If you are a steak-lover, I hope that the title of this post + the 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 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 cheaper cuts of steak 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 the best way to get full, juicy, beefy flavor of a ribeye with butter-knife tenderness of a filet mignon without feel like getting ripped off buying Prime cuts. And after 4 months of eating steak 2 times 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 cheap steak into a gucci “Prime” cut. (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 and something people can relate to.) 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!!!
Why This Steak Method Totally Kicks Butt
- Tenderizes Like a Boss: Salt works like a meat tenderizer, turning tougher cuts into buttery, tender bites.
- Flavor Town Road Trip: We’re not just sprinkling on top; this salt gets deep into the steak, making every bite insanely flavorful.
- Juicy Business: Salt pulls out the steak’s juices, mixes in, then the steak sucks it back up. Itβs like a juice spa for your steak.
- Pick Your Player: Works like magic on any cut β cheap, pricey, whatever youβve got. Itβs like the Swiss Army knife of steak methods.
- Flavor Level: Epic: Wanna get fancy? Throw in your fave spices or rubs. This method’s like your flavor wingman.
- No More Cooking Guesswork: This steak won’t give you any drama on the grill or pan. It cooks evenly, making you look like a pro.
How to Make the Most Tender, Flavorful Steak Recipe
The Steak Secret: salt your steaks 1 hour before cooking for every inch of thickness.
Here are two nice pieces of regular ‘ol supermarket steak. They’re about 1.25 inches thick, so I’ll let them salt for about 1.25 hours.
Season liberally with kosher salt on both sides with kosher or coarse sea salt. If you are used to using regular table salt, this may look like a ton of salt, but just remember that kosher and sea salt flakes are 2-3x the size of table salt.
And then just let it sit on your counter.
After 15 minutes, it will look like this — you can see how the meat’s water is starting to come up to the surface — and that some of the salt is still on the surface of the steak.
After 30 minutes, you’ll see more water:
After almost an hour:
And now 1.25 hours – see all that water? You can also see that there’s still salt on the surface of the steak.
The next step is to discard the water, rinse the steak really well to rid of all the salt. Pat very very dry with clean paper towels so that absolutely no moisture is left on the steak. Then it’s time to cook.
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.
(Oh, and if the drawings look like a 3rd grader did it, too bad. YOU try drawing with a laptop touchpad 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 donβt pat super dry, youβre 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… B-B-BUT!!! What about 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”).
Professional chefs 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.
Salting 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 muscle fibers and flavor the steak throughout.
- Again, don’t worry about all that salt. Just enough 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.
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.
FAQs I Know You’re Going To Ask
- How does salting affect the steak’s tenderness and flavor? Salting, or “dry brining”, works wonders by breaking down tough muscles and connective tissue in the steak. It’s an easy way to make sure every bite of your steak is juicy and flavorful. The salt draws out moisture initially, then dissolves in it, creating a natural brine that’s reabsorbed, seasoning the steak throughout.
- Can this method be used on other cuts of meat, like pork chops or beef brisket? Absolutely! This technique isn’t just limited to transforming a budget steak. It can also work well on other meats like pork chops or beef brisket. The key is adjusting the salting time based on the thickness and type of meat.
- Whatβs the best type of salt to use for this method? Kosher or coarse sea salt is the way to go. These types of salt don’t dissolve as quickly as table salt, allowing for a more controlled and even absorption into the meat fibers.
- How long should I leave the steak at room temperature before cooking? After salting, let the steak rest at room temperature for the prescribed duration (1 hour for each inch of thickness). This ensures the steak reaches an even internal temperature.
- What are some effective ways to add extra flavor to the steak? Alongside salting, consider rubbing your steak with your favorite rub, fresh ground pepper, or a little bit of olive oil. These can complement the natural steak taste and elevate your budget steak to taste like a tender cut of prime steak.
- Can I cook the steak using methods other than grilling? Yes! While a hot grill is a popular and effective way, you can also use a cast iron skillet or even try sous vide cooking for precise control over the internal temperature. Each cooking method offers its own unique touch to your steak experience.
- What should I look for when buying steak from the local grocery store for this method? Look for thicker cuts like chuck steak or flat iron steak. These cheap cuts of beef often have great deals at grocery stores and respond well to this salting method. Avoid cuts with too much visible salt and tough cuts of meat.
