt does something funny to the protein cells (sic). They turn from tight-assed stuck-up pricks into totally relaxed, fun-loving, sociable cool-dues. The music is Sade (remeber her?), and everyone is having a good time.” [...]

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     Joshua — 9/15/07 @ 11:39 pm

     Well, I tried it with a strip steak. Let it sit for over an hour with Kosher salt on both sides. Rinsed off, dried well, and applied to grill. Nice steaks, but salty. I think I’ll try it again, but I will rinse the steaks a lot more thoroughly.

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     Indra — 9/15/07 @ 11:53 pm

     Can’t wait to try this one out. You’re my Steak Angel candidate!

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     Christifideles — 9/16/07 @ 12:05 am

     JW argument…

     I thought of an excellent argument against the JWs today while carrying out this recipe (which I tested today and worked out splendidly; thanks, Greg K.). It reminded me of the koshering of meat that Jews do. The reason that……

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     FCG — 9/16/07 @ 12:31 am

     Mmmm…up-the-butt prices!

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     Monkey Attack » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden's Steamy Kitchen — 9/16/07 @ 12:36 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen For the past 4 months, we have been experimenting with how to get full, juicy, beefy flavor of a ribeye with butter-knife tenderness of a filet mignon without paying up-the-butt for Prime cuts. [...]

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     Before y�all throw a hissy fit, just hear me out. at Toots and Sally Ride Again — 9/16/07 @ 1:17 am

     [...] I just liked that phrase as a title for this [...]

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/16/07 @ 1:17 am

     Hey Josh – or you could use less salt and let it sit for less than an hour.
     We did a strip steak tonight and for experiment, salted 1 tsp per side and sit for 45 minutes (it was 1.5 inches thick) – it was not as salty but still the effect of salting worked wonderfully. I’m making adjustments based on more testing from myself and from 2 other readers. We are trying to establish the minimum time that you can salt to still have the effect. Since the 3 of us have different salt tolerances, this should make for some good results.

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     Cooking: Turn a $5 Steak into a $50 Steak at aoortic! dot com — 9/16/07 @ 1:22 am

     [...] menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments. How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden’s Steamy [...]

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     Kitt — 9/16/07 @ 1:35 am

     Hey Jaden, tried your steak tonight. Check it out. It turned out juicy and lovely. Almost too salty, so I will ease back on the salt and sitting time when I make it next. But there will definitely be a next time. Looking forward to what you find out in your further experiments!

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     dreamattack » links for 2007-09-16 — 9/16/07 @ 2:27 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen For the past 4 months, we have been experimenting with how to get full, juicy, beefy flavor of a ribeye with butter-knife tenderness of a filet mignon without paying up-the-butt for Prime cuts. (tags: articles cooking food howto recipes meat) [...]

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     Jared — 9/16/07 @ 5:54 am

     Great post- I’m not sure if the science is right or not, but hey, I’ll buy anything with a diagram on it.

     (Also, I’m betting this works – thanks for improving the quality of home steaking everywhere).

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     Nick Danger — 9/16/07 @ 7:16 am

     I think the iodine issue is a red herring. I just checked out my iodized salt and it is .00004 % iodine. Can we really taste a concentration that low? And anyway, non-iodized table salt is widely available and so the issue isn’t iodized versus kosher. The real issue is that the big grains of kosher mean slower absorption into the meat than do the small grains of table salt. It’s called “kosher” salt because it was made for “koshering” meat, i.e., drawing the blood out.

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     Nick Danger — 9/16/07 @ 7:47 am

     “For hours after the meal, I could feel my arteries and heart straining from all the salt.”

     Martha, by “feel” I think you mean “imagine.”

     “This throws off the equilibrium of the cells and the cells want to excrete some of the water from within them to help concentrate themselves.”

     Aresenio, you do realize these are dead cells, don’t you, that are not actively doing anything?

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     Ryan — 9/16/07 @ 9:47 am

     You said: “paying up-the-butt”

     What does that mean, and do you know how homophobic and bigoted this statement is?

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/16/07 @ 10:11 am

     Ryan-

     WTF are you talking about? You don’t have to be gay to stick foreign matters up your butt.

     sincerely,
     beavis, butthead and the entire bungholio squad

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     Mister Ian’s Weblog from Kuwait » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden's Steamy Kitchen — 9/16/07 @ 10:27 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Anna — 9/16/07 @ 11:30 am

     The next step would be to marinate in Soy Sauce. Soy Sauce is high in salt and glutamates, which is part of umami (meaty delicious flavor). This increases the beefy-ness of your steaks, and a 15 minute marinade will leave you with the most intensely beefy steak. I would then brown some butter and olive oil and then pan-sear to a nice crispy crust and finish in the oven. I’ve been making my steaks like this since I was 12 and I’ve never realized the science behind it til I picked up the latest cook’s illustrated.

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     FrieTeB WebLoG » Archive du blog » Good Day and Good Bye — 9/16/07 @ 11:53 am

     [...] also tried a wonderful steak recipe that promises to take a cheap sirloin and make it as tender as tenderloin. While it didn’t [...]

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     such.ire — 9/16/07 @ 12:43 pm

     Salt does denature protein, but that does not make protein “tender” to the taste. Cooking meat also denatures protein, but everyone knows that a rare steak is more tender than a well-done steak. See my post at http://futilecycle.com/2007/09/08/pseudo-food-science for more explanation.

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     Anonymous — 9/16/07 @ 1:03 pm

     How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks…

     Here’s an interesting and informative article about taking cheaper steak cuts and making them taste like they cost a lot more. It sounds like it’s easy to do and delicious, too….

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     links for 2007-09-16 « Random Musings — 9/16/07 @ 1:17 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen (tags: cooking food steak) [...]

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     Kitt — 9/16/07 @ 6:32 pm

     Soy sauce is a good suggestion, Anna. I use low-sodium soy (still plenty salty) and honey to marinate flank steak. Always have one in the freezer, pre-marinated. You can cook onions and mushrooms in the leftover marinade/drippings.

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     Jeff — 9/16/07 @ 8:25 pm

     Hmm, I tried this and I wasn’t very happy with the results. Although the steak was pretty tender, it was horribly oversalted. I did wash off the salt, but maybe I left it on too long. Salt is a very personal thing, anyway, and I have been trying to reduce my intake. So maybe I am more sensitive to it.

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     dave's wibblings — 9/16/07 @ 8:29 pm

     links for 2007-09-17…

     How to Turn Cheap ”Choice„ Steaks into Gucci ”Prime„ Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen So, my friends, I am offering you a very juicy secret, one that will turn an ordinary “Choice” cut of steak into a gucci “Prime”……

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     el domador de pulgas — 9/16/07 @ 8:55 pm

     OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH, my god!!!!
     It�s something great what salt does on steaks. And is great what pics are doing in my stomach

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     mingaling » Steak alchemy: how to turn a cheap steak into a prime cut — 9/16/07 @ 10:02 pm

     [...] love this post.  Steak + chemistry = awesome. September 16, 2007  Food and [...]

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     SavingWithMe — 9/16/07 @ 10:37 pm

     Sounds awesome…Definitely trying this next weekend.

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     Ben — 9/16/07 @ 10:52 pm

     WOW! I just finished the last bite of my ribeye steak prepared after reading your post. We used a mortar and pestle to smash up some garlic and fresh rosemary per your recommendation, smeared a bit of the paste on both sides and then added generous amounts of coarse sea salt and let it sit for about 30 min, the result… PURE STEAK HEAVEN. So much for Ruth’s Chris! We will pass down this secret for generations! Thanks!!!!

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     the evangelical outpost — 9/16/07 @ 11:58 pm

     Thirty Three Things (v. 30)…

     1. Fred Sanders on The Theology of Sleep °°°°°° 2. Good fences make good neighbors In the last century, more than 100 million people have perished in violent conflict, very often because of local clashes between ethnically or cu…

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     Contextless Links [09.16.07]… | words are not enough | live… from new orleans — 9/17/07 @ 12:12 am

     [...] How to turn a cheap steak into a prime steak via Lifehacker [...]

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     Tim — 9/17/07 @ 12:26 am

     Thank you! The week before I tried this method, I went to a reputable steak house and had a $56 dry aged bone in Rib eye. The next week I made a rib eye as per your recommendations it was much better! Oh and those truffle fries…heaven on a plate with the steak!

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     Marcelo — 9/17/07 @ 4:01 am

     We do have excellent meats in Brazil, that usually dispenses them of any special preparations like these, but at at least in Rio de Janeiro, where I come from, it is somewhat common to do a “picanha no sal grosso”, which can be somewhat of a tri-tip (whole piece) on sea salt (large rocks, not the semi-cracked ones). Basically you take a cooking pan, cover it with 1/2 inch of salt, then you put the tri-tip on top of it, then cover it fully (no exposed parts) with more sea salt. You cook it in the oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. When done, the salt will be like a rock, and hard. You break it and the meat is simply great, and not too salty (but remove from the salt before serving). Do a quick google search and there comes a lot of links (in Portuguese, but use translate to view it in English: http://www.google.com/search?q=picanha+no+sal+grosso)

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     Mike — 9/17/07 @ 4:08 am

     Tried this method on steaks cut from frozen then thawed bottom round. (not everyone can afford the $5 steak)

     Salting for 15 minutes made a huge difference in taste and tenderness. Thanks so much for the tip.

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     john — 9/17/07 @ 9:44 am

     I am used to seeing you on Tastespotting, but I found this link through Lifehacker! Nice one!

     I’ll give this a try this week sometime.

     You are so funny Jaden!

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     ehawk — 9/17/07 @ 1:08 pm

     cheap way to brine (at least how I do it): soy sauce with meat and garlic, i do lemon for a bit of acid in a ziplock bag…. cheap cheap container that holds up well and can be discarded.

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     Bob Blick — 9/17/07 @ 2:49 pm

     I’ll admit I never heard of this, but I may give it a try. Glad I read to use Kosher salt though.

     I like to put a lot of pepper and meat tenderizer – much like you do salt – on my steaks and let them sit for a half hour. They do come out juicy and tender. I will try the salt and see if it works. You got me curious.

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     Mike Watt — 9/17/07 @ 3:55 pm

     i just step on my steak before grilling… gives it a tender juicyness that salt can not match!

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     blog.ariffic » Blog Archive » links for 2007-09-17 — 9/17/07 @ 6:19 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen How to make cheap steaks taste like prime restaurant steaks. Hint: salt, and a ton of it. (tags: cooking food howto interesting lifehacks todo useful) [...]

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     Steaks braten, aber richtig! at M wie Michael — 9/17/07 @ 6:21 pm

     [...] steamykitchen.com Diesen Artikel [...]

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     eveninghawk’s links » Blog Archive » excellent steaks and more food info — 9/17/07 @ 6:47 pm

     [...] discovered Jayden’s ideas on how to enliven a steak, which is very similar to what I do when I ziplock bag brine a skirt steak.� [...]

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     Charlie — 9/17/07 @ 7:05 pm

     My only critique of this article is that the guidelines are using prime cuts of beef. (porterhouse, filet, ribeye, etc…) What about flank steak, London broil, skirt steak, butter steak, etc? I would assume the same logic would apply, but when I think cheap steaks, I think the latter, not the former. This process does work well with the cheaper, non-prime, cuts but I’m surprised they weren’t mentioned in the article. Personally I like a skirt steak soaked in Merlot, salt, garlic, and thyme. The wine really breaks down the proteins and fats its super tasty! Still, wonderful recipes I love the no knead bread, its delicious!!

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     Brian — 9/17/07 @ 7:32 pm

     Holy cow! I found this post via Lifehacker today, and you had me thinking about steak all day. I tried your tip this evening, and it’s simply the best steak I’ve ever made. Thanks so much, you may just have redeemed my cooking in the eyes of my girlfriend!

     I can’t thank you enough!
     ~Brian

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/17/07 @ 8:56 pm

     Hey there Charlie-

     I just haven’t tried the other cuts yet. And believe it or not, skirt and flank are even MORE expensive than a strip at my markets here. I only buy steaks when they go on sale – and for $5.99/lb for strip or ribeye vs. $5.99/lb (or higher) for skirt or flank…I’d rather buy the former. I’ve also found that skirt is too thin for salting.

     My fav way to have skirt is to marinate in red wine vineg, brown sugar, garlic and some Old Bay. I also love it marinated in Chipotle too. I’ll have to try with merlot next time.

     Thanks for visiting.

     ***
     Brian- You’re welcome!

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     Benoit — 9/17/07 @ 10:45 pm

     I guess a bit of acid does the trick to get salt ions in the meat. In marinades for porc tenderloin, lamb chops or chicken breast, I routinely add a bit of rice vinegar. Works wonders.
     When you have the chance, try the salt trick on a shoulder of lamb, then slow braise (1/4 covered) in olive oil+rosemary in a dutch oven.

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     Ben — 9/18/07 @ 12:37 am

     Hi,

     I also tried the method for seasoning steaks and unfortunately had same result as Ian. The steak was VERY SALTY even after rinsing the salt off and patting dry. Maybe I used way too much sea salt? I noticed that sea salt is a lot stronger than kosher salt. Maybe I can use very little and get same effect?

     -Ben

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     Al Power » Cool stuff for September 15th through September 17th — 9/18/07 @ 4:03 am

     [...] Can’t wait to try this – looks great! – Perfect Steaks [...]

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     Cooking: Turn a $5 Steak into a $50 Steak | Tolagomi News — 9/18/07 @ 10:35 am

     [...] menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments. How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden’s Steamy [...]

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     SteakFeed » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden's Steamy Kitchen — 9/18/07 @ 2:16 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     sidruid — 9/18/07 @ 5:26 pm

     I’m a huge fan of skirt steaks, and I’ve seen them show up a few times on this discussion. I can usually get them for $4-6/lb (better on sale) and it is hands-down one of the tastiest pieces of meat. Here’s how I handle them:
     1) I trim off any overly-huge chunks of fat (though i’ll occasionally lay them back on top of the steak just before broiling). Then I cut the skirt steak into manageable sizes

     2) Dry Rub: I kosher salt both sides (not as much as above pictures. It’s not going to be removed) and immediately season it generously (usually with black pepper and paprika, sometimes with curry powder or cumin).
     2 corollary) Alternatively, I’ve made a dry rub with kosher salt, sugar (another water-sucker), and the above spices and sprinkled it all on together.

     3) I let the steak sit on the counter 10 mins while the broiler comes up to temp.

     4) I broil, oven CLOSED for 2-3 mins per side. Then it rests for 2-3 mins (i don’t want it getting cold or cooking any more)

     5) I cut WITH the grain, at a slight angle to get wider pieces. I don’t cut it all, I eat immediately so it doesn’t get cold.

     But tonight I’m trying your salting technique
     Remember kids: If you can make it better at home, don’t order it out.

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     Judy — 9/18/07 @ 5:36 pm

     How do you reconcile these 2 statements from your above information?
     “Use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per side.”
     “I�m talking about taking a small handful of kosher salt and literally coating your meat until you can�t see red.”

     I tried using more than a teaspoon but did not use a handful and the steaks were way too salty!

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     Sirloin, more like sirloser » a big guy in a big city — 9/18/07 @ 7:33 pm

     [...] tried this method of cooking steaks tonight and it turned out really badly. I forgot to rinse the steak after the [...]

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     Sharon — 9/18/07 @ 8:06 pm

     I bought a 2 lb. eye of the round roast. Lots of rosemary- three branches worth, 2 cloves garlic, probably 2 tbsp of kosher salt. Mashed it all together. spread it evenly over both top bottom and sides. 1/2 hour exactly. Wash off, dry, stick on BBQ 45 minutes-ish. Heaven. Yes I could still see meat between the salt and the herbs. The salt did not disappear, I washed a lot of chunks off. I don’t know how it worked but it did!! Wahoo!

     Sharon

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     JeffinDenver — 9/18/07 @ 8:40 pm

     I just tried this and my steaks turned out to be the best I’ve ever had. The cut of meat was a thick chuck roast that my wife purchased. I was worried that they wouldn’t come out well but I was excited to find that they were scrumptious. Thanks a million, we’ll be doing this every time!!

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     rogueestate.com » Blog Archive » Turning Lead Into Gold — 9/18/07 @ 10:08 pm

     [...] Lead Into Gold Posted by bp In Food Snob 19Sep 07 All the rage on teh internets right now is this Alton-Brownesque post on turning mediocre cuts of beef into prime time steakhouse [...]

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     Jon — 9/18/07 @ 11:30 pm

     Thanks for the great post. I blogged about this and linked back to your site. I’m going to try this out as soon as possible. That picture makes me so hungry when I look at it.

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     bp — 9/18/07 @ 11:48 pm

     Tonight’s dinner turned out very wonderful indeed. I highly suggest all skeptics give this process a try immediately. You’ll be delighted and amazed.

     In regards to salt, I’ve both sea salt and kosher salt and honestly – I can’t taste the difference. It may be that the rabbi was out the day my box of salt was shipped, but I suspect the two are chemically identical.

     now then, as another reader suggested, lets have a post on those fries!

     -bp

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     Will — 9/19/07 @ 1:18 am

     Jaden, you are a Sexy, Sexy woman for doing this. So Sexy in fact, I’m almost recommending red meat to my readers… Alas, no… (wipes tear from eye). Cheers!

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     links for 2007-09-19 : Bob Plankers, The Lone Sysadmin — 9/19/07 @ 2:18 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen Salt is the key. (tags: revisit-food) [...]

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     maybe he’s too busy EATING BABIES. « Transpacificism — 9/19/07 @ 6:13 am

     [...] only a stovetop. And while I was looking around on Lifehacker the other day, I stumbled across this tutorial. Which, quite frankly, fascinated me. (Plus, it had diagrams, which is a selling point too [...]

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     ememjammer — 9/19/07 @ 7:40 am

     So I was off work and surfing and found this place and thought I would join up. I don’t have much more to say right now except I need to start reading some of the older posts to get up to speed before I can start posting.

     Em

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     Susiej » What about salt-restricted diets — 9/19/07 @ 9:44 am

     [...] still getting e-mail questions about Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen’s link on how to prepare cheap cuts of red meat. Her method uses lots of salt. What if [...]

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     Jody Sachse - Wandering the Webernet — 9/19/07 @ 2:06 pm

     [...] menu. If you’ve got a secret tip for the Best Steak Ever, please share in the comments. How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks [Jaden’s Steamy [...]

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     How to Turn �Choice� Steaks into �Prime� Steaks - Hoovaloo.com — 9/21/07 @ 5:04 am

     [...] Learn the secret @ Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Alan Thomas — 9/21/07 @ 10:18 pm

     How would using a vacuum dish (which does a great job accelerating marinade) affect this?

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/22/07 @ 2:30 am

     Alan
     hmmm…that I don’t know. I’ve never tried using my sucker-pucker on the steak.

     try and report back? I’d prob cut the salting time in half to start with.

     jaden

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     Michael — 9/22/07 @ 2:43 pm

     I really liked one article on this pag So much so that I would like to print just that one article. Your setup makes the difficult. How about adding a link to make a particular article more printer friendly.

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     Valerie — 9/23/07 @ 4:52 pm

     Simple and brilliant suggestion. This technique sure makes a difference

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     Neece — 9/24/07 @ 6:24 pm

     I will try this for dinner tomorrow! This is great, you’re like a female Alton Brown! I learned a lot so I dugg it and stumbled thumbs upped it (not sure how to say that, but I guess you get what I mean) and bookmarked it too! Thank you! And my husband will thank you when I cook dinner tomorrow too.

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     Culinary Schools » Blog Archive » How to Turn Cheap "Choice" Steaks into Gucci "Prime" Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen — 9/24/07 @ 10:21 pm

     [...] pokkha wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]

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     Culinary Schools » Blog Archive » How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen — 9/24/07 @ 10:25 pm

     [...] luxagraf wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]

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     Beerme — 9/25/07 @ 5:42 pm

     I’ve enjoyed reading through the responses to this article and found it amazing that it seems about half of the people who said the meat tasted “horribly, unbearably salty” also said they salted the meat for 2 to 3 hours! The instructions clearly said to salt the meat for 15 minutes to an hour, asshats!

     I am trying this method tonight and will report back on the results. Of course, a little salt really doesn’t cripple me, anymore than the idea of eating meat and causing all that untold suffering bothers me…

     Oh, and I would say you’re hot like the other teenage cellar-dwellers but I just don’t have enough data. Can you take your shirt off?

     Honestly, though, this was a very fine article!

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     Anna — 9/25/07 @ 8:32 pm

     Looked llike such a great idea. I did EXACTLY what you wrote – very careful to rinse and dry – I got a salty mess – horrors!!

     What did I do wrong?

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     Raachie — 9/26/07 @ 3:39 am

     (I dont understand the people on here posting anti-meat comments? Do they spend their days finding websites of meat loving people to bash them of their CHOICE to eat meat? How fair is that?)

     Anyway, My boyfriend found this website on Lifehacker.com and showed it to me a few weeks ago and I’ve been achin’ to try! My dad requested steak for his birthday dinner tomarrow which gives me a chance to do so! Ill post my result tomarrow night! Thanks to you Ms Jaden and commenters

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     exsmoker — 9/26/07 @ 5:51 am

     Hello All,

     I was reading around some of the posts here and I found interesting things that you guys talk about, I just made a blog about quitting smoking resources and ideas that you might want to check out.
     If someone is interested in this topic just go to; http://endthehabitnow.blogspot.com and let me know what you think.
     Thanks in advance.

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     John Martin — 9/26/07 @ 12:20 pm

     Hi Jaden,
     I learned a trick from an old cattle farmer which will make the steaks even more tender. He recommend that when you purchase from your local supermarket, you keep the steak in the fridge for at least a week, turning it over at least once a day. At the end of the week, either freeze it or use it – either way, it will be much more tender than when first purchased.
     I can’t wait to combine your salting trick with this one .