- How can I tell if the steak is cooked to my preferred method? Using a meat thermometer is the best way to check for the desired internal temperature. Remember, the right amount of time on a high temp grill or skillet varies depending on steak thickness and your personal preference for doneness.
- Is it necessary to rinse the steak after salting? Yes, it’s crucial! Rinsing removes the excess surface salt and ensures the steak doesn’t taste overly salty. Pat it dry thoroughly afterward for the best sear.
Side Note: This is another great use for my herb butter!
Notice the consistency in ingredients (first photo and the one below): the perfect steak always goes 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
How to make cheaper Choice steak even more tender and flavorful
Ingredients
PER STEAK
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
- 1 piece steak
Instructions
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of kosher salt PER side of steak
- Let salt: 1 hour per 1" thickness of steak. For example, if steak is 1/2" thick, then let salt for 30 minutes.
- Rinse all salt off. Pat very dry with paper towel.
- Season steak with pepper or other seasoning (do not add any additional salt)
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our
nice article, thanks for sharing…
Right on Jaden. The kosher or rock-like sea salt tenderizing of steak works like a charm.
I believe I first heard of this from Bobby Flay.
Thank you for your exactness and the slightly profane tongue-in-cheek humor.
DMK
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you can turn a cheap “choice” steak into a restaurant-quality “prime” steak. The key is to season the steak well and cook it at high heat to achieve a crispy, golden-brown crust. Basting the steak with butter adds flavor and moisture to the meat, while cooking it in the oven ensures that the steak is cooked evenly throughout. Enjoy your delicious and affordable prime steak!
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Would this work on a pork steak?
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Thank you for the wonderful information on how to make a cheap cut tender I gave it a try on a chuck eye steak which is normally kind of a tough cut of beef but it’s a poor man’s ribeye because it’s cheap. I did just exactly as suggested and each and every one of the steaks that I cooked came out juicy tender and not over salted at all thank you so very much
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TY! Tried this tonight on a London Broil. It came out very good. Next time I will rinse it more. It was a bit salty for our liking. It was the best London Broil we have ever cooked. I did sous vide it at 120F for 1 1/2 hours then hit a 500 F grill for a bit. Came out a very nice medium rare all the way thru. When I told the wife we were having London Broil she raised eyebrows with the, ‘Oh really, darn look.’ When she finished her sandwich she said, “you can do that again!”
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Without the precise amount of salt and brine duration, it could easily mislead the reader to make the steak too salty. The instruction such as “salt generously with…” doesn’t give any information to the reader and the ingredient at the bottom corner is hard to find. I found many recipes of this kind on the Internet and they all use such word “generous amount salt”!
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Thanks for the tips on pre-salting steaks. It’s looks so yummy. I will try it for sure.
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Nice Steak recipe. I will try it for sure.
Thanks for the tips on pre-salting steaks. What about adding a marinade to the meat before cooking?
I did this tonight with a cheapie sirloin from Wal-Mart! It worked. It was tender and juicy! Thank you! Will be doing steak like this from now on.
Well now I see why I ate a tender but disgustingly salty steak tonight. Thanks for clearing this up- I had an inch thick strip steak. I covered both sides with half a box of table salt! And THEN LEFT IT ON FOR OVER AN HOUR ! Both sides! Lotβs of salt! Long time! Β Tender yes but the salt taste was murder yuk. Β So thx Β Iβll try again tomorrow night.Β
Jaden you are a genius. I found your post on salting steaks several years ago and have enjoyed perfect grilled steaks ever since. I followed the steps listed in your post and every N.Y. Strip, porterhouse, Β and sirloin steak comes out tender, moist, and very tasteful. So tonight I decided to try the salt process on a 3/4β Bone in pork chop and it also came out great. I used sea salt but only for 20 minutes. Then I rinsed the salt off and Β dried the meat, added pepper to both sides and grilled the chops. They came out great. Thanks for sharing this process.Β
Aww thanks so much Tom!!!! jaden
Good information. Lucky me I ran across your site by accident.