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     Raachie — 9/26/07 @ 9:38 pm

     Hello everyone.

     I posted last night about trying this method out for my Dad’s bday and I have to say that it was a total hit (= Dad loved it (“that was good, Rach”). This will be my official method of cooking steak from now on ! Thanks again, Jaden ! And to my fellow commenters who posted their results ! Now off to a movie with Pop..

     –Rach

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     daphne — 9/26/07 @ 10:59 pm

     I tried this and it works beautifully! Honestly good!! I just posted it up on my blog. Thanks so much Jaden!! Love it. It’s a keeper.

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     DrN — 9/27/07 @ 10:09 am

     I tried this on a pork loin last night, and it was delicious! Great tip!

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     Ann Jordan — 9/27/07 @ 12:57 pm

     Great tips. My husband does the grilling, I just prepare the meat. I will certainly try the salting tip next time. Thumbs up on Stumble!

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     Bill — 9/27/07 @ 7:00 pm

     I just used this method last night for my wife’s birthday dinner… it worked amazingly! I can’t wait to have people over for a big barbeque and see the jaws drop. This post alone led to my first ever RSS subscription to a food blog.

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     Anna — 9/27/07 @ 9:05 pm

     Thanks for posting this! I tried it the other night and it worked. What we noticed was the steak was very juicy. It didn’t exactly (obviously) give the steak the flavor of prime beef, but it did enhance the overall enjoyment due to the juiciness factor.

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     Lisa — 9/28/07 @ 11:38 am

     Thanks for the lesson! I can’t wait to try this at home! But�just one question�when leaving the salt-saturated-meat to soak for an hour…does the steak go back in the refrigerator for that hour or soak in room temperature?

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     Mundane Ramblings » Death by salt? Yes, please! — 9/28/07 @ 12:24 pm

     [...] saw a link on Lifehacker a while ago about how to make your steak taste better when you are barbequeing.� The beauty of this tip is the simplicity: salt. You take your steak out [...]

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     Matt — 9/28/07 @ 7:07 pm

     I read the article in early September, but it’s been a busy month, so I’m finally getting around to trying it out. I bought a couple “Top Of Iowa” Sirloins tonight, and we’re going to try it out tomorrow night. I’m quite excited.

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     Foodea.com » Blog Archive » Turn Cheap Cuts of Meat Into “Prime” Steak — 9/29/07 @ 10:03 am

     [...] [Original Post via Steamy Kitchen] Posted by foodea7 Filed in Tricks, Tips (No Ratings Yet)  Loading … Share This [...]

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     Beerme — 9/29/07 @ 3:04 pm

     OK, I tried it and it was a bit too salty for me, but to be fair, I put much more salt on than the article recommends. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a more is better kinda guy…

     Anyway, I will try again with a bit less salt this weekend.

     Keep it steamy, Jaden!

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     Jabba — 9/30/07 @ 10:24 pm

     Well I tried this yesterday, used sea salt, let it sit for 15 minutes, was a small properly sized portion to try it with as about 1.5 inches thick. Rinsed it off really well and patted it real dry, I cooked it a little long than I wanted to, it didn’t seem any more tender than the rest of the untreated steak, but let me tell you I like salt and man I just about spit this back out it was so salty, glad I didn’t do the whole steak!

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     How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks; Mmmmnnn tasty! « Science Top News — 10/1/07 @ 9:48 am

     [...] read more | digg story [...]

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     Huhns.org » Blog Archive » Can’t Use Too Much Salt — 10/1/07 @ 6:09 pm

     [...] I’m calling “dry-brining.”� I picked up the technique off a site called “Steamy Kitchen“.� Bad name, but great information on a solid technique.� The technique is quite simple.� [...]

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     I miss the sound of a music much like that of Regina Spektor « shk.blog — 10/1/07 @ 7:47 pm

     [...] How to turn cheap “choice” steaks into Gucci “prime” steaks [...]

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     Rick Renaud — 10/2/07 @ 2:04 pm

     Can I use this technique if I buy a Round roast and cut into 1 1/2 steaks. If so this will be great

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     SteamyKitchen — 10/2/07 @ 2:30 pm

     Rick-I’m sure it will work fine, though I’ve never tried. Let me know how it turns out

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     mr rob — 10/2/07 @ 8:15 pm

     good work! i was just working on my ‘stumbling’ moves and came across this. you may have slept through biology, but you didn’t sleep through lunch.

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     24Hansen - my manager cannot eat my sandwich here. — 10/3/07 @ 9:36 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks. [...]

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     Pan Seared, Thick Cut Steak — 10/3/07 @ 10:28 pm

     [...] steak related test? Salting! Actually I already sort of do this. I put a healthy amount of salt on and then let the steak sit [...]

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     Ann — 10/4/07 @ 12:50 pm

     Awesome illustration and hilarious to boot – I’m starving to the point of nausea now. Had cheap steaks thawing anyway…can’t wait to try. Good tip to blend up rosemary and garlic together…soak with salt. If this works, we’ll be eating cheap steak every night with loaded taters.

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     My Links for September 15th through October 4th | Evan Roberts — 10/4/07 @ 8:34 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap â

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     unF — 10/5/07 @ 4:11 pm

     Yes, yes, and yes.

     Used a 1 1/2″ thick strip cut and coarse non-iodized salt. Total win. I let the grill heat up nice an hot while it was sitting on the counter in salt-lick mode, so I had nice seared exterior and restaurant-pretty grill marks. The ‘sealing’ effect the denaturing/salt-treatment has really makes a dramatic difference here. It grills clean with little dripping but explodes with juice and flavor when you cut into it.

     Tried with thinner cuts closer to 1″ in first tries with good results, but the 1 1/2″ cut is now my default. Going to try this with ribeye next.

     Thank you, thank you, thank you. I rarely ate steak at home, which has changed since this recipe came out.

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     steve b — 10/6/07 @ 11:43 pm

     I kinda have to wonder why it is that lightly salting about 15-30 minutes before cooking wouldn’t do just about the same thing.. but the proofs in the taste, of course.

     It does seem to my dim recollection, that when I have had the meat seasoned and out on the counter well before the grill is hot enough, the final product is better. Something like a poor-mans marinade, but with a more steaky and less overpowering flavor of marinades.

     Thanks for this tip, I’m going to try it as soon as I get my hands on some good meat, or I guess not so good meat

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     phil — 10/8/07 @ 11:13 pm

     This is the real deal. I am a clasicaly trained fench cheff, and this is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

     Back in the days of yor only the wealthy got to eat meat that was by any modern measure even really edible — think revolutionary France and Loius XIV. The lower class people would buy whatever meat they could which was often on the verge of being spoiled or rancid. They would salt and season the crap out of it and then cook it. This made the meat both palletable and safe to eat. The reasoning behind that has been thoroughly exaplined above.

     Move forward to the 1800′s and the popularization of the Parisan Bistro. The first thought that should come to mind is Steak Frites. That is Steak and French Fries for us Americans. This dish traditionally uses Oinglette or what we in the US call Hanger Steak. Its tough, grizzly, chewey, and just down right pernicious. But, season it like this and amaizing things happen — it becomes culinary gold. Grille it, serve it with Demi Glace, and there ain’t nothing better.

     My adjustments follow:
     1) use only sea salt, kosher salt is too flat in flavor and Morton’s tastes like paint thinner (YUK!)
     2) Don’t use any herbs or other seasoning during the salt-rest, you don’t want this to taste like meatloaf, just a nice juicy, beefy steak.
     3)after the rinse and dry sprinkle; season modestly with salt, mustard powder and pepper then grill away.
     4)Always serve with Demi Glace, which is not at all hard to make if your willing to bend the rules a tad…

     If that doesn’t come out right you probably let it sit too long, didnt rinse it fully, or over-seasoned it when grilling.

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     links for 2007-10-14 « Free Hogg — 10/13/07 @ 10:18 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen (tags: cooking steak food recipes) [...]

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     Diane Meyers — 10/14/07 @ 5:31 pm

     I just bought 2 “whole filet mignons” for a party. One was for the party and one was to practice on. When I opened the practice one it was in 2 pieces. The meat store said that they were all in 2 pieces and that they were not the best filet. I put the party filet in the freezer for next month and 1/2 of the practice one in the freezer. I cooked the other half and was so disappointed. I marinated in a wine marinade, then turned the oven to 500 degrees, put it in and turned the oven to 450 degrees for about 1/2 hour (it was 120 degrees inside the roast). Still, it was not company quality. Do you think that the salt method would help? I could marinade, then salt or maybe skip the marinade and salt with a rub or something. I don’t know. What do you think? It seems to be a cheap cut.
     Help!

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     SteamyKitchen — 10/14/07 @ 6:05 pm

     Diane- check your email – I just sent you a big…long email with some notes from Cooks Illustrated and Fine Cooking. I’d definitely salt and then follow one of the above techniques/recipes.

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     GutsDanson — 10/15/07 @ 6:24 pm

     I tried this recipie this weekend with very good results. I used a 1 1/2lb 1″1/2 cut of Choice Sirloin

     For some reason I thought the salting time was 1-3 hours…..so I went almost 2 hours. I will amend this for future experiments.

     The first thing I noticed when I washed the salt off of the steak was how much it had firmed up.

     Instead of timing my cooking I hawked the steak pulled it off at about MEd Rare, let it rest, and served it to several people…..everyone really enjoyed the steak. I liked it….can’t wait to do more trials. Only 2 out of 7 people had ever eaten my cooking before so I got a good cross section of unbiased opinions.

     One person told me the next day they had enjoyed it so much they ordered a steak out at a restaurant the next night and was then incredibly disapointed with the result.

     Thanks for the lesson

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     Braintube » Steak Night — 10/16/07 @ 7:52 pm

     [...] “steak night”(nudge nudge, brian, poke poke) and I’ve been wanting to try this trick so I broke down and cooked up to London Broil tonight. I can say without a doubt the [...]

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     Kaiser — 10/16/07 @ 9:48 pm

     Fantastic!

     Thank you so much for this info, Jaden. I’ve done this a couple times now and I’ll never cook a steak any other way again!

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     Tasty Steak — 10/20/07 @ 12:33 am

     [...] I have to give this a try.� Turn cheap steak into “prime” steak. [...]

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     Kitt — 10/20/07 @ 1:03 am

     Tried this again tonight, on a cheap top sirloin, and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I used about a teaspoon of kosher salt. Rinsed well, patted dry, and then tossed it in a 250 oven for about 15 minutes to dry more, as Brian suggested above.

     Really really good. Not nearly as salty as my first attempt, which I think sat salted for too long. Juicy and tender. One $7 steak fed two of us, with a little chunk saved out for sandwiches tomorrow.

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     Jason — 10/23/07 @ 8:30 pm

     I picked up a sirloin steak and tried it out with sea salt, garlic and rosemary. I only let the salt sit for about 15-20 minutes, but I salted and seasoned both sides, and quite heavily – it probably ended up being a tablespoon.

     I then rinsed, patted dry with paper towel, and threw it on the grill.

     It came out very nice and flavorful, and very tender, despite my gaffe of leaving it on the grill a little too long. Easily the best steak I’ve done on my own, and right up there with the best

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     links for 2007-10-10 at toshism — 10/24/07 @ 10:03 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen (tags: cooking steak food recipes howto) [...]

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     Elegant Kitchen Cabinets — 10/28/07 @ 8:19 pm

     I’m off to go grab some sea salt! That looks amazing.

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     scotte — 10/29/07 @ 9:25 pm

     I did it again! This time using a lesser cut of beef, the texture was less than savory, but the flavor was greatly enhanced, which I further enhanced with a pizzaiola sauce. I suspect I used 1/2 cup of salt this time, quarter cup of finely chopped thyme and a few cloves of smashed garlic. Good Times!

     http://sseichinger.blogspot.com/2007/10/steak-pizzaiola.html

     Thanks for turning us all on to this treatment.

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     Papa Mike’s Blog » Blog Archive » The Miracle Of Salt — 10/31/07 @ 5:59 pm

     [...] �How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks. [...]

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     Leslie — 11/1/07 @ 7:56 am

     Always ready to try something new that will help stretch the budget. Cheap, tender steak who would have ever thunk

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     obfinance — 11/4/07 @ 5:14 pm

     Loved the idea from the get-go, as I always brine my chicken prior to cooking. The idea makes total sense!!!! Needless to say, my pan-roasted steak turned out beautifully tender.

     On another note, I’m also from Nebraska and also Asian. Well, not “your kind of Asian,” Jaden, but a little further west, or east depending on how you look at it. ) Regardless, if you were raised in Nebraska, well then you can obviously understand how seriously we take our steaks around here. Now, just try explaining that one to my vegetarian fiancee from California…

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     Buy trazodone. — 11/7/07 @ 5:57 pm

     Buy trazodone….

     Buy trazodone….

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     clint — 11/8/07 @ 7:14 pm

     im going to cook some steaks

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     brenda — 11/9/07 @ 6:42 am

     terrifficcc, marvelous and great! I really dont know what good words should i use. I got it from ur website. my biggest problem is howwill i cook tender juicy steak. i certainly know this will help me. now i have it in my laptop. YOUR website JADEN. thank you.
     My husband is a dutch and and enjoy eating great tender foods such, STEAKS!
     I love cooking and I know its also an art. But i have to read, surf to learn more…
     than you for the good tips once again.

     GODBLESS and SAIL ON

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     brenda — 11/9/07 @ 6:46 am

     terrifficcc, marvelous and great! I really dont know what good words should i use. I got it from ur website. my biggest problem is how will i cook tender juicy steak. i certainly know this will help me. now i have it here on my laptop. YOUR website JADEN. thank you.
     My husband is a dutch and and enjoy eating great tender foods such, STEAKS!
     I love cooking and I know its also an art. But i have to read, surf to learn more…
     than you for the good tips once again.

     GODBLESS and SAIL ON

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     Reg H — 11/11/07 @ 12:30 am

     All the good stuff everyone else said… (me too, ditto)

     My only grief..

     I printed out the main part of this article for my wife, and those black backgrounds in the .jpgs really hurt! Uses LOADS of black ink, and not necessarry! Any lighter backround would be fine.

     Okay, I’m better now (smile)

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     links for 2007-11-20 « (realityloop) embrace recursion — 11/20/07 @ 10:17 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks | Jaden’s … (tags: cooking steak food recipes howto recipe beef) Filed under: del.icio.us   |   [...]

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     Ron — 11/27/07 @ 9:04 pm

     Phil, your “adjustments” are terrible – and who would heed a “clasicaly trained fench cheff” who can’t even spell classically, French or chef? Give me a break.

     Anyway, the point of kosher salt is that it has a large particle size, which draws out moisture, rather than melting away and being absorbed into the meat as table salt would. Coarse sea salt, as per the recipe, would work as well for the same reason. There is no need to use anything more upmarket/expensive.

     And someone suggested soaking the steaks after salting, which will simply waterlog the meat and ruin it (the salt remaining in the meat will draw water into it like a sponge). Don’t do it.

     Someone also raised the question of how it would affect someone, like me, on a low-salt diet. The answer is not at all, as long as it’s a occasional, maybe once a week, treat and you don’t live on the stuff.

     Great method which works as advertised – seems to me that most of the failures here are down to getting creative with the method (salting for 3 hours? Good God!).

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     How to Turn Cheap Choice Steaks into Gucci Prime Steaks » TipNut.com — 11/28/07 @ 3:25 pm

     [...] feature is from Steamy Kitchen with the recipe tip How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks. Massively salt your steaks 15 min – 1 hour before [...]

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     Foo Dina — 11/30/07 @ 12:57 pm

     You should call it a salt nap.

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     Joe Deez — 12/14/07 @ 3:52 pm

     I read about this technique on cook’s illustrated website a while ago, and they have a time-lapsed video that actually shows the process at work. I recommend at least one hour or even more, but 45 mins is good. With the video you can see the water being drawn out, then sucked back in. They also have a method for fool proof pan searing of thick steaks. Give it a try. I don’t cut my steak in half, and I use a polder thermometer inserted at the beginning to monitor for fear of overcooking if using time and then measuring.

     http://beef.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?name=Pan-Seared+Thick-Cut+Strip+Steaks&recipeids=4190#topOfPage
     1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat steaks dry with paper towel. Cut each steak in half vertically to create four 8-ounce steaks. Place steaks on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in center of steak registers 90 to 95 degrees for rare to medium-rare, 20 to 25 minutes, or 100 to 105 degrees for medium, 25 to 30 minutes.
     2. Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until smoking. Place steaks in skillet and sear steaks until well-browned and crusty, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each steak. (Reduce heat if fond begins to burn.) Using tongs, turn steaks and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer all steaks to wire cooling rack and reduce heat under pan to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 steaks on their sides. Holding steaks together, return to skillet and sear on all sides until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 steaks.
     3. Transfer steaks to wire cooling rack and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes while preparing pan sauce. Arrange steaks on individual plates and spoon sauce over steaks; serve immediately.

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     CheepEats — 12/21/07 @ 11:16 am

     Excellent. Pairing the salting with pan frying(ala Alton Brown) This is an amazingly great steak!
     Thanks!

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     fortunatefool — 12/23/07 @ 8:42 pm

     Jaden,

     I did try your method and it makes for a tasty steak.

     HOWEVER seasoning a steak is not the same as aging a steak!

     The process of aging is straightforward: complex proteins in beef are broken down by calpain (an enzyme) into BMPs (simple peptides). The reason this improves the taste is because BMP is inherently more flavorful than the original complex proteins. This is a similar process to MSG fermentation from seaweed.

     In no way is salt involved in this process. Calpain activity does depend on calcium, but table salt is sodium chloride.

     Papain found in commercial meat tenderizer is related to calpain, however, i have yet to encounter a natural tasting implementation.

     Adding salt will change the water balance (osmosis), however it will NOT result in BMP formation.

     Disclosure: I have a degree in biochemistry and am a physician.

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     Red Icculus — 1/5/08 @ 12:48 pm

     I used regular table salt, and while tender, it did leave my “sizzlin steak” a bit too salty.

     Thanks for the great write-up.

     Food and gardening articles at http://red-icculus.com

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     Elf M. Sternberg — 1/18/08 @ 2:37 am

     Jaden, if your husband is still trying to get that perfect medium-rare steak, allow me to recommend steak sous vide. I finally tried it this evening (with a better cut of steak than your technique would call for), and it was mindbogglingly good. I blogged about the process, but the molecular gastronomy blog has a much better description.

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     Becky — 1/19/08 @ 7:39 pm

     You ROCK!

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     infoodel — 1/19/08 @ 10:38 pm

     Wow! Thanks for sharing this.

     I just tried this with rump steak
     The taste was a little salty (I caked that steak in salt and don’t think I rinsed thoroughly enough) but the texture was oh so juicy!

     Question:- does denaturing the meat protein in this way prevent or detract from a fully-fledged maillard reaction on the surface? I can’t give an accurate opinion based on my results due to the residual salt.

     Hmm…will ponder this more next time I try.

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     John — 1/26/08 @ 9:55 pm

     WOW!!!! I’m not kidding, we just grilled some steaks up (in the rain ;-P )using this method.

     I’m stunned really! I have never had better steaks at home, and i have been making them as long as i can remember. If you havent tried this, then you need to. Thanks alot for the tip!!

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     AudBelle — 1/27/08 @ 3:19 pm

     Simply tantalizing! Love your wit! Thanks for the wonderful blog!

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     Paulino — 1/30/08 @ 9:19 am

     Hi,

     Who tried steak with asian souces? For me it seems not good combination?
     But I can be wrong. Let me know you opinion.

     Found one recipe here?
     http://www.steakhousefinder.com/best-steak-recipes/five-spice-steak/

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     David — 2/1/08 @ 10:40 am

     OK! I’m a big steak lover and I decided to try this yesterday. I ran down to Costco and purchased a pack of ribeyes… they were each about 1inch + all cut from the same cow the meat was all identical. I decided to prepare 2 steaks one the Salt Method and the other just spicing it with steak seasoning. I was convinced after looking at the 2 different steaks that the one with mega salt was not going to be so good. lol … i was wrong.

     After one hour the salted steak was just sopping in water, the other was just the same… no water build up just looked same as when i seasoned it. I picked up the salted steak and the place was full of water, in turn the i picked up the seasoned steak and not a drop of water. I then washed the salt off and patted it dry as described above. I then layed the 2 steaks next to each other, the differnce was clear, the salted steak was a lil thinner then the seasoned one.. the meat had a nice color and was softer to the touch vs the seasoned steak. At this point i was hopefull. I added peper and nothing else. I wanted to see if the flavor of the meat could stand on its own.

     I proceeded to cook these 2 under a brolier until medium rare. Sat down with the 2 steaks and first took a piece from the seasoned steak. Tasted good.. mostly the season but as expected, it was a lil tough. The moment of truth… I tried the salted version… OMG.. not only was this thing flavorfull.. more so then the seasoned one (remember only put peper after the salt) but tender! and juicy.. I tried one more seasoned steak to make sure.. bit chewed.. Yup still tough… I went back to salt and I was in heaven. Needless to say the seasoned steak was wasted.. i couldn’t eat it after the experience I had with the salted steak. Thanks for the great post and good recipe!

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     ToddCommish — 2/12/08 @ 6:38 pm

     OK, I tried this prep trick (it’s not really a recipe) and it worked beautifully. Three steaks, each about 1.25 inches thick. I let them stand on the counter for a half an hour to get the temperature balanced, sprinkled (but didn’t rub) kosher salt on both sides along with a few grinds of peppercorns, and let them sit for 15 minutes. When I came back, the salt was almost completely invisible on the surface. I rinsed each steak thoroughly under cold running water, and they were almost falling apart already. I used paper towels to dry them off and threw them onto a hot (400+) barbecue grill for 1 minute, turned them over for another minute, then turned them back over for 4-5 minutes (for the crisscross marking), and a final 4-5 minutes on the other side.