5) The B side. Now here’s where things get weird. By the time you have the perfect crust on one side, heat is penetrating and the center is pretty close to perfect. If you flip the meat and sear the other side dark, you will overcook and destroy the steak. So flip the meat and cook the second side for only 1 minute! That’s more than long enough to kill any contaminants on the surface. Like an old fashioned vinyl record, the B side may not be as good as the Side A, it will be tan not brown, but Side A and the center will be perfect.
I want to try this but I do not have kosher salt or sea salt so this sill end up making my steak extremely salty correct?? Β It sounds like a great idea I plan on broiling my steak in olive oil in oven…Β
Thanks for sharing,
Chris
I always use kosher or sea salt.
So for 1 inch steak 1 hour in salt. 1cm steak should be about 30 minutes. Is that long enough for osmosis to occur? Or is it okay because it’s smaller?
Yes, 30 min is fine.
I believe that salting steaks is a good thing. I also think that one needn’t use the pricey cuts you mentioned. My current meat-in-fridge is a couple of pounds (@$2.49/) of top round, which can be very ‘chewy’. My method is to apply a good coating of K-salt to both sides of (preferably 1+”), along with garlic, powder or fresh chopped, a healthy dose of black pepper, and whatever else I’m of a mind to. After applying this seasoning, I set the meat on a wire rack in font of an electric fan. I let it stand in the breeze for an hour or longer, flipping once. I will now perform the rinse. Back to the fan for 15 minutes per side (and blotting if necessary). I will now put the steaks in a countertop convection oven (fan off) at 250*F. I cook until thermometer inserted through edge reads 120*F. Take out, rest 15 minutes, slice on the bias. Quite rare, which I love, but can also be used in recipes, where it might cook a bit more.
HI Jaden. Love ur technique /Article. I have tried this before with gd results…on steak. I just recently tried this salt method on a 4 lb. Pork Loin. With both gd results & also, bad results. .way too salty. I fixed that problem…with end results being satisfactory. Still have to make adjustments. My question is….can this be done on Lrg cuts of meat/beef…such as Tri’tip, rump roast etc…if so, can u pls advise me on amt/salt & timeframe. I loved the tenderness & the way my Pork Loin sliced, along with juiciness. ..was just too salty. Thank you!#!
Hi Melinda – Yes you can use with large cuts of meat. Use less salt and more time. Just sprinkle the salt like you normally would season the large cut of beef. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
I have been doing this for 30 years. Best steaks in the world!
Bourbon, what kind ? Salt donβt help cheap bourbon. I drink Bulleit myself, neat. Steak rare sides not required. Followed by a nice Cohiba
This is absolutely outstanding! Had some cheaper strip steaks, and they came out amazing!!! Thank you!
Been doing it for years. Another method is to just leave the steak unrefridgerated for 3-4 hrs at room temp. If you have a frozen steak take it out of the refrigerator a d put it in the sink or on the counter in the am or before you leave for work. When you get ready for dinner season and grill. It will melt in your mouth. Dont worry about leaving it unrefrigerated. It will not spoil and will be so tasty a d tender you’ll thank me.
How would one add poricini powder during this process? Should I mix it in with the salt during the tenderizing, or should I wait until I rinse all the salt off, then rub on the porcini dust before cooking?
Hi Chris, rinse salt off first. Rub on porcini dust before cooking.
Read your tenderizing recipe with great interest. I will definitely try this. However, my husband is on a low sodium diet. So, do you know how much sodium is retained after the meat is rinsed? I need to be able to calculate a βdeck of cardsβ sized portion of either chicken or steak based on a 2000mg per day diet.
Hello, I have a question: I marinaded my steak. Can I still dry it up and use this technique? Please let me know. Thanks so much π
Marion
Hi Marion, No, this technique is not for marinated steak. Give it a try next time!
Thank you! Worked great!
I realize this recipe was posted several years ago, but I just had to come back and tell you that I used your suggestions today and ended up with the absolutely best, most tender, tastiest, perfectly seasoned steak I have ever eaten…including high dollar restaurants!!
I don’t have a grill, but I have been cooking steaks in my cast iron skillet for a long time and always thought I made a pretty good steak. Well, they may have been okay, but nothing like what I made today following your technique.
Thank you so much for posting this! I will never cook a steak any other way!!