     They were the tenderest, steakiest (is that a word) steaks I had ever made. Now my wife wants them for a Valentine’s Day meal.

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     TREE-SEE — 2/23/08 @ 10:39 am

     THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE FUNNIEST YET MOST INFORMATIVE POST ON STEAKS I HAVE EVER READ. I WAS PRACTICALLY “R.O.T.F.L’N” (rolling on the floor laughing)WHILE READING THIS POST. I HAVE SOME PORTERHOUSE STEAKS WAITING FOR THIS PROCESS, I’M GOING TO GIVE IT A TRY AND HOPEFULLY ALL TURNS OUT TASTY AND JUICY!!!
     THANKS FOR THE GREAT TIP!!!!!

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     RKB — 2/28/08 @ 3:43 pm

     Steamy Kitchen, and/or whomever may be able to help me,

     Could I do this in a restaurant setting? After rinsing the salt off of the steak, could it be kept in a fridge until required? Would it affect the flavour at all?

     I just tried this recipe and it was incredible!!!!!!!

     Thanks

     RKB

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     SteamyKitchen — 2/28/08 @ 10:30 pm

     Hey RKB

     I’ve done it with great success, but you should do a test run. I’ve also used less salt + longer time in fridge and that works well too.

     Jaden

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     Food Lover — 3/6/08 @ 5:06 am

     The technique has been in existince for a long time, currently it’s called judyizing. Here’s a Los Angeles times article from 2006 that recommends this salting technique for turkey. http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcookrecnov15,0,5369608.story?coll=la-home-food

     By the way I’ve been using this technique on turkey (3-4 years) for many years, same with chicken (10+ years) and sometimes with beef.

     Also look into salt oven (similar technique except you use a lot more salt and make an oven), works wonders for seafood and smaller cuts of meat.

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     SteamyKitchen — 3/15/08 @ 7:51 pm

     Hey Ronald,

     I wonder how your oil tastes shoved up your bottom.

     Quit spamming me.

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     Ryan — 3/15/08 @ 10:09 pm

     I wonder what SteamyKitchen’s obsession with anal references is all about?

     (See comments 273 and 274)

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     SteamyKitchen — 3/15/08 @ 11:21 pm

     Ryan, sweetheart,

     I’ve changed 13,1440 diapers in the past 5 years. I’m entitled to to any butt references.

     

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     cheng — 3/20/08 @ 1:28 am

     Best post ever. Thank you!

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     wongway — 3/23/08 @ 10:56 pm

     Tried this technique with 2″ cut rib steaks and came out awesome. Along comes Easter, decided to do a rib roast. Light bulb idea, same technique.
     Ordered a 7-8 lb. rib roast. Local grocery store had a less than choice rib roast for $5.99 lb.

     Challenge, keeping a bunch of salt on a rib roast. McGyver idea, use a nylon stocking. Asked wife for an old pair of nylons, (clean) packed salt on one side of rib roast, slid into nylon, then salted and continued sliding nylon up until all sides covered. Tied off with a knot and massaged the roast until salt was evenly spaced round nylon. Salt stayed on roast, liquid drained from nylon, rib bones left room for liquid to drain. uh, discarded the nylons.

     Left in ice box for 12 hrs. Rinsed, dried, seasoned with garlic powder, pepper, basil leaves, thyme, and herbs de provence. no additional salt used. Sprayed with some cooking spray to coat the roast. Cooked in 500 degree oven for 20 minutes then lowered temp to 225 until internal temp reached 120 degrees. Turned off oven and temp eventually hit 136 degrees which was a little more done than I wanted but I lost track of time and it sat a little too long in the oven.

     The meat was really tender. could actually cut with a fork with a little pressure.

     I’ve used this cut of meat before and it has never been this tender. The roast had very little to no marbling to begin with and there was very little oil/drippings after cooking.

     This will be my new rib roast cooking technique from now on. Thanks for this post.

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     Lee — 3/31/08 @ 1:38 pm

     I did this with my thanksgiving turkey this last year. Alton Brown had an episode on brining (which is kind of what you are doing here) It was so juicy and flavorful. I will do it from now on with my turkeys. Now I will try it on my steaks. Mmm I can’t wait.

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     Steak Lover — 4/1/08 @ 1:39 pm

     I can’t wait to try this tonight on some of the not so prime pieces of meat I have in the deep freeze. I have 3 little kids and finding a way to eat the steak we want on a budget is definitely something I am interested in.

     Your art work is exceptional and I love your frank vocabulary.

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     ChrisJ — 4/1/08 @ 4:05 pm

     I’m going to try this myself. I think almost everyone enjoys a prime steak, and people who say they don’t are either a: lying, b: vegetarian, or c: both

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     Jason — 4/1/08 @ 8:07 pm

     Been meaning to try this since I found your page (several months ago). I finally got a chance with a top sirloin that was about 1.5 inches thick. I left the salt on one side only for about 45 minutes. It wasn’t full-on weeping, but the salt had definitely gotten “water-logged.” What I found curious was that the side I’d salted took on a leathery texture and a darker red than the rest of the meat.

     The good news is that the steak was totally delicious, and it was very very tender. I can’t honestly say this was because of the salt, since I didn’t do a side-by-side comparison, but I was encouraged to find that it was not overly salty (as some have complained). I may try salting both sides next time, since there wasn’t that much of a salt flavor. If it makes it twice as tender, so much the better!

     Thanks so much for an entertaining and informative post.

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     Jennifer — 4/2/08 @ 7:59 pm

     Can you try this technique with broiling the meat in the oven? Tonight I’m going to try it.

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     Jennifer — 4/3/08 @ 9:19 pm

     So I tried this with broiled steak and it was delicious! I can’t believe all the flavor that I put on top of it, and then rinsed off could still be tasted in the steak. The steak was tender, but not as tender as I hoped. I was hoping for a steak that’s so tender it melts in the mouth. But it wasn’t tough. I’m not complaining, it was good, and I will definitely be doing this for now on with my steak. Cuz the way I was doing it before wasn’t working. I could barely chew it. lol

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     wongway — 4/4/08 @ 6:31 pm

     Jennifer, Try leaving the salt on longer next time. Let the salt do it’s magic longer. It will discolor the steak but don’t let that scare you. I used to be a meat cutter in the 70′s and every so often this guy would come in and buy a NY strip loin. We would hang it on a hook in the walk-in refer with the other meats and let it sit until a fuzzy layer of mold had form over the entire loin. I then had to trim off all the slimy, smelly mold then wrap it up for him. The meat was a real dark color and the meat smelled really “gamey” but not a bad smell. Never tried it but the guy says it was great.
     He paid for the full weight of the loin and as it sat in the refer, it would lose moisture (drying out) and when I trimmed it, more weight would be cut off. Good luck on your next broiling session. Hard to make a Mis-Steak with this method!

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     John — 4/9/08 @ 11:57 am

     This is really a terrific method to tenderize a steak. I used to spend so much money on marinates and tried everything I could do get a nice juicy steak before but was never satisfied with the results. This can testify that this technique here works marvellously. My only gripe is that it’s very hard to pat dry the steak completely from salt after it sits on it for 30 mins or so. So the steak was very juicy and tender but also very salty at the same time. Gonna try using a paper towel next to dry it. I think that will work a lot better than pat drying

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     SteamyKitchen — 4/9/08 @ 12:24 pm

     John
     Rinse it off with water and immediately dry with paper towels. Don’t worry. If you rinse it quickly, the water won’t get reabsorbed – it just stays on surface and then you pat very well with dry paper towels. Works very well.

     xo, jaden

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     John — 4/9/08 @ 12:30 pm

     Thanks jaden, will try that!

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     Yudiram — 4/10/08 @ 4:50 am

     Just can not wait to try this recipe …

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     Yudiram — 4/11/08 @ 10:02 am

     Jaden, I tried your recipe on 1.5″ steak, sprinkle 1/2 spoon of salt for each side, and keep that way for about 15 mins, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.

     Instead of grilling, using pan and pre heat for 1 min, then put the steak on the pan, let each side fry about 5 mins.

     Total time from preparation until sit on a plate about 30 mins, that is fast !

     The steak itself, juicy and tender just what people said. Great !

     Thank you for sharing your recipe !

     YM
     Regard from Indonesia …

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     Halifax Building Society — 4/15/08 @ 4:02 pm

     Wow that looks great. I’m going to try this ASAP

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     Niall Harbison — 4/16/08 @ 5:08 pm

     Just found you through stumbleupon and loving the blog and the nice clean food pics! The design of the blog is also very simple and impressive! Would love to have some of your photos on my site http://www.ifoods.tv so as they can see a greater audience. Keep up the good work on the blog.

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     Thermador — 4/29/08 @ 6:09 pm

     Thank you VERY much for the info. This is a great blog post.

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     DJ Louder — 4/29/08 @ 6:11 pm

     I LOVE IT!! Time to make some stake! Thank you!

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     Dchapman — 4/30/08 @ 10:28 pm

     OMG!!!! This is the best steak that I HAVE EVER made. Thanks so much for the technique. All I can say is wow, wow, wow. After the salt bath for 20 minutes. I seasoned with basil, parsley, rosemary, olive oil, and a few other seasoning (non-salty) for about 3-5 minutes. That’s all it needed, and of course I topped with the garlic-herd butter.

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     DreCous — 5/4/08 @ 12:01 am

     Hi – Just wanted to say thank you…..this recipe was spot on. I used a pack of RibEyes and they were good, but I wasn’t really looking forward to them alone because I usually use them as stew meat. I wasn’t in the mood for stew but needed to cook the meat – found this (your) recipe information and *WOE***it really worked. It was the juciest piece of meat like prime rib tasting, and not at all salty. I was a bit afraid it would be. Normally I don’t eat the left over the next day, and it was actually even better. I just placed the left over on the upper part of the grill to warm up, and the jucies came right back out. Thank you – Oh BTW – your garlic butter is exceptional!

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     Judy — 5/7/08 @ 11:23 am

     Just wondered – would this work for pork chops…can’t ever seem to get them really tender when cooking. Thanks for your help.

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     Heather — 5/10/08 @ 5:29 pm

     I love this post…. layman’s terms, no other way to say it! And who DIDN’T sleep thru biology…. come ON.

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     Kelly — 5/11/08 @ 11:26 am

     This was a great post. It was humorous and definitely kept my attention. I shall try this for my mother today! I mean…since it is Mother’s Day and all….

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     For the Love of Food » Oven-Grilled T-Bone Steak — 5/12/08 @ 10:11 pm

     [...] I saw Jaden’s post on “How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime&#…, I had a craving for T-bone steak. I’d never made it on my own before. So, I inquired at my [...]

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     Boggy' — 5/14/08 @ 2:12 pm

     AWESOME!

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     Tracy — 5/15/08 @ 1:58 pm

     I’m going to try this for my husband’s birthday steaks tonight! (it’s rainy, and I may cook the steaks in a cast iron skillet–hope that’ll work)

     As a side note, I saw your Twitter posting earlier about wondering whether you should be offended about the gift of a size 12 dress. I know I need to lose some weight, but I wear a 12, and hadn’t really thought of myself as a “plus size”–:’(. That being said, it does seem odd the giver wouldn’t have checked on your size first!

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     Joe Deez — 5/15/08 @ 3:14 pm

     Tracy, if you have a therm probe, check out my post on December 14th on tips with a cast iron skillet. It’s a great way to cook steaks, don’t hope it’ll work, it’ll work good!

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     steakguy — 5/17/08 @ 4:10 pm

     back from the butcher with a beautiful top round, sea salt and seasonings. Let the experiment begin…………..

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     Jeff — 5/17/08 @ 9:42 pm

     I tried this on some 1 1/4″, $4/lb. Select (not even Choice!) ribeyes for dinner tonight. Sea salt for about 20-25 minutes, rinsed, dried, grilled. They came out delicious and not at all too salty. Thanks for the tip!

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     B On The Move - Tech News - Become the Memorial Day Grill Master [Grilling] — 5/23/08 @ 1:19 pm

     [...] the weekend, but only a Quarter-Pounder budget? Buy a cheap cut of “choice” meat, then salt, salt, salt the heck out of that thing—for only one hour before grilling, and then pat it dry. By doing so, your salt is breaking [...]

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     Life Clerks » Become the Memorial Day Grill Master [Grilling] — 5/23/08 @ 1:20 pm

     [...] the weekend, but only a Quarter-Pounder budget? Buy a cheap cut of “choice” meat, then salt, salt, salt the heck out of that thing—for only one hour before grilling, and then pat it dry. By doing so, your salt is breaking [...]

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     plusonic » Become the Memorial Day Grill Master — 5/24/08 @ 9:40 am

     [...] the weekend, but only a Quarter-Pounder budget? Buy a cheap cut of “choice” meat, then salt, salt, salt the heck out of that thing�for only one hour before grilling, and then pat it dry. By doing so, your salt is breaking in [...]

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     Pamela In Florida — 5/25/08 @ 12:15 am

     Just want to say…..it is all very confusing….too salty, not salty, just right, not so good….too annoying to make a decision to even try it…mainly because of the people who don’t listen and then remark!!! I hate that!!

     Try to simplify it again please….that can not be too difficult!

     I’m going to simplify it from what u say and just tell me it that’s it….nice and simple

     NUMBER 1. no matter what anybody here says….the MEAT MUST BE 1 AND 1/2 inches thick…is that too much for some of these stupid people….if you don’t know what an inch and a half is go back to school.

     NUMBER 2. u have claimed you r not even sure about how much damn salt to use…pleaseeeeee give me a break…..if you don’t know how the hell much to use how am I going to know……I’m not gonna go out and waste a ton of money on ribeye…bec. you don’t know how salt to use.

     NUMBER 3. you have listed only a select few cuts of meat so for the morons trying it on other cuts……I don’t know….shoot yourself or quit complaining.

     NUMBER 4. what the hell is the rinsing problem…..ohhh i didn’t rinse enough…or i need to try this again and rinse better….what r u retarded…RINSE THE FRIGGING MEAT….put it under the faucet and RINSE ALLLLL THE DAMN SALT OFF.

     NUMBER 5. pat dry…WTF is that….do u use paper towels, cloth towels, dish towels, bath towels, diapers….Give me a FBREAK!! dry the meat with what lady?
     my underware?

     NUMBER 6. following all of the above when you properly and clearly acknowledge your steps again…should yield according to you the most tender steak in the world…..let’s hope and when i taste it I will believe it.

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     Pamela In Florida — 5/26/08 @ 10:42 pm

     almost tried the salt thing on memorial day and decided i could not take a chance and ruin everyone’s dinner…plus there was no confirmation on your points as of this am….

     when i read all the details written out right down to the nitty gritty…i may give it a shot…but not holdin’ my breath.

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     Bunny — 5/28/08 @ 4:44 am

     I ran across this article recently via a link from another site. I was so intrigued with the steak-salting method that I read not only the article, but all the feedback and comments, too. Regarding some of those comments, a few things stuck with me:

     1. If a person can’t stand a little bit of cussin’, they have no business being online, watching television or reading books in the first place. Dammit!

     2. I noticed that most who complained of saltiness had either used more salt than called for, a thinner piece of steak than called for, left the salt on so long that it’s amazing there was more than a quarter-size piece of steak left TO grill, or in some cases all of the above. If you’re not willing to fully read and follow the instructions, then don’t gripe about the outcome.

     3. To the person who insisted the salt in the photo is table salt vs. kosher salt. Perhaps it’s as simple as some of the salt having dissolved (or being in the process thereof) when the pic was taken? Some of the grains were still pretty large. Regardless, what a petty thing to make a stink about.

     4. Some guy had the nerve to say he’d done an unbiased side-by-side experiment (you know, the kind where someone condemns the outcome before trying it, won’t say what cut of meat was used, uses twice the instructed amount of salt for size/portion and then has buddies taste-test the result…that kind of unbiased). No surprise what his test results were, huh?

     You’d think someone so interested in disproving this salting method could be bothered to buy two steaks or at least cut one in half for his so-called experiment. Guess he figured that the salting would result in a vertically linear reaction only and that the status of one part of the steak wouldn’t overlap/join/affect the other in any way. Unfortunately, because Experto El Cheapo didn’t use two separate pieces of meat and didn’t properly follow the stated directions, his “unbiased” results have no semblance of accuracy.

     What an ass to come to this blog for the sole purpose of picking on the author’s typo, truthfulness of sources and method of salting without even trying it before spouting off. I sense a green-eyed monster, and I know which “occasional-contributor-to-a-food-column” I *won’t* be reading.

     5. PETA people, please. I doubt anyone here is an animal-hater (have several rescue cats myself), and I doubt your terror tactics will turn anyone away from a delicious moo-steak. In fact, you might drive some of us to become selective cannibals, you know :::chasing with fork:::

     6. The guy who stops at this blog ONLY to take offense at any ass reference whatsoever, I think you need to just shove it.

     After all the time I spent reading the comments, I felt like chiming in too! Turning the rant off now, though, so that I can compliment Jaden. Thank you so much for the wonderful article on achieving the most delicious steak. I’ve tried it and, when followed properly, it works like a charm! I love your writing style — smart and funny, with great advice and recipes. I can’t wait to explore the rest of your awesome site!

     Bunny

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     lalex — 5/28/08 @ 11:32 am

     Yer not gettin� off easy there, lady!

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     emily — 5/28/08 @ 7:50 pm

     i tried this tonight and cooked for my very picky, steak-’connoisseur’ kid brother who goes to school in wisconsin (dairy/beef motherland)and came out with the most terrific steak ever!
     it was so juicy and moist inside. i heated a cast iron skillet with grooves til it was very hot and seared both sides for about 4 minutes (for a 1.5in sirloin) and put it in the oven and broiled it for about 7 minutes.
     absolutely amazing! love the pictures and descriptions.

     someone mentioned doing it to vegetables.. but osmosis doesn’t work the same for plants! because they have a cell wall and have turgor pressure which allows the insides to exand and not really exchange water to create homeostasis… (i’m studying for my dental exams so all this is fresh!)

     thanks for this!

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     The Official YT Guys Club Thread - Page 57 - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community — 5/30/08 @ 12:56 pm

     [...] 30-45 minutes, then just grind some pepper on top, then grill on high (4-5 minutes per side)… How to Turn Cheap

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     The Official YT Guys Club Thread - Page 57 - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community — 5/30/08 @ 1:32 pm

     [...] 30-45 minutes, then just grind some pepper on top, then grill on high (4-5 minutes per side)… How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steaks into Gucci “Prime” Steaks | Jaden’s … I overcooked mine for maybe 30 seconds or a minute, but it still tasted great, and it was juicy [...]

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     The Official YT Guys Club Thread - Page 58 - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community — 5/30/08 @ 5:45 pm

     [...] 30-45 minutes, then just grind some pepper on top, then grill on high (4-5 minutes per side)… How to Turn Cheap

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     Jared — 6/1/08 @ 5:13 am

     So I FINALLY did this last night (after posting about it six months ago – http://thecarnivoreproject.typepad.com/the_carnivore_project/2007/09/steaks-and-salt.html) on a gorgeous t-bone from a farmer’s market. I followed your recipe pretty precisely – just smushed garlic, posh sea salt and rosemary. And remembered to wash off all the salt… and it was the BEST STEAK EVER. I mean, wow.

     Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

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     Antiques — 6/5/08 @ 2:49 pm

     That steak looks amazing. I am definitely going home tonight and preparing this dish because it looks absolutely delicious. The fact that this steak is rare really makes it mouthwatering, I NEED STEAK ASAP.

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     Tenina — 6/10/08 @ 8:30 am

     OK, trying this one tomorrow, will let you know how it goes! You are such a refreshing read and full of facts too!! Who knew???
     Thanks Steamy…your newest fan!

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     Vu Bui — 6/10/08 @ 11:38 am

     Wow. I’m a little late to the table here!

     I had checked out your website before, when we had initially spoken (or tweeted) but I didn’t actually get into any depth until today. You have a fantastic writing style and your images are wonderful!

     I am also going to try out this recipe. I’m not the best cook because I don’t have much patience… if I’m hungry enough to cook then I’m hungry enough to want it now… but I think I can exert some self control and try to make things decent. Lan and Bonny will probably put your recipes to much better use… they actually enjoy cooking.

     So when are we going to start shooting your cooking show?

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     steak recipes — 6/11/08 @ 3:39 am

     [...] at a party today and both were AMAZING!!! You helped contribute to an awesome spread of grilled …http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks/Steak Recipes like Beef Roulade, Cube Steak, Filet Mignon, Flank Steak …Steak recipes like Beef [...]

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     Nathan — 6/13/08 @ 12:45 pm

     How long do you thaw the steak before using this method? I’ve got steaks that are about 3/4 inch thick. It’s noon now, and I know that since this article is so old, I probably won’t get a reply, nevermind one from you, but I’ll try anyway. I need an answer quick!
     Thanks

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     Nathan — 6/13/08 @ 1:42 pm

     How long do I thaw the steak before doing this. My steak is about 3/4 inch thick. Sorry if this is a duplicate post, but My first post didn’t seem to come up.

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     SteamyKitchen — 6/13/08 @ 2:01 pm

     Nathan – thaw until it’s not frozen…i.e. it feels like meat not ice.

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     Tenina — 6/20/08 @ 12:22 pm

     Had to come back and tell you I tried and it worked…what was interesting was that I had a piece left over that I did not cook on the day of salting…and used 2 nights later in a curry…it melted in the mouth literally. It was amazing…so thanks for the tip, though I still love a good scotch fillet (at $34.99 a kilo in Australia!!!)

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     Food and Beer » Blog Archive » Good steak doesn’t have to be expensive — 6/27/08 @ 12:45 pm

     [...] I was browsing food blogs right before lunch, torturing myself, and I came across this. I had no idea Gucci sold steaks as well as leather goods, but this woman thinks they do. Anyway, I [...]