Thank you so much Sadie! We’ve also been using cast iron skillet lately…it’s too darn hot in summer sometimes to fire up the grill outside (and stand there babysitting the steak). I LOVE the cast iron skillet – it gives an even sear on the steak.
jaden
Jaden,
On the contrary, firing up the grill in the summertime keeps you from heating up your kitchen and running your A/C hard to compensate. And I live in AZ where summertime temps are always in the triple digits. Just place your grill on the shady side of your house–for us that’s the East side since we grill in the evenings.
Oh, we had some grass fed locally raised beef that was just tough enough I thought I’d have to use a tenderizer hammer on it. Used your method instead and you’d have thought those steaks were grilled in heaven.
I hate to be the ignorant one on this post, but I don’t cook steaks and have no grill. What is the next best way to cook the steak and do i put the garlic butter on before or after the steak is cooked?
You can use a George foreman but you have to watch it carefully and make sure its very hot when you put it on. The butter goes on after its cooked! Don’t worry I didn’t know till I started dating my boyfriend whose obsessed with grilling!
You can use a cast iron skillet on your stovetop π
Very nice! Love the post! Humor is always a plus while cooking. Great job I’ll be sure to look you up for more tips n tricks!!
I know this is a steak recipe I’m not a big red meat eater so I tried it with the chicken breast I had divided up and packaged in my freezer. It was my last pack and I salted it and let it sit. I prepared it the same as usual but this time it was unbelievably soooo much better. It was so tender it melted in my mouth. Yay, no more dry chicken breast!!! Big hug and a huge thank you.
Thanks so much Terry! Jaden
I found this recipe today and had to come back and just say thank you! I know you wrote this long ago but thank you! We are a family of multiple anaphylactic food allergies and celiac disease, living on a budget. 95% of our food has to be made from scratch. I buy cheap steak because well food is expensive, its excedingly more expensive when you have to follow multiple special dietary needs. So today I had a package of cheap steak and went searching for recipes figuring it would be the same old dry tough but cheap thing. I instead ended up with amazing steak, a very happy husband and just a huge amount of gratitude for you! So thank you, you changed cheap steaks for us which really does help us!
Thank you so much Cora! – jaden
I have used this technique many times (often with skeptical nay-sayers) and the results are always awesome! Tonight I finally made the herb butter and its great! Plus baked potato and Caesar salad… hey shwanky steakhouse dinner on the deck with my hubby. Date Night thanks you, Jaden!!
Thanks for the steak recipe! My wife and I really want to start home cooking more, but I am not a great cook. I love steak, and I want to be able to cook it really well. I like the garlic butter idea, that looks delicious. I will definitely be giving this a try.
I tried the salting method….followed directions to the letter….IMHO, it would be quicker to just take a tablespoon of sea salt and place it directly into the mouth…I ate salt and hardly no taste of meat at all.
“followed directions to the letter”… sure doesn’t sound like it. I’ve used this method dozens of times and it works great.
Did you remember to set a timer?
Did you accurately gauge the thickness of your steaks and use the timing chart?
Did you remember to rinse the steaks under running water when the salting time was up?
Did you accidentally put more salt on the steak out of habit before you cooked/ate it?
Did you use table salt instead of Kosher salt?
Just happened upon your blog. I am definitely going to try this. I have a swallowing condition that does not allow me to eat tuff steak. As a matter of fact, I have not eaten steak in about 6 months. Am definitely going to try this.
Hi Bob, have you tried Sous Vide for steak? Check out http://www.chefsteps.com and our review of their product. It’s perfect for steak.
I was replying to ropa interior masculina. That was a hot mess. I really enjoyed your post. Tried your recipe ( mostly)! When I told the family I was going to rinse the salt and garlic powder off in a few minutes they said no way, and scraped it off. So I put more garlic and pepper on them. Family was so impressed with the tenderness and flavor. Thanks much.
just wanted to say how much I enjoy your posts – they are so well written and funny that i laughed out loud reading them. And also the recipes rock – will definitely give this a try!
This is awesome. Had me lol literally.
Thank you for the tip. That was the best steak ever! What a difference that salt makes!
We all know meat has a high water content…. So you salt it ahead of time to draw the moisture out. Than you go and rinse ur steak under water, no matter how quick you do it your putting moisture back into the steak.
As your title states, turning a cheap cut into prime cut you are thinking of this all wrong. A cheap cut of steak has no marbling (fat) and is tough. And I can tell just from the first picture it is a good cut of meat. At least AA which is better than average.
Now turning a cheap cut into a prime cut is something totally different. Boiling the steak or not has nothing to do how good it is. All that means is that you will not develop a nice crust. But actually turning that cut of meat into something better than what it is doesn’t mean sucking all the moisture out of it, which in the end most will turn into tasty juices and the rest evaporate. If your cooking your steak on a piping hot pan, which you should be, you will absolutely be not boiling it. And if your going to try and say its bad having all that moisture because when you go and cut it, you plate turns into the Red Sea. Well after cooking you rest your steak for as long as you cooked it for or close to it. Than the fibres suck up all that delicious juices you tried wringing out by pre-salting.
So now to actually try turning that tough cut into a juicy tender piece of meat. There is a couple of ways. The best I find is by leaving your steak on a cooling rack for at least a day. 2-3 is better, and every day just makes it that much better. What it does is tenderizes the meat and also dries it out just a little on the outside because of the cool air circulating around the steak in your fridge, which is almost like your pre-salting. Except it will be just as juicy and more tender in the end. Almost like a quick dry aging the butcher will do. Than this way you can still salt your steak without rinsing it off.
The only downside to this is it will need to be done a couple days ahead of time. If you don’t have the time to do so, put the steak out on the counter an hour per inch before you cook it. Which makes the inside room temp so when you cook it you don’t have to warm up the inside which make a more uneven cooking. Than you can still salt it and pepper after cooking, since the high heat burns pepper easily. Than you have to let it rest!
Just covering a steak hours ahead in salt the rinsing it off with water just baffles me. Even if it is a crappy cut of meat…. Just wrong
100% agree with you. Only person to make sense here. Pretty coincidental that we have the same name too haha. Btw with the fridge dry-ageing technique, how is it done? Do I need to remove my steaks from the vaccum packaging and lay it on a plate in my fridge or will leaving it in the packet do?
Thanks.
You obviously didn’t try this method before deciding that it just can’t work. That’s a shame. I guess Alton Brown, Julia Child and America’s Test Kitchen were all wrong, huh?
David Ferrara Don’t worry about Jordans. He is not well. They agree’s with himself and almost never disagrees with each other. I wonder what the other Jordans thinks. Obviously, these two guy is the only negative opinions regarding this article. I tend to agree with the vast majority here. This article is very well written, very, very funny and educational, too! The method and the reasons why it works are expertly explained in layman’s terms and done with a great sense of humour to boot! Next time I pull some steaks out of the freezer, I’ll be doing this! Thanks!
Very conventional steak tips listed. I’ve dpne steak your way for years. However, the last steak I ate I tried some things differently. Last time I rested the beautifully marbled Ribeye (my mom raised this cow, I help raise food when in town) for an hour at room temp.
Salted just before cooking + large grind pepper. Sear with oil in caste iron.
Flip, add butter, crushed garlic, rosemary.
Turn, lower or take off heat. Baste in juices and herb butter in the pan.
Remove from heat at internal temp of 135.
At this point I had always rested the steak prior to serving. This time I read some food scientists and chefs reporting that this step is not necessary amd doesn’t actually do anything beneficial. The idea being that the steak will continue to heat up while resting (as we know) and the meat may become overcooked or dry itself out in the process. One chef stated; if you just serve at the perfect temp you don’t have to worry about this.
And when you measure the amount of moisture that is “lost” by not resting it is discovered that the objective amount is negligible and has no effect on the outcome. We’re talking about 1 tsp, here.
So, I did this. No resting. Best steak I’ve had for as long as I can remember. The experience was incredible.
Tonight I’m watching the salt slowly leach into my steak. You gotta get experimental and be open minded sometimes.
I’ll report back with results!
P.S. There’s no way that the act of “Rinsing” any meat is going to cause it to absorb any water. There isn’t enough time or osmotic pressure to have any measurable impact. Soaking, on the other hand, might.
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter
to be really something which I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
This recipe is better if you substitute Rum for the Bourbon while preparing it. Thanks for the awesome technique.