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     Van — 6/27/08 @ 1:10 pm

     I will try this tonight.

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     Melissa — 6/30/08 @ 5:53 am

     Hey! Thank you so much for this post. I brought a budget cut on my way home and am giving it half an hour bathed in salt as I write. Can’t wait. It is the simplicity that is so good about this… and I’m pleased to know exactly what my stake is doing in the other room osmosing away.

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     Donna Salas — 7/4/08 @ 3:06 pm

     love it!!

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     The Susanne » Twisted Pork Chops — 7/5/08 @ 3:12 pm

     [...] Tenderise the meat and give it a lovely flavour: [...]

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     Easy Meals « The Mom Speaks — 7/11/08 @ 11:14 am

     [...] you’re saying to yourself, “Salt as a tenderizer?! What?!” Yup. I read this at Steamy Kitchen and thought the same [...]

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     Kacunnin — 7/14/08 @ 8:18 am

     I tried this yesterday with a bunch of ribeye steaks — I was skeptical, but WOW, the results were amazing! I followed the directions exactly (used about 1 tsp Kosher salt on each side of each steak, and let them stand for 45 minutes). I grilled them medium rare — my guests were delighted. I’m serious — the meat tasted tender, juicy, and flavorful. As for the “saltiness question,” yes, you can taste some saltiness. But just remember not to use any additional salt during cooking or eating. Those who simply never use salt (either during cooking or on their food) may find the steak a bit too salty. My guests and I enjoyed the taste very much. Thanks so much for sharing this. I will definitely try it again.

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     Mindy — 7/17/08 @ 5:00 pm

     I just loved your blog…so funny!! Thanks for the great info on steaks and butter!

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     Jandimac — 7/20/08 @ 2:33 pm

     I know you did not mention it so probably I don’t have to, but I need to ask….Do I use a meat mallet or fork pierce the meat first?

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     Seroquel xr. — 7/21/08 @ 6:18 pm

     Seroquel xr….

     Seroquel xr….

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     Recipe: Pan Seared, Thick Cut Steak — 7/22/08 @ 7:23 am

     [...] steak related test? Salting! Actually I already sort of do this. I put a healthy amount of salt on and then let the steak sit [...]

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     Lee — 7/24/08 @ 11:27 am

     I just found your site and totally agree with this article. With food this good, who needs to go out to a restaurant and spend a fortune. Also, this article gave me a good laugh because of the great analogies you use to explain things. I love this site and it’s now in my favorites!

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     A steamy inteview with Jaden Hair | The Entrenewbie — 8/4/08 @ 9:01 am

     [...] traffic spiked when her story about making a $5 steak taste like a $50 steak hit lifehacker and spent some time on the front page of digg.� However, before that spike she [...]

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     Micheal P. — 8/9/08 @ 11:27 am

     Very disappointed to see all the praise over a post that just basically tells you to dip a steak in salt and cook it. There is several other very precise methods needed during the preparation and cooking, And it is essentially the same thing as brining. Brining will not waterlog the steak because it is not meant to be done for several hours, using your time table, brine that long and you will have the exact same result. I promise, I have did both methods several times. Take time to learn about proper preparation, cooking and resting of the steak if you want to impress your freinds, and yes, choice will be just fine.

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     jackandjillputupablog.com » “Sear” to the “Oven” to the s.t.e.a.k. “Steak” — 8/12/08 @ 12:06 pm

     [...] also found another great blog post “How to Turn Cheap ‘Choice’ Steaks into Gucci ‘Prime’ Steaks.” from the very funny SteamyKitchen.com. I found it to be a terrific method to use during the [...]

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     Ejo — 8/15/08 @ 2:55 am

     Last week I held a bbq party for my best friend’s birthday. I have never done steak bbq previously, usually I prepared asian-style satay bbq. After looking for steak recipe for some time, I found this posting and I decided to try Jaden’s Gucci steak recipe.
     I tried 1″ rib eye with 1/4 teaspoon sea salt on each side for 15 minutes, rinse the salt off, put some black pepper and then grilled medium. I prepared this for 12 person.
     The result …, voila! It’s magical! The steak was so juicy, tender and the taste was just perfect!
     Thanks to Jaden for sharing this amazing steak recipe. Greetings from Singapore.

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     abby — 8/16/08 @ 10:30 am

     Hi,

     this is very unusual, i grew up eating steak and my family believed that salt makes the meat tough. for us, to enjoy a really good prime meat, is pay for it… Will definitely try this very soon! i have one question though, will salting time differ if steak is to be slated FROZEN?

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     abby — 8/16/08 @ 10:33 am

     sorry for the typo error. again, my question is: Will salting time differ if the steak is to be SALTED FROZEN?

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     SteamyKitchen — 8/16/08 @ 10:07 pm

     Abby -I’ve never tried salting frozen…I don’t think it would be effective.

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     Right Wing Nation � This Is Hilarious — 8/18/08 @ 3:30 pm

     [...] “I am rosemary, not a green centipede.” [...]

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     Robert — 8/19/08 @ 8:40 am

     Hey Jaden, I actually used this technique on some 1 1/4 inch thick T-bone last weekend and was thoroughly impressed at how well this worked. Thanks you so much for posting that as well all the other amazing and entertaining posts. I always get a chuckle reading your blog.

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     Welcome Jaden! | Free Complete Recipe Collection — 8/20/08 @ 4:24 am

     [...] and drop-dead delicious Asian food. (Actually, not only Asian food, take a look at this post on cooking steak, and her fresh ginger [...]

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     diyhealthkit.com » Blog Archive » Welcome Jaden! — 8/20/08 @ 6:39 am

     [...] and drop-dead delicious Asian food. (Actually, not only Asian food, take a look at this post on cooking steak, and her fresh ginger [...]

476. 476

     Delicious Days » Welcome Jaden! — 8/20/08 @ 1:17 pm

     [...] and drop-dead delicious Asian food. (Actually, not only Asian food, take a look at this post on cooking steak, and her fresh ginger [...]

477. 477

     Food Blogsite » Blog Archive » Welcome Jaden! — 8/22/08 @ 6:15 pm

     [...] and drop-dead delicious Asian food. (Actually, not only Asian food, take a look at this post on cooking steak, and her fresh ginger [...]

478. 478

     How to Turn Cheap ?Choice? Steaks into Gucci ?Prime? Steaks; Mmmmnnn tasty! « Sun Glasses — 8/25/08 @ 11:59 am

     [...] read more | digg story [...]

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     Mike @ NYYU — 8/25/08 @ 3:46 pm

     Used a london broil, kosher salt, shredded fresh basil and garlic powder. Wrapped it in plastic wrap for an hour. Rinsed, dried, grilled.

     PERFECT!

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     Welcome Jaden! | Low Price Cooking — 9/1/08 @ 10:38 pm

     [...] and drop-dead delicious Asian food. (Actually, not only Asian food, take a look at this post on cooking steak, and her fresh ginger [...]

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     julie — 9/2/08 @ 11:33 am

     In a totally unrelated comment, Mr. Burke? Where did you go to school?
     My chem teacher (a thousand years ago was named Mr. Burke)…
     Julie

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     JadaBeachal — 9/2/08 @ 5:23 pm

     hey ))
     its very interesting point of view.
     Good post.
     realy good post

     thank you

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     luvey — 9/3/08 @ 4:32 pm

     thanks for the great recipe – my steaks are sitting in their salt awaiting the grill – I will let you know the results – great idea for a marinade – all others have failed so far with this loin of beef I have bought

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     Salty Steak « NotHemingway — 9/4/08 @ 3:43 pm

     [...] sipping on another beer and have just salted the life out of a less than awesome ribeye based on this method.� It is my second time doing it and as soon as it stops raining outside, I’m gonna grill it [...]

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     Andie Summerkiss — 9/15/08 @ 2:02 am

     Those are great and very helpful tips. I will practice that soon. The steak do look delicious.

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     munchies — 9/15/08 @ 8:06 pm

     what an awesome article !! excellent, one question can i mix the salt with any other spices ??

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     Salt �till ya Drop « NotHemingway — 9/17/08 @ 2:11 am

     [...] doing something “rare” today.� It’s a guest commentary on the Salt Steak I posted on awhile back.� This Fredericksburg Flash fella knows his stuff and must have very low [...]

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     Don — 9/18/08 @ 3:05 pm

     My wife thinks I am an absolute butt-munch with this process BUT IT WORKS!!!!
     This is the zillionth time I have done it and doing it right now. It makes for a great steak that my picky 3 year old and 15 month old can’t eat enough of! Damn kids..Thanks!

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     JMom — 9/19/08 @ 10:54 am

     Great post! I’ll have to try out this method next time I grill steaks. We’ve cut down on our steak consumption as we have been having some bad luck with the quality of steaks we’ve been getting (we thought). But maybe it’s our cooking method that needs work. I’ve never pre-salted steaks before as they always tell you this is what dries it out.

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     Lynn — 9/20/08 @ 7:07 pm

     Very cute lesson in steak preparation, the bourbon does good things .

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     aileen — 9/27/08 @ 1:30 am

     thanks so much! tried it on some 7bone steak I got for .79c/lb. Ha, I thought it was a typo for Tbone steak. Anyhow.. it worked GREAT! the steak was SO incredibly tender.. just a tip to others.. be sure to RINSE WELL! I didn’t rinse one steak all the way and it was incredibly salty.

     THANKS again!

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     Richard Shih » Blog Archive » Barbecue. Done. — 9/29/08 @ 3:42 am

     [...] The guacamole involved lots and lots of chopping; the potato salad the same; and unfortunately the salting of the steaks ended up in some slightly too salty steaks. I think I just salted it too much (1 hour on each [...]

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     Broken Arrow — 9/30/08 @ 12:55 pm

     Stumbled upon your website looking for a tenderizing solution for elk steak. Elk steaks are extremely lean and can dry out on the grill. Will the salting process keep the inside moist? Until now I was considering a marinade – red wine, or vinegar and oil – but now I’m curious. Can you give me some advice?

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     SteamyKitchen — 9/30/08 @ 1:01 pm

     Hey there, salting should work the same for elk steaks. Experiment – try one salted and another non salted. Red wine vin, olive oil and garlic make an excellent marinade.

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     ???????????? » Eileen Likes To Eat — 10/1/08 @ 6:45 pm

     [...] ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Jayden’s Steamy Kitchen????????????Jayden????????????????????????????(osmosis)????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? [...]

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     How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen - Modern Asian Recipes and Cooking — 10/2/08 @ 1:30 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap �Choice� Steaks into Gucci �Prime� Steaks | Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen -… [...]

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     Shesthinking — 10/2/08 @ 7:54 pm

     I am trying this right now! I mean I am scared about the salt thing but hey, I have screwed up steaks in way worse ways than over-salting. I love experimenting so I will definately post a follow up to let you know the results. Loved your post!

     http://www.shesthinking.wordpress.com

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     Amanduh — 10/3/08 @ 9:18 am

     I read this article last night, and ran out to buy steaks. I’m going to try a meat tenderizer and kosher salt combo. I bought some porterhouse steaks on sale and will be putting them under the broiler tonight. Wish me luck!

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     Steak + salt = love (+ rediscovering sweet potato — 10/11/08 @ 10:09 pm

     [...] alot about salting the meat, and because rump is flavourful but can be tough I thought I would give this technique a try. It seems the opposite of everything that I have been taught about steak, but boy [...]

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     Laurie — 10/14/08 @ 12:16 pm

     This is laugh out loud, kick butt advice that I can not wait to try! I don’t remember the last time a blog entry cracked me up as much as this one did. Thanks for taking the time to figure all the sciencey stuff out. I think Mr. Burke should be proud.

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     John Paul Khoury,ACF/CCC — 10/27/08 @ 1:09 am

     Nice work!

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     Artisan Steak Tasting: Foodbuzz 24/24/24 | AppetizingRecipes.com — 10/27/08 @ 10:10 pm

     [...] Prime. I’ve also been able to pump up the taste and tenderness of Choice steaks by my salting method, a popular post which has swung around the internet several [...]

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     Annie — 10/28/08 @ 1:20 am

     Wow! I have done this basically to Thanksgiving turkey by brining the turkey with salt water and herbs but never to steak! Thanks for the great tips.

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     Bethany — 10/28/08 @ 8:03 am

     I have to say My sister who can’t cook a thing taught me how to make the best steak ever! She drowns it in salt but not any salt… it has to be Hawaiian salt…the pinky stuff! Wow, it’s absolutely delicious! You truly can turn cheap steak to prime gucci steak

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     addie — 10/28/08 @ 2:18 pm

     I didn’t even know all that. i’m going to make steak tonight based off your directions. i think i can no longer hold the title of “Addie’s best steak” Congratulations Hayette!

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     Helene — 10/29/08 @ 4:44 pm

     This salting process didn’t cause controversy OR confusion in MY kitchen!…..It caused me to be put up on a pedestal with my glass of merlot! Thanks Jaden, you’ve made me “queen of the grill”.

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     Marinated Sirloin with Vegetables « Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part — 10/29/08 @ 5:50 pm

     [...] fancy cuts of beef, you should check out her salting method for turning boring pieces of meat into Gucci pieces of meat (which I will be trying and blogging about soon!). Which reminds me, I’m pretty excited about [...]

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     Steve Graves — 10/30/08 @ 7:40 am

     Interesting indeed, thank you!

     I’ve been using just a touch of Kosher salt on my steaks and then cooking them ala ‘reverse sear’. My next steak will be with the “massive amounts” of Kosher that you suggest.

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     Jim D — 11/2/08 @ 1:08 pm

     Salting Steaks a success!!!
     THank you so much for the process for salting steaks. I grilled two rib eyes last night – unbelievable!!!

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     abadeeba — 11/11/08 @ 7:23 pm

     great…now i’m absolutely starving.

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     Gucci Steak with Garlic Herb Butter « Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part — 11/12/08 @ 10:36 am

     [...] Recipe for Gucci Steak with Garlic Herb Butter [...]

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     jazze — 11/12/08 @ 11:32 am

     hi buddy thanks for the recipe of the salty steak i did what u told and it works but not any wonders the steak had taste but lost a lot of moisture became a bit dry while on the other side i tried it with a freshly salted and peppered minutes before cooking piece of meat that worked wonders and i added a bit of garlic and herb also that my friend turned out marvelous try that and lemmme know……

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     Something to Eat « From Laurel Street — 11/15/08 @ 1:27 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap Choice Steaks into Gucci Prime Steaks [...]

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     Popdaddy — 11/21/08 @ 12:44 am

     this method will cause chaos, confusion and controversy

     Here’s my video of doing your steak. Enjoy.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkCcDy6vGDM

     Thanks for inspiration.

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     Estetik — 11/28/08 @ 6:19 pm

     The next step would be to marinate in Soy Sauce. Soy Sauce is high in salt and glutamates, which is part of umami (meaty delicious flavor). This increases the beefy-ness of your steaks, and a 15 minute marinade will leave you with the most intensely beefy steak. I would then brown some butter and olive oil and then pan-sear to a nice crispy crust and finish in the oven. I’ve been making my steaks like this since I was 12 and I’ve never realized the science behind it til I picked up the latest cook’s illustrated.

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     Jason — 11/29/08 @ 11:02 pm

     Wow! That is a great explanation!

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     USDA Prime Steaks — 12/10/08 @ 11:02 am

     Thanks for the tips. I am a little bit worried about the effect of all that sauce but it is certainly worth a try.

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     lewsta — 12/12/08 @ 4:12 pm

     hey, great article, I can’t wait to try it. BUT— can’t ya keep the language family friendly? Do you think you get extra points for being crude and crass? You will limit your readership wich your foul language. I see no reason to expose kids to such talk, so THEY won’t be on here. Which means the family won’t be very often. Clean up your language. You can convey the wonders of your craft and remain family friendly. Honest. And NO ONE will miss the fould stuff. Honest.

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     Karkar — 12/18/08 @ 3:55 pm

     Found this through pure desparation, bought an eye of round roast on accident instead of rib eye steaks. Having my boyfriend over for mushrooms and steak stirfry and didn’t want to disappoint him. I do not doubt this will turn out excellent. Thank you for the best website I’ve stumbled across in a long time.

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     Derek — 12/19/08 @ 4:05 pm

     Awesome post. It all sounds perfectly logical to me, but I read a lot of Alton and McGee. Some of the same principles were used for this Newspaper steak, but I have a feeling your is more consistently reproducible. I’ll be trying this soon – snow be damned.

     http://www.gastronomicfightclub.com/blog/food/2005/05/salt-steak.cfm

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     James — 12/25/08 @ 1:13 pm

     Thanks for the recipe!! I tried it with steak and asparagus for my girlfrieds birthay. She was blow away and it was way cheaper that going out to eat. I would recommend it to anyone.

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     Prime Steak — 12/29/08 @ 10:26 pm

     I can not wait to try !

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     Gregory Bastow — 12/30/08 @ 4:56 am

     I’ve cooked meat like for years, but I recently came accross an AMAZING, and I mean AMAZING little device called a Jaccard Meat Tenderizer. What it does it puts 48 little holes into the exterior of the meat that allows flavour to transmit much faster, and speeds this whole process up by about 20 percent.

     Oddly enough by poking all those little wholes, you are not losing flavour but actually allowing the outside to caramalize that much faster.

     Amazing device.

     http://www.amazon.com/Jaccard-Tendermatic-Meat-Tenderizer-Blade/dp/B001347JK6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1230627255&sr=8-1

     Cheers
     Gregory

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     Chris Posey — 1/5/09 @ 10:27 am

     This is truly great! I like to spinkle finely-ground brown sugar in while making the butter. It almost acts like a glazing effect when butter melts on the steak. Thanks for the tips and keep ‘em coming!!

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     Maggie L — 1/16/09 @ 3:34 pm

     I tried this last night and it made my ribeye steaks so tender! Do you rinse the steak off or really scrub it under the running water? i just rinsed and they were verging on too salty, but DELICIOUS. lots of emphasis on delicious! thank you for the gucci steak! yum!!

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     PM — 1/21/09 @ 6:36 am

     Hi Guys
     Great to hear about this method.
     Always looking for tender, lean and mean steak.

     Just worried that 1 hour of salting will be too much. 1/2 hour sounds much better.
     Also I love Rump Steak
     Would this method work with rump?

     Lastly any one have any recipe’s for some great sauces that can be placed over the steak once its grilled.

     PM

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     SteamyKitchen — 1/21/09 @ 9:00 am

     PM- Salt based on how thick. Experiment with it – so start with a 1/2 hour and see if you like it. It works on any type of meat – if you’re using rump, just make sure it’s cut thin like a 1″ steak (i.e. not a roast)

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     Suzi — 2/4/09 @ 3:42 pm

     Thank you for the great explanation and tips! There is this roast I make now and then at Christmas that you rub with herbs, THEN completely cover under over and around with at least an inch of rock salt and bake till the meat thermometer says done. It is a cheap roast, BUT the salt does exactly what you say and the texture is even through and through. It’s one of my family’s favorites!

     NOW, I am excited to try some less expensive steaks and see how this little salt trick works. I feel certain that it will!

     One of the commentators here didn’t seem to like your language. Let me say this! I LOVE it! You are so funny, genuine, and real! You admit your mistakes, and have very descriptive ways of letting us know how you feel! Wish I could enjoy a glass of bourbon and ice with you on occasion!! Also, what kid reads recipes? Family friendly? Bah!!! Let your amazing personality show! It’s one reason why I come here!

     Off to buy some cheapo steaks!!

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     Jill — 2/12/09 @ 12:52 am

     All I have to say is THANK YOU!
     I sat down at my P/C at 5:30 looking how to cook a good steak and I found this website, our steak dinner was ready by 6:45.
     I am not a good cook at all and I love to eat out, esp. steaks, but with economy like it is I am trying to cook more. Thanks to this recipe I finally cooked steaks that my kids loved (without ketchup) but my dogs were a little upset because they did not get their usual left overs. I called my entire family and told them I cooked a steak that tasted Wonderful. Now I can’t wait to cook another steak. My Husband and children thank you also!!!!

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     Pikelet and Pie » Blog Archive » Steak + salt = love (+ rediscovering sweet potato) — 2/15/09 @ 5:47 am

     [...] alot about salting the meat, and because rump is flavourful but can be tough I thought I would give this technique a try. It seems the opposite of everything that I have been taught about steak, but boy [...]

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     Kitchen Pro — 2/15/09 @ 2:06 pm

     Beautiful Steaks!!

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     estetik — 2/17/09 @ 11:40 am

     Very nice and lovely steaks.

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     Melanie Maddison — 2/19/09 @ 1:31 am

     Wow, now I am hungry! Those look like the best steaks I have ever seen.

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     Beatriz — 2/23/09 @ 4:29 pm

     I’m going to try this today. Sounds great!!! I’m excited

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     Jan — 2/28/09 @ 1:36 am

     I like the way you blog. love the pics, love the words! Very amusing

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     dennis e.hortonII — 2/28/09 @ 9:54 am

     great recipe!!!!!!! My wife and I love meat!, any meat! But steak, especially filet!
     What is all the talk lately about the validity of skirt steak?? Great stuff and to the prudes- swear away!!!!!!

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     caperberry — 3/1/09 @ 10:34 pm

     this is great. thank you for making it so easy to understand.

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     balon — 3/4/09 @ 8:58 am

     it look like delicious. i will try to make this cook.

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     cinsel sorunlar — 3/4/09 @ 9:12 am

     Very nice and lovely steaks.

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     Help Perfect My Steak - The Secret Recipe Forum — 3/4/09 @ 11:11 am

     [...] for my money cannot compare to that of restaurants but recently I came across the following site Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak whereby using a neat trick helps turn cheap steak into prime cut steak. Well I really haven’t [...]