I came across this recipe by mistake and I am so thankful that I did. This by far was the best steak I have ever cooked for myself. Although I did use a porter house cut, the only think different I did was add a marinade of spicy brown mustard, olive oil, and a little red wine. I did this for both sides and let it sit at room temp for about another hour after I rinsed the salt off and patted it dry. Oh so good!!!
I almost never create responses, but i did a few searching and
wound up here Steak Recipe: Turning Cheap “Choice” Steak into Gucci “Prime” Steak | Steamy Kitchen Recipes.
And I actually do have a couple of questions for you if
you tend not to mind. Could it be just me or does it look like
some of the remarks appear like they are left by brain
dead folks? π And, if you are posting at additional places, I would like to follow anything new you have to post.
Could you make a list of every one of your communal pages like
your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
Excellent!! I needed this! I have 2 kids in College and cannot buy Kobe beef. Thanks.
I have a ribeye salting now.
I have one issue with the method. “Just lave it out on the counter.”??!! Obviously you have no pets! I have a herd of cats that would drag that steak off and be fighting over it before you can shake a salt shaker!
billy sharpstick I have cats, too and can’t leave *ANYTHING* out if I leave the room for more than a few minutes. If I need something to sit at room temperature I store it in the microwave or oven (both off of course!).
Keeping pets in your home is your choice, therefore you have to make sacrifices in order to keep your cats. Donβt impose your choice of lifestyle on others. He is speaking from his experience in his kitchen. Obviously leaving meat out on your counter is not an option for YOU! So why be angry with him! Clearly he did not intend for cat owners to follow those steps so figure out your own way on how to leave steaks out in your βcat friendly home!β Moron
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this article and the rest of the website is extremely good.
Holy cow! I used coarse Kosher salt and it was super salty! I must have used way too much but then again I thought I was being liberal with the amount I was putting in. The steak was about 1.5″ in thickness so I left it at room temp for 1 1/2 hours.
On the other hand the t-bone steak was tender! Next time I’ll just try using less salt. I just re-read the entire article and it seems I skipped over the “herb butter steak recipe” where there is a suggested amount of salt to add. Live and learn but damn tender and juicy steak!
Best steak I ever made! Thank you for the super-clear instructions!! I broiled the steaks since we don’t have a grill.
I tried this and was impressed by the tenderness and flavor of the inside of the meat. I used 2 1″ Choice Ribeyes from Walmart and pan fried them in a cast iron skillet using Alton Brown’s method:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pan-seared-rib-eye-recipe/index.html
Unfortunately I messed up a bit on the salting process. I did the first part right, let it sit about 45 minutes with the recommended amount of salt. I think my first mistake was not fully rinsing all the salt off. Then after drying them I added a bit more salt with the intention of cooking immediately, but I got interrupted for about 30 minutes. (3 year old, go figure.) In the meantime the steaks were sitting in more salt. They tasted a bit too salty but we ate them up greedily regardless. I definitely will try this again the right way now that I know how it should work.
Thank you. I’m excited to try this and to learn that it came from the Zuni Cafe.
good idea! So far the best steaks i ever had were from smartfoodplan.com and stockyards.com.
@jobrazen (and others)
Jon was obviously being sarcastic and taking a shot at those here putting forth the complaint and claiming that this was a horrid idea because they have used this on expensive cuts that don’t need it or have used too much/the wrong salt or let it sit too long.
You did not read the directions properly Jon. Depending on the thickness of the steak the salt (course kosher preferred) should only be on the meat for about an hour. If you left it overnight yes it is going to taste salty.
Greetings! Very helpful advice in this particular post!
It is the little changes which will make the biggest changes.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s actually best to let it sit for 10 minutes.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/12/how-to-have-juicy-meats-steaks-the-food-lab-the-importance-of-resting-grilling.html
“Best” is a strong word. I found that I have the best steaks by cooking to medium rare and eating immediately. Moisture loss is kind of a myth.
Will try this tonight. The instructions were LOL hirarious and entertaining, so I have to try it!!
Proven with chuck eye steak. I Was conservative on the amount of kosher salt. Will be more aggressive with it and the pepper and garlic next time.