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     stace — 3/5/09 @ 12:42 pm

     I was appalled to read the comment that asked you to sensor your beautiful language. If I didnt fully enjoy your “voice” I wouldnt have read 1000 words on how to salt a steak. All these grilling children will just have to suck up your use of the word Ass.

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     anna — 3/7/09 @ 3:43 am

     nice article! I’m gonna try this with a sirloin I got today. love the pictures lol

     if your kid is old enough to read an article about grilling steak, he’s probably old enough to have heard the words “ass” and “crap.” uh ohhhhh I said a swear! :X don’t let your kids near my livejournal.

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     Foog — 3/10/09 @ 3:05 pm

     Very nice informative post. Thanks for sharing what you learned through your hard work.

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     Les — 3/10/09 @ 3:49 pm

     Why offend any of your readers by using inappropriate language? Leaving out the four-letter words won’t take anything away from your “voice,” but will have the positive effect of showing restraint and maturity. Or, you can just continue appealing to 20-somethings. Up to you.

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     Rui — 3/15/09 @ 10:51 pm

     great info, gonna try it tonight. Article is written very well too. Good to see someone writing, the way that we actually speak. For those who don’t like the language, Well you can go and get Fu#$ed haha

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     Syd — 3/16/09 @ 2:59 pm

     I decided to give this technique a tough–no pun intended–test on a 1.75″ thick “simmering steak.” It worked remarkably well. The resulting steak was tender and juicy, albeit a little salty for my liking. I think I’d be more viogourous with the rinsing or I’ll take off 10 minutes of ‘marinating time.’

     BTW – I love your photography!!! Thanks for you sharing your tips.

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     Steak and Eggs « Omnomnominator’s Blog — 3/20/09 @ 8:37 pm

     [...] meat. Cover both sides with salt and let sit at room temp. for a half hour.  I found this idea at http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/08/28/how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks. In the meantime, once the grill was warmed, I threw on a sweet potato wrapped in foil and some [...]

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     Thomas — 3/20/09 @ 9:00 pm

     We noticed no difference, other than a slight salty taste and a cured-pork-like firmness. If you can find USDA Prime cheap (i.e. Costco/Sams), buy it instead, there is no comparison (buttery melting steak versus briney ham steak???)

     I would recommend that everyone trys out the “sous vide” method if they are looking for more bang for your buck. It truly works (i.e. turning a chuck roast into a prime rib is real, albeit 24 hours later.) plus you get a great beefy “au jus” all ready inside the bag.

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     Ashley — 3/24/09 @ 7:31 am

     Hello! Thanks for this tip…I tried it on shoulder steak and couldn’t believe the flavor! It was still a little tough after I left it on for 20 min. tho (less than 1 inch steak), so I was wondering what you’d recommend for a filet mignon timing wise. My parents are coming over for a joint birthday dinner, and I really want to impress them.

     Thank you so much!

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     SteakTel — 3/28/09 @ 1:37 pm

     As a steak lover, I appreciate your steak tips. I’m truly amazed at how simple it is to prepare a prime in this manner. This will be one for my books.

     Regards,
     Rus
     Steak House

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     Steak « James Tang — 3/29/09 @ 9:47 pm

     [...] an interesting article for those who don’t want to pay $20-25 for a pound of [...]

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     The Gucci Steak Experiment | Barefoot Foodie — 3/30/09 @ 6:16 pm

     [...] after weeks of coming back to the culinary wonder that is Steamy Kitchen, I decided to give it a go. The basic idea is to salt the crap out of your steaks for up to an hour [...]

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     Dan — 3/31/09 @ 8:52 pm

     First time I’ve found a cooking tecnique so amusing (Maybe it’s the Sailor Jerry Rum and Coke). And I have a question. I don’t have sea or kosher so could I use californua garlic salt? Don’t want to risk a dui. Also does this method affect the cooking time?

     Method does not affect cooking time. You can use garlic salt if the salt in it is large crystals like kosher. Most garlic salts use table salt – which is very very fine and you’ll end up with steak too salty. ~jaden

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     Ode to a Meat Pie. Plus 100 other things I have to do. « Laurel Street Blog — 4/2/09 @ 2:58 pm

     [...] speaking of tips – check out this fantastic post I found on SteamyKitchen.com Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak The secret? In a nutshell, a dry marinade of salt for one hour before cooking (then rinsed [...]

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     Umamichef20 — 4/3/09 @ 2:06 pm

     Wow, I just found your article. Its funny and informative at the same time. I have been working on perfecting steak flavor. Taking a lesser cut and turning it into a masterpiece is where the satisfaction is for sure. Have you tried taking an entire striploin or ribeye and dry aging? I found this new way to dry age recently on http://www.drybagsteak.com Have you tried it? I think if you dry age some select cuts you can get the tenderness and flavor of prime, especially following your cooking method.

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     curt marwitz — 4/13/09 @ 10:06 am

     I have been cutting meat for 30 years. I appreciate the way you cut trough the nonsense. I like Alton Brown. I work at a grocery store as a meat cutter and they call me “the counselor” . If you can’t find the answer find CURT, that’s me. I would like to sell steaks on line and I’m not sure how to get started. If you could help me I could help you. Thank you for your time. curt.marwitz@gmail.com

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     Pork Chops with Bell Peppers « Buttered BlasphAmy’s Blog — 4/16/09 @ 3:34 am

     [...] this particular night I ended up with two honking cuts of pork loin. A while back I discovered a trick to tenderizing and seasoning steak that I decided to apply to my pork [...]

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     Rosemary — 4/16/09 @ 6:48 am

     I am going to try this tonight, will let you know how it turned out. I so hope it works as I love soft juicy steak and can not always get to my regular butcher (they hang the meat for +3 weeks).

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     laura — 4/17/09 @ 6:54 pm

     It WORKS!! I’ve tried this method on three diffrent steaks, two filets and a porterhouse. They all were well marbled SELECT, almost choice. I salted as directed and when it was time to rinse there was no juice left behind because the meat re-absorbed it! Even while cooking ( indoor grill ) the juices did not seep out! And this method definetly bumped the meat a grade up, and was more tender / juicy. I just rinsed off enough to get the salt off, no more. There is a saltyer than normal taste, but I guess you could rinse it off more throughly.

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     Victoria — 4/18/09 @ 4:43 am

     I have to thank you for sharing this salting technique with us. I’ve been using it the last couple of times I’ve cooked steak, and every single time the flavor comes out amaaaaaaaazing. I’m generally terrible at cooking steak and getting it to taste delicious, but with this salting technique and a cooking tip I picked up from another site, I’ve been turning out fabulous steaks like nobody’s business. And my family really appreciates it

     Thanks again!

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     Lynne — 4/18/09 @ 10:44 pm

     Tried this tonight – FABULOUS!!!!

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     buy steaks online — 4/21/09 @ 12:34 pm

     Thanks for the post. It is great information about steaks

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     Demetria Dixon — 4/21/09 @ 7:35 pm

     This is wonderful. Thank you. I salt my meat as well before rinsing and cooking.

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     Prime Steak — 4/27/09 @ 10:47 am

     Thanks for the info. I can’t wait to try and see if I can make my USDA Choice steaks taste more like USDA prime steaks

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     Esther — 5/3/09 @ 12:25 pm

     We took four cheap steaks and tried this with one. Wow, you could see the difference as soon as they came off the grill! This is how we will cook our steaks from now on.

     Thanks!

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     Brazilian Steaks — 5/6/09 @ 4:24 am

     Nice article!

     I would say that if you need to add any other spicy to the steak besides salt we really need to select better the steak and review the temperature and your salt strategy.

     Cheers

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     Matt — 5/7/09 @ 4:57 am

     I love this article! I think it’s amazing how you fuse Science and cooking .

     The salt is a GREAT idea; I just got done eating a fairly tough steak – I am going to have to cook my next steak by this article

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     taras — 5/15/09 @ 3:58 am

     this is upsetting with you misleading people about salt. the majority of people won’t tell a difference in taste between table salt and sea salt. It is understandable that you recommend such salt instead of table salt with the reasoning being size or something of the likeness, but don’t just degrade salt like that. ponder to yourself where table salt comes from.

     hmm….pondering…pondering…
     nope.
     i still stand behind that table salt tastes like shit.
     thanks though. ~jaden

569. 569

     Best Steak? - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum — 5/19/09 @ 12:50 am

     [...] then anywhere else. I always order prime rib when I go out because I can’t make that at home. Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak Recipe [+] Rate this post [...]

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     David — 5/21/09 @ 2:07 am

     I’m a student and I can only afford cheap steaks. I tried this today and OMG.. best steak I ever cooked in my LIFE!!! thank you so much. you made a poor student very very happy..

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     Theresa — 5/22/09 @ 1:41 am

     Have been trying to replicate the deep beefy flavor of steak house dry aged for awhile. Tried this salt method but it tasted like, well, salted beef. So I gave the Drybagsteak.com thing a try (saw it mentioned here in April). Last week I cracked open the four pounds of boneless ribey I’d aged in the Drybags and steaked it out. OMG! Beautifully clean aged steaks with exactly the flavor I was looking for. Will have to time the aging, but I am thrilled to have a way to age Choice, Select or Grassfed beef to just that perfect rich beefy flavor I was looking for–without the salt lick! Not the cheapest way to deepen the flavor, but a superior solution all around.

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     Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] · TechBlogger — 5/22/09 @ 7:07 pm

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

573. 573

     Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] « Coolbeans — 5/22/09 @ 8:07 pm

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

574. 574

     Tech Whiz Underground » Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] — 5/22/09 @ 8:07 pm

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

575. 575

     Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] | Key To Eden — 5/22/09 @ 11:59 pm

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

576. 576
     

     SteamyKitchen — 5/23/09 @ 1:21 am

     Hey guys – I just contacted http://www.drybagsteak.com and will be testing their product in the next couple of weeks! I promise to report back.

     jaden

577. 577

     The Tech Town » Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] — 5/23/09 @ 3:09 am

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

578. 578

     Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] | PingBrain — 5/23/09 @ 4:29 am

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

579. 579

     Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] - 2384th Edition | Technology Revealed — 5/23/09 @ 6:12 am

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

580. 580

     Top 10 Skills to Master Your Grill [Lifehacker Top 10] « My Site! — 5/23/09 @ 8:17 am

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

581. 581
     

     Scott — 5/23/09 @ 10:31 am

     Whoa — you got picked up by Lifehacker!

     http://lifehacker.com/5264724/top-10-skills-to-master-your-grill

582. 582
     

     Jonathan Peterson — 5/23/09 @ 11:38 am

     A local restaurant marinates steaks overnight in canned, diced jalapenos. They similarly wash off all the stuff and pat dry. Their steaks are remarkably tender, while still being nicely beefy. I’m not that much of a steak guy, so I haven’t tried to replicate but you may want to experiment with that as well.

583. 583

     Manswers - Things You Should Know | Meta Haven Magazine — 5/26/09 @ 3:12 pm

     [...] It makes your grandmother cry, but totally covering cheap, firm meat with salt, especially cheaper cuts of steak, just an hour before grilling or otherwise cooking is like giving it a really, really deep Shiatsu rubdown. The salt you cover the surface with—and then wipe off, rinse, and pat dry—denaturizes the long protein strands and mixes up the moisture spread in your steak. That turns them, in the Steamy Kitchen blog’s words, from cheap “choice” steak into Gucci “Prime” steak. [...]

584. 584
     

     Brian — 5/27/09 @ 2:01 pm

     I tried this last night and it sucked. Perhaps I did something wrong, but the steak was purple looking when I put it on the grill. I did it to medium-rare and it was pretty pink. However, the firmness was like well-done.
     I had a steak thaw out for 6 hours (Wanted to eat it that day).
     I seasoned it with loads of sea salt and let it sit for 45 min. It was a Tbone, a little over an inch.
     When I came back it was all floppy and wet like people say. I washed off the salt (I didnt pat it dry though, perhaps that’s why)
     I put some oil and heated the pan (I got it extra hot)
     I put some steak seasoning on it and then put it on the grill, I seared both sides to trap heat.
     I put a lid on it and let it cook. It had a lot of juice in the pan (obviously because all the juice came out of the steak).
     What did I do wrong?!?

     Are you f@^%!g kidding me? It didn’t work because you didn’t follow the freakin’ instructions! So yeah, your steak sucked because you didn’t pat the steak dry. Basically, you steamed your steak instead of grilling it. ~j

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     jeff — 5/27/09 @ 8:34 pm

     LoL dammit. saw the quick post/pic on lifehacker, clicked on thru to your site, got my salt out and proceeded thru the steps. now i’m at the last picture, waiting for my steak to finish it’s salting and i read that i’m not supposed to use table salt?? dammit. maybe a warning at the beginning? *fingers crossed it still turns out edible* thanks!

     Hey Jeff- how could you miss the multiple times I mentioned kosher/sea salt!??????

     

     jaden

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     jeff — 5/27/09 @ 8:36 pm

     …that was a legit/serious “thanks” and not snarky like it probably sounded a minute ago…

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     John O'Connell — 5/28/09 @ 6:35 am

     This might be a dumb question but how are you rinsing the steaks – literally running it under a tap to clear off the salt? I cooked sirloin last night for a steak sandwich and while it was nicely cooked it was very fibrous and didn’t really suit being eaten by hand – the meat didn’t tear very easily so it was back to a knife and fork for me – looking forward to giving this a go!

     Yes, rinse under tap water.

     If you want to use sirloin for a sandwich, you do have to use knife to cut into very thin ribbons. The only way you can break down the fibers so much that you can pull by hand is if you cook low and slow…for a long time. Salting won’t be a shortcut for low and slow. But it will make it more tender and delicious.
     ~j

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     Tom Cook — 5/29/09 @ 1:45 pm

     As David above attests to salting cheaper cuts of steak (rump in particular) can produce some stunning results. Given you recommend only 1 hour with the salt penetrating the meat proteins this should not imbed the meat with too much salt. Great practical idea.

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     Jason — 5/30/09 @ 8:34 pm

     So, could this technique be used with the “pan sear” method, or should this be done only the way you describe it?

     You can cook the steak any way you want! ~jaden

590. 590
     

     Karla — 5/31/09 @ 1:17 pm

     Your Gucci Steak recipe made the most delicious steak that my husband and I have grilled at home. In fact, it was better than some of the so-called great steak houses! We used kosher salt and steakhouse seasoning on a one inch sirloin. Tonight we are going to try this same method on a top round london broil. We’ll let you know how that turns out.

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     Jason — 5/31/09 @ 5:58 pm

     Tried it today with strip steaks I’d had in the freezer since November. It worked FABULOUSLY! Really a great result. I can’t wait to try it on rib eye!

592. 592
     

     John O'Connell — 6/1/09 @ 8:30 am

     Jaden – thank you for that, I’ll give it a go this evening!

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     brittany — 6/2/09 @ 8:38 pm

     wow! this is awesome… why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?

     i had purchased cheap frozen steaks for use in the slow cooker. i usually cook for only my husband and myself so buying a whole roast just isn’t practical for us. generally, this is the best way that i have found to make cheap meat tender for stews, tacos, etc. i tried slow cooking two of these four steaks a few weeks ago & they were so tough that we ended up throwing them away and getting fast food. not wanting to waste the remaining two steaks, i did some research on tenderizing tough meat & found your website. so glad i did!

     though the steaks were still a little on the fatty side, the “good meat” was super tender and had great flavor. we are a bit picky when it comes to fat on steaks and i suppose to someone who enjoys good marbling, these steaks would have been superb. thanks for saving these steaks for us; we just finished a great dinner! i’m looking forward to experimenting with this method on better steaks!

     also, i made the herb butter using garlic & cilantro. this was delicious on top of the steaks as well as on our mashed potatoes!

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     Lameen — 6/3/09 @ 3:40 am

     I linked to this post from the timesonline (UK newspaper). Thanks for the tip about salt. Now I can’t wait to try this “salty” steak recipe out with some fleur de sel from Brittany. Your story is an inspiration.

595. 595
     

     John Howard — 6/3/09 @ 2:03 pm

     What a way to ruin a a lovely bit of steak. Ive tucked into my salted steak, as recommended, and its as salty as a mouthful of sea water. Never using this recipe again!!

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     Browncoat Rick — 6/4/09 @ 11:34 am

     Tried this last night on a sirloin and it was delicious. I generally don’t like sirloin, more of a ribeye man. But this was every bit as tender as a ribeye. It was a big one, about two pounds. Salted each side with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of sea salt for 45 minutes, rinsed thoroughly and patted completely dry, rubbed a little rosemary olive oil and crushed garlic into the steak, pan seared, then broiled in the oven. tender, juicy, wonderful flavor. I’ll try it with a ribeye this weekend.

597. 597
     

     David — 6/5/09 @ 7:01 pm

     Hi,

     Thank you very much for the post. I am just wondering if soy sauce would have the same effect on the steak as salt. I like to use a soy sauce based marinate for meat. Can I do the samething with a steak? Thank you.

     a marinade with salt + acid always works with meat. try it, and let me know how it goes. jaden

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     Vicki — 6/6/09 @ 9:45 pm

     Great recipe!! I tried this the other night with a $4.00 steak and it came out great! I think it was a top sirloin or something like that–do not know much about cuts. All I know is that it was big and cheap and usually comes out dry and tough. Using this recipe, it didn’t taste like a cheap steak at all, it was very tender, juicy, and actually had flavor throughout.

     I was wondering if this would work for other meats as well…like pork chops or chicken? Have you ever tried it? If so, please let me know. When I cook porkchops, they tend to come out dry and tough. Would salting them have the same effect?

     yes, you can do this with poultry, pork! jaden

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     Karen — 6/7/09 @ 9:22 pm

     Will this work with Buffalo Steak?

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     John — 6/8/09 @ 4:26 pm

     Your written words discuss “Masively salting a steak”. Then your recipe calls for 1/2 tsp. of salt!!!!!!! Whoa there. ONE-HALF teaspoon of salt????? The picture of salted steak has more like a HALF CUP of salt!!! Puhleeze – correct your recipe!!!!

601. 601

     What's for dinner? - Page 71 - MotownSports.com Message Board — 6/9/09 @ 1:08 pm

     [...] is an interesting way to do steak: Steak: How to Turn Cheap

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     Michael Jones — 6/9/09 @ 1:48 pm

     SOUNDS GOOD, BRAH.

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     Florida Mike — 6/10/09 @ 12:35 pm

     love the green centipede! will definitely try this technique with the salt and post my results on my site. (sorry, its the only site i have )

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     Jean-Philippe Daigle — 6/10/09 @ 8:55 pm

     I tried this tonight with a 1.5-inch steak and one hour resting time with salt. The cooked steak was tender and very good, but noticeably too salty. Any tips?

     try less salt or shorten salting time ~j

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     Sherri — 6/11/09 @ 8:33 pm

     Wow! Great technique for steak. Entertaining recipe to read too…most clever! ha

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     Pretty Cool Guy — 6/16/09 @ 3:17 am

     tekjock that’s the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard. You just put salt on it, of course its going to taste a little salty, you should have tried cooking it, I did two using this method and had various other herbs and spices and they were the best steaks I’ve ever had.

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     Scott — 6/16/09 @ 12:03 pm

     Dude
     Try VINEGAR marinade first, vinegar is acetic acid, which breaks down proteins. Allow to marinate for several hours-overnight even, then salt for 1 hour. Rinse and cook, you will NOT taste the vinegar, but will taste the salt. Vingar works on all kinds of meat, ribs are my favorite-marinate overnight for fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

     Scott

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     JessieV — 6/19/09 @ 6:59 pm

     we made this tonight and it was FANTASTIC!! thanks so very much!

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     JessieV — 6/20/09 @ 8:30 pm

     we made it AGAIN TONIGHT! my husband is sooooo happy. thank you!

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     konteyner — 6/22/09 @ 8:14 am

     It is great to see this.

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     HLS — 6/26/09 @ 8:28 pm

     I tried this recipe last night and it was delicious! I would recommend it! I absolutely loved the garlic herb sauce for the corn! Thank you!

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     Dude — 6/26/09 @ 11:45 pm

     SALTY STEAK!!!

     OK, I was all excited about trying this.

     I followed the directions EXACTLY and the steak tasted like a salt lick. We could hardly eat it.

     Never again.

     DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

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     Sid — 6/27/09 @ 9:26 pm

     Tonight I tried this technique for the third time (this time with 1″ top sirloin) and it came out perfect. This is a well written and funny article, but it isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. For my first two attempts I let new york strip steaks sit in the salt for almost an hour. The meat was way too salty even after rinsing thoroughly. Today, I only left the meat in salt for 30 minutes and I rinsed it well. If your grilling something really savory (like a porterhouse) only leave for 15 – 20 minutes tops.

     This is way better than those 24 hour marinades. Good luck.

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     HOW TO GRILL A STEAK , GRILLING TIPS | eXplorista.com — 7/3/09 @ 3:13 pm

     [...] SteAk Preparation !! [...]

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     tadpole — 7/4/09 @ 12:16 pm

     1 TEASPOON of salt for a 1 1/2 inch thick steak???!!! I don’t think so – look at your own picture. I hardly think the amount of salt on that thing is a teaspoon!!! I’d suggest at least a quarter to half a cup per side!!!

     I used 2 teaspoons. It was a porterhouse. Did you read the instructions??? Bigger the steak, more salt. My porterhouse was huge. ~jaden

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     toolmatt — 7/6/09 @ 4:03 pm

     Worked like a charm. We tried 1/2 our 4 steaks with and 1/2 w/o. Wife was nervous. Made very good steak better. We used 1″ Black Angus ribeye. My wife said hers was good but mine done with salt was better. I used 1 tablespoon per side for appx. 35 min. Finished mine off with a small squeeze of parkay and sprinkle of mixed seasoning (pepper, dried onion, dried garlic). Thanks for the tip, I’m telling all my steak lover friends!

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     football photos — 7/13/09 @ 4:18 am

     we made it AGAIN TONIGHT! my husband is sooooo happy. thank you!

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     m.roberts — 7/20/09 @ 2:36 am

     This technique is AWESOME. My steak was phenomenal, and the time it took to tenderize the meat, I could prep and cook sides. A+++++++

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     William — 7/21/09 @ 11:55 am

     Curious how this technique help a cheaper cut of steak like flank?

     It will do the same – add flavor throughout the meat and tenderize. Esp for flank. But you have to still make sure you cut across the grain for flank or skirt steak. I use this technique all the time for flank. ~jaden

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     Steaklover — 7/23/09 @ 1:57 pm

     I ordered some certified angus steaks from texasfoods.net they were 10oz new york strips.. i tried one set the regular way i cook them. then i tried 2 more the next night using this recipe it definitely made them more tender. kudos on the tip..

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     TexasT — 7/25/09 @ 6:19 am

     Interesting article. However, I�m always leery of anything that uses a salt �crust� on it, whether you remove it before cooking or afterwards.

     The comments are basically split on the taste: some say it was wonderful, some say the steak was salty. I assume the �salty� contingent is like me: we never put any kind of salt on a steak (I always need to specify �no seasonings� at steak houses, or it�s inedible; even then, sometimes it�s salty, so I suspect they use your method to tenderize the meat).

     When supermarkets first started injecting �broth� into their meat, I had a very unpleasant surprise with the very first steak I cooked: it was salty! And I knew I had not used salt on it, since I never do. Unfortunately, I�d purchased several packages of meat, and there was no returning them. The upshot was that I had some very expensive stew until I finished all the meat I�d bought (with lots of potatoes to leech out the salt, which were also wasted, since I had to throw them out — yep, don�t salt potatoes either).

     All food has sodium in it to varying degrees, and most has more than enough for taste, so there�s no need to add salt when cooking it.

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     Christine — 7/27/09 @ 2:07 am

     I tried this recipe and it was not salty. In fact, I wished I would have added salt as a seasoning after I washed the initial salt off. I must say, the steaks were more tender than the ones I usually make. Now, I don’t know if it was from the salt tenderizing it or if it was the more expensive cut of meat that I usually buy. Nevertheless, adding the other spices and herbs made it more flavorful throughout the meat. I will try it again with a less expensive cut for comparison.

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     steakluver — 7/31/09 @ 4:14 pm

     wat if u bake the steak will this still work?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — July 31st, 2009 @ 5:17 pm

       I have never baked a steak.

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     Soosie — 8/2/09 @ 4:30 pm

     OMG it really works! I bought an incredibley cheap slab of rump steak and coated it in heaps more salt than instructions said (huge grains too) as I couldn’t really remember what I had read. All along I was trying to convince my husband that this was going to be ok, although I wasn’t really believing it myself. We barbequed the said piece and honestly couldn’t believe what we were eating – the best piece of rump we have had for years! Do try it – freaky method but brilliant!

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     Salted Steaks « Little Lead Heroes — 8/3/09 @ 9:48 pm

     [...] even much of the time when I am cooking. I have absolutely no idea why I do it, I’ve read this page a couple of times and still don’t really understand it. However, I did try it at one point [...]

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     jhthiel — 8/5/09 @ 11:00 am

     I’m just finishing up my first dry aging experiment on a prime rib. 32 days dry aged. Would you recommend trying this salt process on dry aged steaks?

     I know dry aging tenderizes the meat REALLY well…but is “really tender” ever tender enough? The quest for even more tender makes me want to try this process.

     thoughts?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 5th, 2009 @ 11:40 am

       Yes, I use salting on dry aged meat.

       Dry aging tenderizes but more importantly creates more complex flavors for the steak.

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     Jens — 8/16/09 @ 12:28 pm

     Superb.

     Take a glass of cognag (a SMALL glass, mind you), pour it over, ignite.

     Brilliant!

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     Libby — 8/19/09 @ 4:46 am

     Oh mAAaaaAan! (

     The steaks mentioned in the drawings on the article (t-bone, porterhouse and NY Strip) are already incredibly tender steaks and I’d never salt one of those cuts down before grilling them.

     My problem is that my idiotic husband brought home 2 cows worth of London Broil that was on sale at our local grocery market.

     London Broil. Now THAT is a steak that needs some major marination or… geez, I don’t know what… But I was so excited to find this article, only to read on that the steaks being salted are awesome cuts.

     Anyone have any help for someone with a freezer full of (gag) London Broil? It seriously is a horrible cut of meat in my opinion.

     Thanks so much! )

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 19th, 2009 @ 8:44 am

       Do it with London Broil!! Actually salt any type of cut.

       2 cows worth! Wow, that’s a ton of London Broil!!!

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     Carrie — 8/19/09 @ 12:38 pm

     Well, I’m going to try this tomorrow. I’ve never made steak period, but I’ve never failed a recipe yet, so I’m hoping I can get this right. We have steak in the freezer we need to use soon, and this sounds pretty good! I’ll have to let you know how I do

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     shawn — 8/23/09 @ 8:55 pm

     Using this method, my son said for the first time, “These are the best steaks we’ve ever had”. Since then, I’ve never made them because I forgot the recipe and link. Thanks to google, I found the post again. Great explanation and it really works. I have kosher sea salt in abundant supply.

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 23rd, 2009 @ 9:07 pm

       Hey thanks for finding me again!

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     Boricua — 8/24/09 @ 7:42 pm

     I do not see anything about using tenderizer tools. So I guess a one inch thick london broil will not need it, just salt for 30 minutes and “vo�l�”, sirloin tenderness….

     A little skepticism here, but will try tonight. Thanks for the tips.

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 24th, 2009 @ 8:00 pm

       I don’t use tenderizing tools because it rips apart the meat. Love the salt technique because it’s gentle.

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     Boricua — 8/24/09 @ 10:38 pm

     OK. It’s me again. My challenge on the fresh London broil was a success story. Good flavor, tender, but not as tender as a fresh sirloin.

     I had to admit my skepticism did not allow me to go with only the Kosher salt. I used a small spike tenderizer on my London broils, then used around one and a half teaspoons on each side and let is “soak” for 25 minutes. Washed and dried the steaks then grilled them on medium-high heat to kind-of-sear each side, 6 minutes each side for medium taste (pinkish in the middle).

     Next time will try with a Porterhouse to confirm.
     Best regards and thanks for the tips!

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 25th, 2009 @ 8:22 am

       lol – trust me, it works!!!

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     Konteyner — 8/25/09 @ 11:55 am

     we made it AGAIN TONIGHT! my husband is sooooo happy works!!!

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     Erica — 8/25/09 @ 8:26 pm

     I tried this tonight and the steak was very tender, I rarely eat steak, I mean rarely like once every three years. I saw this article and decided to try it. It was very tender ,
     I also seasoned it with Sazon Completa by Badia and garlic. GREAT STEAK!!!

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     Anger Burger » Blog Archive » In Which the Author Eats BBQ After Having Knocked It — 8/26/09 @ 9:53 pm

     [...] Sol studied up about salting meat, and while I don’t know what he read exactly, I found an informative page over at Steamy Kitchen that sums up what Sol was going on about.  That, and I genuinely thought [...]

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     halı yıkama — 8/27/09 @ 8:27 am

     Using this method, my son said for the first time, “These are the best steaks we’ve ever had”. Since then, I’ve never made them because I forgot the recipe and link. Thanks to google, I found the post again. Great explanation and it really works. I have kosher sea salt in abundant supply.thenx you

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 28th, 2009 @ 7:43 am

       Thank you! I’m glad Google came through for you!

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     Avante Vigilante — 8/29/09 @ 12:50 am

     WTF – in this day and age of health awareness you are advocating the use (or more aptly abuse of salt?) whats up this whis whole thread? Surely there must be a better tenderizing agent for meat such as for example Papain?

     Can someone please bring some rationality into this freakin’ blog?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — August 29th, 2009 @ 8:19 am

       yeah. don’t eat steak.

       • 

         kc replied: — August 29th, 2009 @ 5:46 pm

         I agree…then don’t eat it! But unless you’re eating steak every day of the week, a little salt won’t hurt. (Besides, did we miss the part where you wash away the salt before grilling?) Reminds me of Thanksgiving, when some people feel the need to cook healthy for that one day instead of the other 364 and use all kinds of weird substitutes that never work. Use butter! Use real cream! Salt galore! Throw calorie-counting out the door, just for the day, and make it special.

         • 

           love2bbitten replied: — August 31st, 2009 @ 12:59 pm

           OMG chill out dude! Its not like you’re eating a cup of salt here! A couple teaspoons on a huge steak isn’t insane. Also, like kc said, you’re rinsing the dang thing anyway!

           I bet you watch tv shows that you hate instead of just changing the channel! LOL…

           Jaden, I’m going to try this tonight on london broil… so excited!

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     Adelina — 9/3/09 @ 2:00 pm

     Awesome post! Probably one of the best post/ article/ writing about steak and how to marinade it properly for grilling and such!

     Thank you!

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     Cast-Iron Chef » Blog Archive » Salt of the earth. — 9/6/09 @ 12:45 am

     [...] to avoid salt because it’ll draw the moisture (and subsequently, juices) out of your meat. As Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen noted, the water in your meat tastes like water. The juiciness and tenderness of your meat depends [...]

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     Ashley — 9/6/09 @ 5:12 pm

     I tried this once with a cheapo piece of meat for like 15 min. and it worked great! The second time I used filet and it was so salty I could barely eat it. What do you think went wrong? Thanks!

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     Diamond Dave — 9/10/09 @ 9:11 pm

     OK- let me get this straight : You’re writing style is like a cool dude from Askmen.com, you totally turned my steak world upside down, and you’re HOT?? What sin have I committed, that I will never know a woman like you?
     Anywho, I can’t wait to try this! Unfortunately, I found this site after the fact : I already slathered my cheap steak in marinade, and was looking for tips on cooking it (heard something about high heat- then low). But my next 16 oz. , $4.00 steak awaits this technique. Thanks!

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     Jody — 9/13/09 @ 3:29 pm

     Lol…just had to say your website cheered me up……after hours of trying to find authentic northern English meat and potato pie recipes for my English boyfriend….I decided to just make some cheap steak (Just craving comfort food right now). Loved the illustrations and more so loved the bourbon induced commentary! Thanks!

     Love,
     On a beer induced, football Sunday,
     Jody

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     Molly B — 9/16/09 @ 11:46 am

     have you ever tried using red wine vinegar on a steak? it also tenderizes the meat. we like to put salt, pepper, olive oil and just a sprinkling of red wine vinegar on both sides of a steak and then let it sit in the fridge in a bag for at least 4 hours.

     Yes, I use red wine vinegar in my skirt steak marinade along with soy, garlic, salt and pepper -jaden

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     Mama__B — 9/21/09 @ 11:14 am

     This does indeed work. I’d never thought to try it with chicken, but I think I will.

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     the teacher cooks — 9/24/09 @ 3:03 pm

     I loved this post!! Very imformative. Will be checking you out more often. Good stuff for my class.

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     Birdie — 9/28/09 @ 2:54 pm

     I am sitting here covering a detention class at a middle school in Portland, OR. I was checking out my e-mail and one routed me to this site. It was a hoot to read your description of making this steak and I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for making my detention coverage so enjoyable!

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     milkgaogao — 10/1/09 @ 9:42 am

     Hello
     I cooked steak last night, I dry-rubbed 3 pieces, but we only decided to cook 2. So I wrapped the 3rd one using foil and put it into a bag, I don;’t have machine for vacuuming. I am so worried about my steak.
     Will my steak go bad?
     Thanks
     Gaogao

     It’s fine. Salt acts as preservative. ~jaden

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     Lori — 10/6/09 @ 5:33 am

     BEWARE – Don’t try this on thinner steak! I did this with two pieces of rib-eye that were 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick for about 30 mins and they were much too salty to eat – even for me and I love salt! I ended up soaking the meat in water for half an hour the next morning (treating it like salt cod) and frying it up for steak and eggs which was fine but it certainly ruined Friday night steak night in our house.

     LOL – oh no!
     Well, didn’t I warn in the post and recipe….like multiple times not to do this on thinner steaks?! jaden
     

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     Mia Jo — 10/17/09 @ 7:42 pm

     The super serious diagrams and tasty pictures, with your witty commentary left me amused and feeling like I could actually cook this competently. I’ve done the red cooking wine thing with steaks (thin strips and I only soaked them for 10 mins each) following a guideline for various marinades and tenderizers (scientific explanations lol) and they turned out great. I have a positive feeling about your method and will try it out tomorrow.

     I’ll return with the results.

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     Steak-pro — 10/20/09 @ 12:28 am

     Great photography and food styling for your site! I love your “laid-back” description of how salt helps break down the proteins. Keep cooking!

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     tatil — 10/25/09 @ 1:28 pm

     This does indeed work. I’d never thought to try it with chicken, but I think I will.when i have been the middle east i got the something like that.

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     Steak 101 for beginners – 5 steps to success | Kitchen Butterfly — 10/25/09 @ 6:53 pm

     [...] I discovered Jaden’s steak recipe….I knew I’d come home, or at the very least….found my way to [...]

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     Steak 101 – Five Steps to Beginner’s Success | Nibblers — 10/30/09 @ 9:51 am

     [...] I discovered Jaden’s steak recipe….I knew I’d come home, or at the very least….found my way to an ’in-laws’. I’ll say it [...]

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     Jaco — 11/1/09 @ 4:50 pm

     Loved this technique! It really did make my grocery store bought cuts rival some of the tastiest moo-cow creations I’ve had in some upper end Vegas chop houses. Gonna try it with the smushed garlic tonight . . . Thanks!

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     Cana ORal — 11/13/09 @ 10:25 pm

     omg your hilarious … salt acts like a celebrity, well lets see how big a fan i become when i try this tomorrow. I am very interested to see if this works! thanks for the tips

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     Annie — 11/19/09 @ 2:04 pm

     Hi Jaden, thanks for this superawesomeomg blog! Steaks can be so complex and complicated, but then again, maybe that’s why it tastes like no other when it’s made just right.

     What you mentioned about patting the steak dry was interesting (“steaming” the steak). If I marinade the steaks in a sauce, would I have to pat it dry just before grilling as well? And what do you think about brushing the steaks with the marinade during grilling?

     Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — November 19th, 2009 @ 2:21 pm

       Annie,
       Yes, pat very very dry after marinating. You can brush with sauce after on the grill if you’d like, as long as the marinade has sugar in it (promotes browning) it should be fine. But this is what you want to do:

       1) pat dry
       2) cook side 1 on preheated, super hot grill or pan until nicely browned
       3) flip to cook side 2 until nicely browned
       4) brush side 1 with marinade right before you flip again
       5) flip to cook side 1 (turn down heat a bit) – now you are looking to cook the interior of the teak
       6) brush side 2 with marinade right before you flip again
       7) flip to cook side 2 to cook interior of steak until reaches desired temp.

       Remember you’re also dealing with marinade that’s touched raw meat so make sure you give enough time.

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     Andrea — 11/19/09 @ 9:45 pm

     Are you aware of any reason why cooking the steak on the stove top (I’m thinking in a cast iron pan) would not work as well as grilling?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — November 19th, 2009 @ 11:26 pm

       Andrea – nope! go for it! i’m in florida so we grill year round.

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     Ken — 11/25/09 @ 12:21 am

     I gave this a try on a New York Strip and the steak was great.

     I went another step further and wrapped some hickory wood chips in tin foil, poked holes in the foil, and set in the gas grill till it was all smoky, that steak can only be summed up in one word..

     Divine

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     Laura - uk — 11/26/09 @ 2:28 pm

     You’re description and analysis there was sweeet – very charming. Love it, its definetly usefull stuff
     cheers bud
     peace -x-

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     Kevin — 12/4/09 @ 8:58 pm

     I was skeptical — I didn’t think one hour would make much of a difference. I tried it first with an awesome thick cut ribeye. It was marvelous. But that was a ribeye, what about if I try it with a lesser cut?

     As I type this, my wife and I are fighting — fighting over a CHUCK STEAK prepared using your method. A chuck steak? I didn’t even know it existed…

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     Mmmmm, cheap steak… « Cook Can Spin Dye — 12/9/09 @ 3:12 pm

     [...] grocery expenses and keep steaks in the weekly rotation vastly appealed to me.  Jaden Hair at the Steamy Kitchen blog gives a great outline on how brining a steak 40 mins or more before cooking it turns it from [...]

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     Steaklover — 12/16/09 @ 10:00 pm

     Used lightly marbled sirloin, followed to the letter using only sea salt, and the steak was overwhelmingly salty and not at all butter sliceable. Way we naturally made it was beefy and great even if tough.

     Sorry but would avoid trying this next time and advise people to only try on the cheapest cuts.

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     funny cartoon pictures — 12/24/09 @ 10:34 am

     it looks like so delicious

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     M. Hayden — 1/4/10 @ 9:27 am

     Y’all are the bigidy bomb I tell ya. We had our final Holiday dinner last night with our kids. I did the steaks and both butters, I did the bread. Thank your adorable son for his demo, I wasnt scared at all. All of this was just magic and so good. I can’t wait to do it all again. I almost felt like pinch me cause I know i’m dreamin kinda thing. Love the site thank you both for sharing.
     M

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     3 Pasta Meals in Minutes | Kitchen Butterfly — 1/6/10 @ 12:56 pm

     [...] raised a steak chic, I was saying to him the difficulties I had cooking it till I found Jaden’s recipe. It was at this point he said the unexpected: ‘Well Oz, I wouldn’t know… [...]

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     Doug — 1/8/10 @ 11:44 pm

     I’m showing up late to the discussion — but try the ‘recipe’ from cook’s country. Christopher Kimball’s America Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s County, etc. they try recipes oodles of times and explain what works and why. To take the steak to ‘the next level’ , look up the August 2009 issue of Cook’s Country in your library or search for ‘freeze and steak’ or click . Cooks’ country recommends a rub with equal portions of corn starch & salt and then freeze for up to 45 minutes. Because all three dry out the steak with the benefit of the freeze allowing for longer sear time without cooking. mmmm.

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     jade york — 1/16/10 @ 10:07 am

     jaden, you rock! i just found your website & you’ve had me laughing out loud & dying to try out all your recipes. i have a 5 month old so my time in the kitchen is limited, but now i’m super inspired – thanks!

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     Three Pasta Meals in Minutes | Nibblers — 1/24/10 @ 5:11 pm

     [...] I wasn’t raised a steak chic, I was saying to him the difficulties I had cooking it till I found Jaden’s recipe. It was at this point he said the unexpected: ‘Well Oz, I wouldn’t know… I’m [...]

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     Healthy Smoker — 1/29/10 @ 7:45 pm

     Never thought to salt my steaks. I have been salting my beef ribs for years. Lots of course sea salt 30 minutes before grill time. However I don’t rinse or wipe them off, I put them on the grill and have a bag of lemons at the ready. Take a lemon and cut it in half and then fresh squeezed lemon juice on the ribs. Every couple of minutes I squeeze more lemons or each time I turn the ribs and when I am done cooking the salt is mostly gone. Just like salting a steak, I had to prove it to other pit masters how tender and tasty the ribs are. Thanks for the get recipes.

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     Terry — 1/30/10 @ 1:05 pm

     This idea works very well. Makes an inexpensive cut of meat taste much better.

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     giuliana — 2/1/10 @ 3:50 pm

     Hi there,

     Just wondering would you be able to use this method to make nicer beef for say a stir fry? Would chopping it up in thin slices (after salting,rinsing and patting dry) and then cooking it effect the final flavor/texture?

     thanks

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     SteamyKitchen — 2/1/10 @ 3:58 pm

     well yes and no. usually stir fries will have soy sauce or other salt – and salting the beef too much will just make the dish too salty. BUT most stir fry recipes will have you marinate the meat in a combo of soy/wine/cornstarch….I’ll have to create another post with explanations and details in another post.

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     Your Steak Marinades--- - Food and Drink - cooking, cuisine, meat, vegetables, restaurants, diet, prices, allergies... - City-Data Forum — 2/3/10 @ 7:41 pm

     [...] I'm a big fan of covering the steak in kosher salt for 20-40min. I've been doing it this way, for the most part, since I read this article. Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Recipes… [...]

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     London Broil « Thedelicateplace's Blog — 2/4/10 @ 9:44 am

     [...] & health « Stillness is the move London Broil February 4, 2010 How to maximize your “choice meat.” I like to eat and eat well. Just because I’m in my 20s and a [...]

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     Chicken Tetrazzini — 2/4/10 @ 4:05 pm

     [...] Boneless, Skinless Chicken Salted and Cut into bite sized pieces 4 Cloves Garlic, Diced 2 New Vidalia Onions, Sliced 1 Cup Crimini [...]

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     RubbaBubba — 2/7/10 @ 6:55 am

     Did the salt, used sea salt. End result was really salty (yet still edible). Maybe a little more tender… but not much.

     I will say this, I’ve cooked a lot of steaks, and the key to flavor is definitely salt.

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     Jeremy — 2/8/10 @ 8:34 pm

     This is brilliant and delicious.
     Your directions were funny and well written!

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     Tagging: Del.icio.us « KW's Blog — 2/11/10 @ 12:53 am

     [...] Comment! http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html [...]

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     Erica — 2/11/10 @ 2:52 am

     Great tips! This reminds me the Brazilian way of cooking barbecue. It is pretty much the same process, but we use rock salt (big chunks of salt), let it sit for an hour or so (less for steaks, more for big pieces of meat), then rub off the salt before cooking. This is a safe method because the salt won’t dissolve and get into the meat, like fine salt would.

     Another interesting method is to fully cover an entire big piece of meat with rock salt right before putting it in the oven. Then roast it with the salt. The salt will melt slightly, forming a thick crust that will salt the meat and also prevent any moist from escaping. The meat comes out very tender and juicy.

     Just search for Brazilian barbecue recipes to find more info

     • 

       Jay replied: — February 11th, 2010 @ 9:29 am

       The way I learned to cook Churrasco was via a Gaucho in Porto Alegre. They actually cook the meat with a good portion of the salt left on the meat so that the moisture stays inside and then they beat the salt off when it’s ready to serve. Ummmm! The smell that filled the air during the weekends in Southern Brazil. SAUDADES!

       • 

         Erica replied: — February 12th, 2010 @ 1:37 am

         They sure know how to cook their meet in Porto Alegre But the secret of Brazilian bbq, besides the salt, is the fat! A thick layer of fat will flavour the meat and keep the juices in. So wrong, but so good

680. 680

     Turn $5 steak to $50 steak with salt — 2/11/10 @ 4:59 am

     [...] full post on Hacker News If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Tagged with: Salt • [...]

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     kooster — 2/11/10 @ 5:31 am

     haha, my mom told me if i salt the meat that way, it will be soo salty..Well I’m in agreement with this article.

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     Seth r — 2/11/10 @ 6:45 am

     Well I don’t know about Mcgeez, Alton, or Mr. Brurnt, but I am an undergraduate biology student, and I can tell you there’s no such thing as a “protein cell”. A protein is a very small molecule, usually contained within cells.

     • 

       Haruspex replied: — February 12th, 2010 @ 4:26 pm

       I was just about to post the same thing… x_x

       Proteins are molecules, not cells.

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     bogga nutz — 2/11/10 @ 7:24 am

     If you wash it in water after the salting process doesn’t that defeat the purpose of drawing out the moisture in the meat, or does the water not penetrate past the surface (or a limited amount of moisture)?
     I’m willing to try it because our best cuts normally get sent abroad or are exceeding my budget.

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — February 11th, 2010 @ 8:51 am

       You’re just rinsing the salt off – the water doesn’t have time to be absorbed back into the steak.

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     Adam — 2/11/10 @ 8:57 am

     Does this work with Kosher steaks that are salted as part of the butchering process?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — February 11th, 2010 @ 9:03 am

       I’d leave kosher meats alone – they’re already salted. The butcher has done the work for you already!

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     http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn… « WillyFranzen.com — 2/11/10 @ 10:09 am

     [...] http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html   [...]

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     van — 2/11/10 @ 11:09 am

     Your photos are stunning !!!!!!!!! as always(*-*)
     Good thing that I also figured it out by myself how important it is to marinate generously salt (^0^) But I did not rinse before cooking (-_-) I will try this tip out soon! THANKS so much for your WONDERFUL post!!!!!!!! (it’s been a while since I commented but yours is my most favorite food blog in my google reader! )

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — February 11th, 2010 @ 12:04 pm

       Van- thank you so much!

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     Max Klein — 2/11/10 @ 11:43 am

     You on twitter, steamykitchen? If so, what is your twitter account?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — February 11th, 2010 @ 12:03 pm

       @steamykitchen

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     Bookmarks for February 11th from 21:11 to 22:10 | jansroka.com — 2/11/10 @ 5:41 pm

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Rec… – Leave a Comment [...]

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     links for 2010-02-11 « Dejected Resistance — 2/11/10 @ 8:13 pm

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Recipes Steamy Kitchen (tags: grilling tips diy) [...]

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     Super Salting Steak - ChefTalk Cooking Forums — 2/11/10 @ 11:28 pm

     [...] Salting Steak Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak ? Recipes S… Read it. What do you think? __________________ [...]

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     links for 2010-02-11 | Blog of the FML — 2/12/10 @ 12:04 am

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Recipes Steamy Kitchen Cheap steak + Salt + Salt + Salt = damn good beaf. Gotta read for the details (tags: salt brine easy grilled foods howto food technique) [...]

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     links for 2010-02-11 | LaptopHeaven's Blog — 2/12/10 @ 12:06 am

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Recipes Steamy Kitchen (tags: diy recipes beef) [...]

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     Links for February 11th, 2010 — 2/12/10 @ 1:31 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak [...]

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     Joegle » links for 2010-02-12 — 2/12/10 @ 7:01 am

     [...] How to Turn Cheap "Choice" Steak into Gucci "Prime" Steak … Delicious pictures (tags: food diy cooking howto) [...]

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     Link to the Bottom: 19 of the Week’s Best Links — 2/12/10 @ 3:49 pm

     [...] Krzastek: Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak. Very interested to try this out. Bonus: Funny pictures/descriptions to [...]

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     We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Steakhouse « Happiness in a Pot — 2/12/10 @ 5:42 pm

     [...] dovey and, of course, Italian. But things went a bit wayward yesterday morning as I stumbled upon this little gem thanks to Life Hacker. I was instantly overcome as visions of strip loins and sirloins [...]

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     robert gormo — 2/13/10 @ 10:30 am

     you’re not breaking down the proteins, you’re just sucking water out of the steak, which is a good thing.

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     laurie — 2/13/10 @ 12:30 pm

     my husband found this post and sent it to me…and i’m convinced! making beef wellington tomorrow night (2″ filets) and will give it a shot (salt for an hour +) before i sear them. i’m sure filet mignon doesn’t need it, but i like the idea of salt, garlic, rosemary (not centipedes) for flavor. next time i’ll buy cheaper meat and give it a try! thanks!

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     Chris — 2/13/10 @ 4:33 pm

     Salt is salt. As a scientist, I am appalled by your first point in the roundup. Kosher salt, a Jewish tradition, is no different from table salt.
     Besides that, I’ve been salting my cheap cuts for years and I can’t say anything but Hurray for your cause
     Chris

     PS: A mandatory email address is ridiculous

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — February 13th, 2010 @ 5:09 pm

       Dear scientist:

       Go to any grocery store and buy a box of kosher salt and buy a box of table salt. Then come back and tell me that they are exactly the same.

       Salt is not just salt.

       Salt from harvested from Atlantic seawaters off coast of France tastes different and has different properties than salt harvested from coast of Japan.

       Kosher salt is a lot more coarse than table salt and do not contain preservatives. Most kosher salt does not contain iodine.

       Mandatory email addresses for commenting is standard for blogs, websites.

       jaden

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     Bookmarks for 2010-02-14 at Adrian Smith's Blog — 2/14/10 @ 4:33 pm

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak How to cook a really tasty steak using a *lot* of salt. I'll definitely be trying this one out. [...]

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     Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Recipes Steamy Kitchen « LJR Enterprises — 2/14/10 @ 8:38 pm

     [...] February 14, 2010 at 7:38 pm (Uncategorized) If you are a steak-lover, I hope that the title of this post + luscious photo is enticing enough for you to read though the entire article. Because I promise you that it’s worth it. Even if you don’t eat steak, this is a must-read via steamykitchen.com [...]

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     How to eat a prime Valentine’s dinner on a supermarket budget « First, by reflection… — 2/15/10 @ 10:19 am

     [...] 3: Improve the product. With help with Steamy Kitchen post ( http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html ), I had a plan for the steaks.  Allow them to come up to room temperature while I [...]

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     The Motherload » Amy’s Notebook 02.17.10 — 2/17/10 @ 8:01 am

     [...] am going to have to try this technique for cooking a tender steak (@ Steamy [...]

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     Erica Warren — 2/17/10 @ 11:12 am

     OMG! This by far is the BEST technique I’ve ever used. I made this for my husband for Valentine’s Day and he just raved for hours. The meat was incredibly tender and the flavor for the first time was all the way through the meat not just on top. We both felt like this was one of the best meals I’ve ever cooked. I made it with asparagus (drizzled the garlic butter over this as well) and broasted sweet potatoes. Truly fantastic, thanks so much for sharing!

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     Virginia — 2/17/10 @ 5:00 pm

     I am going to use your technique. A.) Because you have thoroughly convinced me. And B.) Because you mentioned Sade. AND I DON’T EVEN LIKE SADE!

     Also, any one who thinks kosher salt is the same thing as table salt should have their tongue chopped off. Cause really, there’s just no hope for you.

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     Beef! Wonderfully Roasted Beef! | Random Detox — 2/18/10 @ 11:16 am

     [...] Valentine’s day, she sent me this link. It’s an article on how to roast beef so it’s soft, succulent and oh so tender. The [...]

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     James — 2/18/10 @ 8:18 pm

     Would this be good for broiling steaks to? If you are unsure.. I’ll be back to tell you after I have my dinner tonight!

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     Best of Personal Finance Roundup: How to Turn Cheap "Choice" Steak into Gucci "Prime" Steak- Financial Eyes & Ears — 2/19/10 @ 2:16 pm

     [...] How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — This technique is awesome, and likely to save some big dollars down the road! See how it’s done, and fear cheap cuts no more! Steamy Kitchen [...]

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     Mr. Eclectic — 2/19/10 @ 10:30 pm

     Sounds great. But then I read 1/2 teaspoon … and that isn’t what a “salt lick” would like. Is the amount of salt in your chart a minimum? Because if a put the amount on my porterhouse I see a LOT of red shining through.
     But thoroughly enjoy your writing style!!!

710. 710

     How to eat cheap steak, cheap skate. » St. Eutychus — 2/20/10 @ 8:12 am

     [...] think I learned it from a segment on the today show – but this cooking site has diagrams so it’s much more scientific and believable. The key to making an expensive steak taste good is salt. The other secret is to buy the fattest [...]

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     Christine — 2/21/10 @ 11:10 am

     I was looking for a way to tenderize a sirloin tip roast and found your article… thanks for the laugh! Any idea if the same technique will work on a piece of meat 6″ thick??

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     charles egger — 2/21/10 @ 1:20 pm

     thirty years ago, I don’t remember where I read the idea, I would buy ny strips, lightly salt them, rub with olive oil, wrap in plastic wrap, Tightly, and refrigerate over night… Then we would grill them.. I wish I could recall where I got the idea.. They were/still are good. Thank you.
     Charles

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     Peter Gagnon — 2/21/10 @ 1:47 pm

     HI, First visit to your site! You are a scream! Cant wait to try your salted steak technique and herb butter sauce!

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     angel — 2/22/10 @ 10:33 am

     FINALLY, someone who speaks plain english! (HA HA) – I can’t wait to try this recipe. you made this article such a joy to read, that i’m anticipating the steak to be just as good, if not better.

     ps. YOU must be a riot at parties, especially with that glass of bourbon!

     Thank You

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     haley — 2/26/10 @ 12:56 am

     “they turn from tight-assed, stuck up pricks to totally relaxed, fun-loving, socialable dudes…Bourbon does that to me too”

     Oh my God. You are my shero!

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     Wazzup — 2/27/10 @ 3:11 pm

     Tried it today ….

     Tasted great, but I do need to rinse better next time… the steak was a bit … over-seasoned.

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — February 27th, 2010 @ 3:17 pm

       better method is to use less salt or less time.

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     wazzup — 2/27/10 @ 5:51 pm

     *doh* … tsp = TEAspoon, not tablespoon … *sigh*.

718. 718

     How Salt Will Turn Your Cheaper Cut of Beef Into Buttah « GridIrony — 3/3/10 @ 2:28 pm

     [...] clipped from steamykitchen.com [...]

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     Jan — 3/5/10 @ 10:13 pm

     I tried the salt method to tenderize a 1″ thick serloin steak, and followed the directions to a T, making sure to rinse and dry the steak before grilling. I found that it did tenderize the steak, but also left it quite dry in some areas, and much too salty for my taste.

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     Gerard — 3/12/10 @ 1:37 am

     The Salting method worked amazingly well. Thanks for the method!

721. 721

     links for 2010-03-12 « Free Hogg — 3/12/10 @ 10:05 pm

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak — Recipes Steamy Kitchen (tags: cooking food grilling steak) Leave a Comment [...]

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     Tim — 3/24/10 @ 6:46 pm

     Grilled salted steaks on my new pellet grill. Fantastic! Thanks for the idea.

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     MamaB — 4/3/10 @ 4:28 pm

     Trying this tonight with a couple of rib eyes. Looking forward to it.

     • 

       MamaB replied: — April 17th, 2010 @ 6:35 pm

       Turned out very nicely indeed. Tonight we’re trying it with a few drug free, organic New York strips and some chimichurri in place of the butter.

724. 724

     Homemade Vietnamese Beef Pho « Khun Meow goes to Sydney — 4/3/10 @ 9:21 pm

     [...] Bowls 16 ounces fresh or dried rice noodles 1/2 pound flank, london broil, sirloin or eye of round steak, sliced as thinly as possible. 11 ounces Vietnamese beef balls, cut into [...]

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     Kaninfisk — 4/8/10 @ 12:50 pm

     Ok, you say massively salt and that the steak should resemble a salt lick, but in the photo below that comment, it barely covers the meaty areas between the fat. So what do you mean? Like the photo or like a salt lick?

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     Carol Bentley — 4/9/10 @ 5:55 pm

     Hey, you are funny, funny, funny! I enjoyed your article tremendously and will try your method tonight on a cheap-as-dirt sirloin steak. I’m going to try the bourbon too! Wish me luck….

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     Will Fowler — 4/9/10 @ 9:31 pm

     Great post can’t wait to try this salt method out. I have in the past not patted my beef dry, and recently became aware of that. -will

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     Mr. Burke — 4/12/10 @ 12:26 am

     What I do not understand is how water can “get sucked back into meat via osmosis”. Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a semipermeable membrane from a low salt concentration environment to the high salt concentration environment. In this case, given the high salt load on the surface of the steak water can travel only in one direction – towards the salt. Salt ions cannot freely penetrate through cellular membranes and only can diffuse into open compartments such as damaged muscle cells. Yet if 2 compartments are not separated by a semipermeable membrane we cannot be speaking of osmosis.

     Still, I will have to try this recipe!

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     Logan — 4/12/10 @ 12:32 am

     not to be picky but you said “protein cell”, there is no such thing as a protein cell there are only muscle cells.

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     Liz — 4/14/10 @ 10:13 pm

     As a fellow carnivore, I salute you! It really does break up the proteins and make for a tender steak. Look at the steak texture before and study it after the salt is washed off. It is all open, porous, tender and willing. The smooth flesh has had its pores opened, like it’s been at the spa all day. Never would have thought of it and no one ever taught me this. I have a book someone gave me called “On Food and Cooking” which is supposed to be like an encyclopedic version of Cook’s Illustrated that explains all the science behind cooking. I’ll look this up as soon as I finish eating this great sirloin. Kudos!

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     Norman — 4/15/10 @ 5:06 pm

     Try out this combo: SALT and FREEZE. Salt the 1 1/2″ steaks and then dry-dry by dehydrating by freezing, and then super heat grill, cook, rest and add your herb butter. Eat.
     Yes, I mentioned freezing. I’ve tried the salting technique several times and the resulting rich flavor was so good I was shaking my head as I chewed: Awesome taste and more tender. My wife complained of saltiness so I reduced the salt contact time in half (30-minutes) and made sure I washed the bejesus out of the meat to rid it of the bad salt. Result: Not as tasty. I think she is hyper-sensitive.
     So, after washing and drying, I coat with corn starch, place on a breathable grate and place in freezer for 1-hour to further rid the meat of the dreaded moisture. During the surface-freeze I heat grill which has already been cleaned and oiled (shiny black beauty) and I place carefully folded heavy-duty foil on to grates, covering them completely. Super heat grill (Now I know why my gas bill is so high), and fetch the steaks. One more application of oil and I place steaks on grill at a 45-degree angle, “push” them onto the grill surface, and close lid. 2 1/2 minutes later I rotate 90- degrees for another 2 1/2 for the cross-hatch look. Note: Some smoke and fire is desired but not too much so I make sure I trim any superfluous amounts of fat in preparation. I do this because once I read, “What goes in goes on.” Or “Fat in, fat on.” (Wicked irony: 112 Days ago I started THE STREAK, 1-hour a day + cardio and haven’t missed a day. I call it The Absolute Power of a Losing Streak: Winning Through Losing, and guess what? I gained 2-pounds of fat. After 112 freakin’ days of high resistance training. Well, maybe a bit of the 2-pounds is muscle but it doesn’t look like it. My point is, I know diet trumps exercise but with all of the extra energy I now have from the AM cardio when I get home from work I am still energetic so what do I do, I cook and cook and cook. My plan needs an adjustment.)
     Back to the steaks: Flip, watch, and monitor temp with a Thermapen, my constant companion. At $96 I had better like it. http://www.thermoworks.com/
     Anyway, another 2-3 minutes until 115 or so, place on a warmed plate, introduce herb butter (not too much or you’ll quickly notice the love handles grow), tent with foil for 5-minutes.
     The first taste is ree-diculously good.
     Good luck.

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     Liane — 4/16/10 @ 1:00 pm

     I bought some strips of chuck on a whim because they were super on sale. Didn’t feel like stewing the meat, and I remembered reading about your method. It really worked. I used salt, smashed garlic and pepper for the salting phase, then washed all that off and added more pepper, then pan-fried in a bit of unsalted butter. The butter gave it a nice browning and I didn’t have to add more salt because it was already in there. We just ate it straight from the pan with nothing else added. My husband took a bite and said, “This. Is. Good.” Thanks for helping me turn super cheap chuck, not even a steak cut, into delicious heaven!

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     awesome steak — 4/17/10 @ 3:25 pm

     omg…this was so good…..we all loved it and my son ate it and he doesn’t like steak cause it never has flavor and is so tough..and this was a chuck eye steak….and cheap……yummy…thank you so much….

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     SPOOKEY — 4/17/10 @ 5:54 pm

     You Kick@ss big time!! Worked Great and you made me laugh I LOVE IT AND YOU KEEP KICKING @SS…

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     Mitch — 4/17/10 @ 10:08 pm

     Tried on a T-bone tonight… entirely too salty for my taste, but the concept sounds great so later on in the week I plan to try with a little less salt and possibly less time with the salt covering. The Herb butter was amazing!

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     Kate — 4/20/10 @ 12:58 am

     Bought some frozen “choice” steaks -cheap- and feared they would be nasty. Tried your salt method and oh my oh my they were lovely. Buttah! I will use this again. Thanks so much.

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     Franko — 4/22/10 @ 12:56 am

     How do you avoid having to much salt taste to meat? People have complained about this method.

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — April 22nd, 2010 @ 10:48 am

       Try it with less salt if you are afraid of it being too salty – it’s a technique you should definitely try out.

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     lagertwown — 4/22/10 @ 12:23 pm

     Amazing trick! Did this last night with 4 sirloin steaks. We have one calf of ours slaughtered once a year and fill our deep freezer with burgers, chops. and steaks. By now we are down to the lesser cuts of steaks and they have been tough and chewy and rubbery. I tried this last night and we were blown away by the change in the quality and tenderness in the meat. I have a few questions for you tho:

     I literally drowned the steaks in a pan in kosher salt, let them bath in the salt for 1 hour, and then rinsed them under cold water. While fantastic they were still on the salty side. Should I have rinsed them longer?

     Second question: Have you ever tried a salt-water soak? Like a brine? Instead of using dry salt? I wondered if this would make a difference.

     Thank you for this incredible tip. The steak was amazing.

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     William — 4/22/10 @ 3:56 pm

     What do ANY of you think of incorporating a mallet either before or after the salt application to possibly tenderize even more? Comments appreciated!

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     JD Smith — 4/22/10 @ 8:43 pm

     I love it when something works right the very first time! We always have rib-eye steaks, USDA choice from Sam’s, in the freezer. My wife and I are both retired. I guess my teeth are not as good as they used to be, because the same rib-eyes used to be tender and tasty now are almost too chewy for me to eat. Seriously, I was about to give up eating steak – and I love steak.

     My wife came across your website and found your kosher salt tenderizing recommendation. We tried it. Halleluyah!! (how ever you spell it) Joy – Joy! All of a sudden our steaks were wonderfully tender by simply following your salt tenderizing procedure. My wife left her salt on for 30 minutes – meat very tender cooked rare, but too salty she said – 15 minutes next time. I left salt on mine for 45 minutes -cooked medium (a little salty, but OK) and TENDER PERFECT!. Boy, what a difference!!

     This was our first try, but you can bet your booty we’ll try this on other cuts as well. It was such a pleasure to eat a tender, tasty steak again. Who woulda thunk a little kosher salt could do such wonders. Thanks so much.

741. 741
     

     Adz — 4/29/10 @ 10:26 am

     Thank you so much!
     Your description left me beyond doubt and the test I did of it made me a believer.
     Seriously impressive stuff, again, thank you.

742. 742
     

     Steve — 5/1/10 @ 9:10 am

     I’m going to try this tonight with some thick sirloins. Whether it works or not, I enjoyed reading your article. Very funny. Thanks.

743. 743
     

     Arizona Solar — 5/3/10 @ 6:22 pm

     Funny.. this is how my dad makes steak (just realizing it) and his are possibly the BEST in the country. We are steak eaters at my house, and will definitely put this into practice. My husband usually does about 15 mins of salt.. but this makes more sense. Kudos.
     -Sylvia

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     Roger — 5/4/10 @ 1:03 am

     I totally didn’t buy this… but I had a few steaks in the freezer left over from the last time i made fajitas so no harm in trying.

     Anyway I am quite impressed!! It was way more tender than any 2 $/lb steak ive ever had. It was salty but not overly so. I peppered it and served it with a merlot butter which masked salt a bit.

     Well done!

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     Sarah Brown — 5/4/10 @ 11:47 am

     I also tried this method with chuck ROAST and was amazed at the results!! I took a roast, trimmed it and cut it into steaks. Let it salt with pepper and garlic for about an hour, then washed, reseasoned with pepper and a tiny amount of oil, then cooked it in my cast iron skillet/oven. AMAZING. It wasn’t quite butter, but turning roast chuck at $1.69/lb into restaurant-quality steak dinner for my family… you just can’t beat that!!

746. 746
     

     Jeremy — 5/5/10 @ 1:20 am

     I’ve been using this method of various cuts for the past 2 months and while in the beginning a few came out too salty (I was massively salting each side) I’ve now perfected it. THANK YOU! While it does indeed make all steaks better it really does filet mignon wonders. The salt for 20-30 minutes I find works best for me. A thorough drying, light coating in olive oil and a healthy amount of course black pepper on the show side. Insanely good.

     Thanks again.

747. 747
     

     Taste of Cuba — 5/10/10 @ 9:35 am

     Sounds like a great idea, I’m going to try it, but with some kosher salt.

748. 748
     

     Pete — 5/13/10 @ 5:42 pm

     My favorite way to eat filet is with a salt, black pepper, and garlic powder rub. A decent coatingl amount 30 minutes before cooking. I dont put enough on that i need to brush it or shake it off before cooking, just give it a good push into the steak and let it soak it up. Then grill until youve reached the desired texture (if youre new to grilling use tongs, and push with the tip angled to feel, it wont take you long to learn exactly what the inside of the steak is like by its texture) Then i eat my steaks with Pastene hot pepperoncini rings, which is sooo good, especially if you enjoy hot stuff.

749. 749
     

     Dave — 5/18/10 @ 3:41 pm

     Hi Jaden, great tip! I do have a question for you: I also use this method with beef roasts, 2-3 Lbs. Since they can soak in the salt for an hour or more, should they be covered with plastic wrap, or does the process need “breathing room”? What about refrigerating the roast during this time?

     Thanks again!
     Dave

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — May 18th, 2010 @ 3:46 pm

       If you’re going to leave the meat to salt for more than an hour, I’d refrigerate. Just loosely cover with plastic wrap to keep it clean. No need for “breathing room” – the cow’s dead already! just kidding.

       Remember timing is about about thickness – so if your roast is thick, leave the salt on longer.

750. 750
     

     Grace — 5/24/10 @ 12:02 am

     Great post! My boyfriend and I love grilling rib eyes on the BBQ (we live in HK and it’s a real treat to have a grill so we use it as much as we can). I am definitely trying the Gucci steak recipe next time. You mentioned getting a grilling thermometer — so what is the right temperature to grill our rib eyes for that perfect medium-rareness? Is there a starting temperature i.e. when we first put the meat on and then turning it down during the cooking? How long to cook it if it’s a 1 inch rib eye? Please help.

     And thanks again for the post – my boyfriend will love you for it!

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — May 27th, 2010 @ 9:09 am

       Hi Grace – Medium rare is when the steak interior reaches 135F. Here’s a great tutorial for grilling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FlRf0StGiU

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     Jeff — 5/28/10 @ 1:42 pm

     Steamykitchen,
     I’m a little confused. You first started talking about cheaper cuts of meat, but then the last section is Porterhouse, T-Bone all the expensive stuff. What cuts of meat that are a lot cheaper would this work with than I can get in a normal grocery store? We’re on a terribly tight budget. Thank you!

     -Jeff

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — May 28th, 2010 @ 1:57 pm

       I don’t talk about cheaper cuts of meat. I talk about buying choice cut, not prime.

       But you can use sirloin steak if you want, which is cheaper.

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     Trend Spike » BarBQue Blowout: Grilling for Memorial Day — 5/29/10 @ 4:49 pm

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak: The best technique for making a cheap cut of steak taste like filet mignon is outlined here. [...]

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     Lila Das Gupta — 5/30/10 @ 6:44 am

     Sounds amazing! What a great blog.
     Am making steak for the family tonight as a holiday treat. I hope I do it justice with your help.

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     dcINholland — 5/31/10 @ 6:18 pm

     THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!!!

     I had 3 1-inch Bison steaks that I needed to grill today. I did just as you described and they not only turned out more tender than I have ever had before, but TASTY as well ( we have thrown away our table salt shaker away long ago – this did not have any unpleasant saltiness – I used Celtic Sea Salt and Regular Sea Salt ) Guess what I’m going to use on my Organic, Grass-fed Beef T-bones…I can’t wait !!!!

     HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

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     Rebecca McG — 6/2/10 @ 11:16 am

     I admit, I was skeptical at first, and I’m NOT a salt fan. But you have yet to lead me astray Jaden, so I did it. I salted my steaks and they came out AWESOME!

     Couple of questions though, should I rinse and pat them dry before I salt them too? Or is it okay for them to be wet when I salt them? Do you salt one side, or both? If I don’t have 45 minutes to let them sit, can I salt both sides and only let them sit for 20 minutes?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — June 2nd, 2010 @ 4:44 pm

       Hi Rebecca, I always rinse and pat dry all my raw meats/seafood before seasoning, so it’s a good idea just to start w/clean dry surface.

       I salt both sides. I’ve often run out of time and only salt for 20 minutes too.

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     Robert Pope — 6/2/10 @ 10:55 pm

     I thought you were crazy when I first read this post a few days ago, but saw that a lot of people had done it in the comments. It was absolutely fantastic. I bought a few Choice rib-eyes, salted (used more than the chart called for, though), left for 45 minutes, and rinsed. Seasoned with peppercorn (usually I would also use salt, but obviously didn’t this time), and grilled rare.
     Definitely the best-tasting steak I’ve grilled so far. I didn’t want to believe this method would work, but it is great.

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     Jeff — 6/3/10 @ 6:53 pm

     Another convert here. Grilled the best NY strip yesterday I’ve ever done in my life! I told my buddy “Yeah, this is how I did it, and it rocked! But I don’t remember where I saw it…”

     My buddy just now sent me YOUR link! Now you’re bookmarked!

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     blreber.net link dump › Daily Blog Post 06/04/2010 (p.m.) — 6/4/10 @ 4:04 pm

     [...] Steak: How to Turn Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak | Steamy Kitchen Recipes [...]

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     Bruce — 6/6/10 @ 11:32 am

     Another fan here. Used the techniques described above and grilled the best steak of our lives last night. Steaks were vacuum packed frozen NY strip steaks from Costco. The salting produced a wonderful crust on the meat with a lot of flavor throughout. Grilled good and hot at 1000 deg for about 2-3 min each side – perfection!

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     Sam — 6/6/10 @ 6:34 pm

     Due to a confused butcher, I can say that this method works very nicely for cuts of pork too, haha.
     Most delicious pork chop EVER.

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     Chef Maven - Leah — 6/6/10 @ 9:37 pm

     What a hoot of a post! great tips, love the point where you tell people to pull up their pants! Love the humor and drawings with bourbon, which should be a lesson/post all on its own! Looking forward to more!

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     Waiting on windows: a quick World Cup gushing. « Locked Jaw — 6/12/10 @ 3:36 pm

     [...] This is what I do to my steaks. [...]

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     How to grill meat | Kiwizine — 6/15/10 @ 4:45 pm

     [...] Salt your meat The best chefs in the world will all tell you one thing – use salt. Many will go on to elaborate- in the cooking process rather than on the table. It is often the reason restaurant food tastes better. When to apply has caused huge debate amongst industry heavyweights. I apply just before cooking after the meat has lost its fridge chill. I think all agree use more salt than is good for you. Check this out for a good argument on why to salt early – http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html [...]

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     Aprille — 6/16/10 @ 12:09 pm

     I tried this technique and it was perfection! Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I did this technique with a rib-eye and it was sooooo tender. This will always be how I will prepare my steaks from now on.

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     Father’s Day Food | giverslog.com — 6/17/10 @ 1:01 pm

     [...] this method for steak last Father’s day and, trust me, it is this [...]

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     On being 1: How to become a blogger | Kitchen Butterfly — 6/17/10 @ 4:36 pm

     [...] first inkling that bloggers extraordinaire were human! One of the first recipes I ever made was her Gucci steaks, I call them Steak Bling Bling, using a method of super salting the steaks to season them. Well, it [...]

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     Anonymous — 6/19/10 @ 2:30 pm

     [...] [...]

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     Diana — 6/20/10 @ 8:01 pm

     This is such a WONDERFUL recipe! I’m not a steak lover but this one was perfection!

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     nothing says happy father’s day like… « behind the gate — 6/21/10 @ 4:52 pm

     [...] supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.  on the menu:  grilled rib eye steaks cooked according to this amazing method, green beans, and roasted potatoes all eaten in the light of eight candles because if you light all [...]

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     Feasts and Loaving in Kobe « Desperate Thymes — 6/23/10 @ 2:04 am

     [...] like Jaden’s diagrams, and her method for salting steak has never failed me in the past, so I did the same thing to the Wagyu beef, after cutting it into [...]

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     G Gwynn — 6/28/10 @ 9:58 am

     IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY!!!!

     Gave it a shot yesterday with a couple 1.5″ thick steaks. Coated each side with kosher salt….rested in the fridge for one hour. Rinsed thoroughly, re-seasoned with fresh ground pepper and California garlic poweder. Grilled over very high
     heat until medium rare. TASTY!

     Thanks….I’ll be doing this from now on.

     Oh by the way….it worked on a rib roast too.

     G. Gwynn
     Frederick, MD

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     Jimbo — 6/30/10 @ 9:31 pm

     happened by chance to your site and found your salting technique, without realizing it was a blog hit the print button and know am proud owner of a full volume of a classic comedy novel, the comments of some make me laugh the others have me yelling at them out loud, reguardless,the steaks have been AWESOME! (a common word used when done the right way) Anyway, thank you for my new found studlyness behind the grill.

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     Clugs — 7/2/10 @ 2:15 pm

     Loving the attitude!
     You made me LOL at the ‘table salt tastes like shit’ bit! hahahaha im gona go try the recipe now xD love it

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     Cynthia Catugal — 7/5/10 @ 8:46 pm

     OMG, this is the best method ever. My Husband and I always buy Ribeye’s, but there’s is always that one portion of the steak that is a little tough. Not with this method, the whole steak in incredibly tender. Thank you so much.

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     Roarasaur — 7/7/10 @ 4:35 pm

     I was just wondering after looking at this website and reading it thoroughly, and after drooling over your pictures of the steak and wanting to go out and buy everything right this instant, What do you use to shoot your pictures and with what lens?

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — July 8th, 2010 @ 1:40 pm

       for those photos – Canon 40D with 60mm macro (I think — those photos were taken such a long time ago)
       I use Canon 5D Mark II with 24-70mm 2.8 lens now.

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     Barking Carnival | Blog | Mmmmm....Grilled Meats... — 7/8/10 @ 3:43 pm

     [...] more than a minute or two before grilling, as it tends to draw moisture out of the meat. There are various theories, some of which I’ve tried and had good success, to heavily salting the meat well in advance [...]

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     Sarah — 7/11/10 @ 8:10 am

     This was amazing. We just finished eating and I had to get online and let you know that this was one of the best steaks I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for such a wonderful tip. It’s going to take a lot of effort to stop me from doing this again. And if I have the time to take photos next time, I’ll definitely be posting to my blog as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I could kiss you! Cheers!

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     katrina — 7/12/10 @ 11:56 pm

     Today is my mother’s birthday,my dad and I have pretended a small birthday party .In order to give her a surprise,we haven’t told her this secret.The moment when my Mom entered the room after working,the beautiful ribows flew down,and I took a big cake to her. Father was so excited and was moved by my behaviour.I gave her cheap Polo t shirtsbought from discount oakley sunglassesas her birthday present.rayban sunglasses wholesaleThe merchandise there are very cheap,and puma shoes cheap they were posted from China in a quick speed.Actually,Wholesale Clothes Accessores it was the happiest day we have ever met.

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     Tip Tuesday – Steak | Stuff I Like… — 7/13/10 @ 8:13 am

     [...] I’m not talking about sour cream and onions. I’m talking about salt. I stumbled across a website that explains this process of taking out the steak 15 minutes to an hour before you cook it, [...]

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     Noel Boyd — 7/14/10 @ 5:25 pm

     Hi Jaden! Greetings from Singapore! I just want to say you’ve got the most happening recipe website on the net. You write well, the images are mouth watering and the recipes are incredibly easy to follow.

     I tried your steak recipe last week and it turned out awesome!!! Along with my stomach, I was truly satisfied! =)

     Anyhow, I did a blog post about my steak with a link to both your website and this page. I hope it brings you the traffic you deserve. Take good care and keep doing what you love!

     http://www.noelboyd.com/2010/07/perfect-steak-recipe.html

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     Clem — 7/15/10 @ 9:22 pm

     Man, I don’t even EAT steak and that recipe had me salivatin’!!! How about my uncle just dropped me off some ribeyes, so I may be trying this tomorrow!!

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     Jim Dunlop — 7/16/10 @ 3:46 am

     Article written in 2007, but comments just keep coming. I don’t know even if the original author checks the new ones anymore…

     Anyway, I waded through almost 800 comments, taking me upwards of an hour, and pretty much everything here can be summarized into a couple of simple categories.

     1. This recipe is awesome! Works like a charm!
     2. This recipe is shite! Tastes like a salt lick.
     3. The scientists who try and disassemble the article. This last category is popcorn material. This is the true pissing contest…

     Expert 1: Ha! Ha! Science says you are wrong!

     Expert 2: Asshole! Science says YOU are wrong and here is proof!

     Expert 1: Dumbass! My sources are better than YOUR sources. Science says YOU are wrong!

     Expert 2: Well, I’ve researched this shit for 100 years! Science says YOU are wrong!

     Expert 3: Asshats! Science says you are BOTH wrong!

     Repeat as necessary, until Godwin’s Law comes into effect.

     Okay, so I exaggerate a bit. Most commenters have been more than civil and courteous…. (I’m just trying to stir up trouble)… But what have I taken away from this? Not a helluva lot. I left with more questions than answers. The only way I’m ever going to get to the bottom of this, is to experiment myself… If I have anything notable to add afterward, I shall. But anyway, here is the gist of what I am trying tonight.

     Meat:
     Slab of Ribeye. Custom cut to 1.25″ steaks (by me). I don’t like them any thicker. Personal preference.

     Grill: Outside. Natural charcoal. Cuz it’s summer and the kitchen looks like a war zone from yesterday’s masterpiece.

     1. 2 steaks prepared using Steamykitchen’s recipe (sea salt).
     2. 2 steaks marinaded in beer (advice based on word of mouth from an alleged steakhouse chef)
     3. 1 steak marinaded in yogurt (a bit obscure for beef — much more common for chicken recipes, but if Steamykitchen can adapt a chicken recipe, so can I. I’ve been reading that apparently dairy tenderizes meat. Note: UNKOSHER as hell! Pro-tip: if you’re Jewish, don’t try this).
     4. 1 steak: dry rub (mixed spices, garlic, salt, pepper)
     5. 1 steak: control group (nothing)

     Evaluation: taste & tenderness testing by me, wife, best friend. The latter two will not know what is happening until after the experiment is over.

     Wish me luck!

     Cheers.
     4.

     • 

       SteamyKitchen replied: — July 16th, 2010 @ 7:05 am

       Of course I read all comments! Let me know how your testing goes.

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     Baby — 7/18/10 @ 5:24 pm

     I love it. It came out awesome. I sent this recipe to my brother . Now I am his best sister.

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     martha main — 7/19/10 @ 8:40 pm

     i ran across this site while trying to find out how to tenderize a london broil. I tried it tonight and OMG it was awesome. My son actually said it was probably the best steak he ever had. This one is a saver.

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     Brianne — 7/19/10 @ 11:23 pm

     Kristovsky’s comment is old but hopefully no one is paying attention to it. I felt the need to state – as was already pointed out several times in the article – you are NOT consuming that much salt. MOST of the salt is being washed off the meat, very little of it is absorbed into the meat. If it was, the meat would taste terrible. That’s what makes this method work, that the salt stays long enough to make the meat tender and then gets rinsed off (as it is sitting on the surface). If Kristovsky had read the whole article he/she might understand that. I think it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that consuming several tablespoons of salt in one sitting would be bad.

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     Mike L — 7/22/10 @ 1:59 pm

     I defrosted a 1″ top sirloin yesterday, placed it on a bed of kosher salt, added a heavy layer on top of the steak. I didn’t measure the quantity. After about 15 minutes, I rinsed all the salt off and patted dry. Seasoned with pepper, paprika and Worcestershire sauce. It went into the 200*F oven until the meat registered at 95*. Then dumped it on a HOT cast iron skillet for 2 minutes per side. At the end, I put a small slab of butter on top. This was much better (juicier and tastier) than my non-salted reverse sears, will definitely be incorporated into all my steak recipes now.

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     santoki — 7/22/10 @ 4:18 pm

     After a delicious, but unbelievably tough attempt at carne asada, I went scouring the interweb for a solution. And here I am. Going to give your salt trick a try for this cheap but tasty piece of skirt steak. Wish me luck!

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     Models & politicians must be the happiest people. « We Who Are About To Die — 7/25/10 @ 10:13 pm

     [...] wing and bullet wounds where their teeth should be. I’m fed up with cupcakes, get me a steak. Not caked into lines, but spiraling outwards, and yes, the voices are stars. And, happy for them, [...]

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     Baker23 — 7/26/10 @ 4:38 pm

     Excellent stuff. Thanks, man.

     Shopping around, you can find cheap rib steak cuts that look great, and are nicely trimmed. I often shop at an oriental food store for my meats – not tripple A steaks, but they are trimmed perfectly. I can get them at 1/3 the price on a good week compared to the SALE price of your everage grocery store.

     The salt DOES magic. Granted, it will never turn it in to a superb prime/choice cut. BUT bang for the buck? You can’t go wrong… AND you can impress a lot of people for the price.

     You can leave the salt on 4 times longer (straight from the fridge). Just make sure the meat is not bathing in juices (just turn it half-way through). Place on a few layers of paper towel (and newspaper in the bottom). DON’T put it back in to the fridge – room temp straight to your charcoal grill. Once off the grill – give it time to rest (the meat doesn’t need to be burning hot on the plate).

     The salt works great for all grades of meat. The better the “average grocery store” cut – the better it will work (goes quicker too). Never tried it on a roast – will do that soon.

     Again, thanks.

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     Baker23 — 7/26/10 @ 5:07 pm

     Reading “too salty” in some comment – rinse it well after – and pat it dry before slapping it on the BBQ. You also don’t need to rub the salt in like a sun tan lotion. Just get it on there. Placing it on paper will help soak up some of the salty juices. I’ll shut up now.

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     Alice Kummer — 8/12/10 @ 10:49 am

     it did not work ,even I followed the reciepe it was very salty
     to much so

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     Luke — 8/16/10 @ 4:09 pm

     I’m trying this tonight. I came across this recipe a few months ago and keep forgetting it. I want to surprise my wife with good dinner but I’m no chef so I hope it turns out good! My hopes are high. Love the article.

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     cameo — 8/19/10 @ 6:20 pm

     Comment deleted due to profanity and rudeness. Happy to let your comment through if you clean it up.

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     Taunya — 8/20/10 @ 4:27 pm

     I read this after doing a search for ways to make cheap steak tender. I had read this in Alton Brown’s book, but did not quite trust it. I cater on a very tight budget for 20 guys and of course they always request steak. I bought sirloin and after salting(kosher)up the steaks and making the butter I sat down to read the comments and started panicking when I read that sirloin does not work. Thirty! 8 ounce portions of sirloin were sitting in my kitchen covered in salt and ready to be delivered in an hour. I quickly read the plastic wrap still in the garbage that the steaks had been wrapped in and learned I had purchased “Choice”,(on sale-$2.49/lb). I rinsed a steak off (only 20 minutes had passed), ran to the grill, chugged a shot of bourbon and grilled the steak. OMG – THIS DOES WORK WITH SIRLOIN! At least Choice Sirloin. And it worked GREAT and all the guys I cater for loved it!! They all thought there were eating super expensive steak and are still going on and on. I could taste the salt, but it was not over-powering at all. Perfect in fact. So I raise a glass of bouron to you and your recipe!

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     Matt Kay — 8/25/10 @ 2:19 pm

     Excellent read Jaden. And, it was hardly funny at all… Love the illustrations.

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     Katrina — 8/27/10 @ 2:00 pm

     Lol! Thank you for a very helpful, highly entertaining tutorial on improving our beef experience at home. I consider myself a fairly accomplished home cook, but the last couple times I tried making steak, it was kinda blah. So I’m armed and ready with kosher salt and a killer sauce recipe (port and mustard reduction anyone?) and hopefully will be whipping up the best damn steak dinner I’ve ever made.

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     Kevin — 8/28/10 @ 12:01 am

     I must have used this method dozens of times by now, but the first will always be special.

     I have to tell you, Jaden, my wife’s family is cheap–almost pathologically so. They cannot wrap their heads around the idea of USDA prime anything. I like to grill, so I take them to Costco, sweep past all the fancy stuff and pick up a tray of sirloin. “This is less expensive,” I say, “but I think it’ll still be good.” Nods of approval.

     I salt the crap out of them while the kettle is getting ready. I hide the evidence in the oven so they don’t see. I rinse the steaks very well and make sure I get them good and dry. Trim the fat, olive oil, pepper. 8 minutes on a screeching hot grill. Little pats of butter while they’re resting. Accompanied with grilled red onion, asparagus, potato wedges.

     I’ll never forget the look of surprise on their faces. Over four pounds of steak, gone in minutes!

     Thank you.

     BTW, I found your site mentioned here http://www.patiodaddiobbq.com/2009/02/steak-average-to-awesome.html by way of http://bbq.alltop.com

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     Salty steak hater — 9/4/10 @ 12:48 am

     woulda rather chewed for 5 minutes on a rough cut than ate that salty crap. Oh well it was cheap to begin with–and so is your advice.

     Buyer beware–sometimes free isn’t free.

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• Welcome to Steamy Kitchen!

  I'm Jaden Hair, a professional recipe developer, food columnist, and food photographer specializing in fast, fresh, and easy recipes for the home cook.

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