When you have washed of the salt and dried the steak, do you rub sunflower/ any other oil on the steak or grill as i have seen done in restaurants?
You people complaining about your steaks being too salty are obviously using too much salt. She says that they used 4 tsp. of salt for a 4 Lb roast, that’s 1 tsp. per pound. Use some common sense people.
I don’t know if there’s any reason to try this on an “uber expensive” steak. Also, the instructions specifically say 1 hour per inch of thickness–not overnight!!!
To anybody considering trying this…I recommend trying it on a cheap/on sale cut first, so you won’t be too upset if it doesn’t work out.
And if your steaks turn out too salty, DON’T THROW THEM AWAY! Make a stew or something…cut them into chunks and slow-cook them for a few hours, that salt will come back out into the broth. π Sure, it will be an awfully expensive stew, but at least the meat won’t get wasted!
The sea salt that I have is quite fine. I used kosher salt to be safe. I would only use *really* chunky sea salt.
Also note: it says less time if the meat is well-marbled.
I buy prime steaks and have been using this technique since I first read about it years ago. Be using it tomorrow: no scaling back on amount or timing. But I am a salt freak. I grill on gas and once in a while charcoal. Cast iron skillet works well, too, but the smoke alarms go off and the fire department shows up. Not usually enough steak to feed them. Cheers
I would like to also point out that I used kosher sea salt and not iodized table salt I’m thinking that the people that complained it was too salty may have used table salt.
Tried this it worked pretty good and the steaks were not really salty because I RINSED THEM OFF. I only let my steaks sit for a couple hours if I’d had more time I’m sure they would’ve been even better.
I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your weblog. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility issues? A number of my blog readers have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any solutions to help fix this issue?
Thank you. Tried this tonight on a pair of round steaks that weren’t a great cut (it was like 5.66 for 3 of them) and they were moist and delicious. Definetely works!
Seems like some people (above) have trouble following simple directions. I am looking forward to trying this method as we can rarely afford really good cuts of steak. It’d be nice to have a way to tenderize the tougher ones (and putting butter on steak? I never would have thought of that). I have sea-salt, but I have a feeling it is too fine; so, I will wait until I can get some kosher salt to try this as my tastebuds are very sensitive to foods that are too salty. If it works for me, then I will know that the people above complaining about the saltiness didn’t follow the directions correctly (as to type of salt to use and how long to leave it on, washing it off, etc).
The individual that posted this steak recipe knows exactly what the hell’s going on with steak good job. I always let my steak sit out for the time talked about I never salted it first they always did at the end but salting it at the beginning makes a hell of a difference
Tried this on an uber expensive grassfed ribeye. Left it overnight, so salty that it was not edible. $50 down the tubes. I’ll try again with less salt and less time (with a cheaper cut).
A man after my own heart, or at least my “theory” of why my great grandparents and grandparents lived healthy lives. They raised their own (antibiotic, hormone-free)meat, grew own veggies, and ate meat 3 meals per day – with salt! My great grandmother cooked with crisco for 50 years, didn’t know what cholesterol was, didn’t have high blood pressure, diabetes, or anything else. She simply lived until she died….at 96! No health problems! Thanks for an entertaining recipe. I’ve used the method before and it does work well.
I tried this for my steaks tonight and can say without question I will NEVER use this recipe again. The steaks were so salty and still tough. Wish I would have just stuck with turning the steak into jerky….oh wait…the saltiness and the toughness….I guess I did. Well thanks for the jerky recipe anyway.
I JUST TRIED THIS METHOD ON A COUPLE T-BONES. THE WERE ABOUT AN INCH THICK. I SALTED WITH SEASALT AND LET STAND FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF. THE STEAKS TENDERED UP A BIT THEY WERE REALY TOO SALTY.
I BELIEVE I WASHED THEM GOOD. I RUINED A COUPLE OF EXPENSIVE STEAKS
JIM
Hi Peg,
If you need to cut down on the salt, I highly recommend this marinade: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-steak-marinade . I’ve actually compared it to the salt-tenderizing technique on my blog (http://sousvidescience.wordpress.com), and they actually BOTH produced lovely juicy, tender and mouth-watering steaks! The marinade contains some soy sauce and worchestershire sauce, but if you use low-salt soy sauce I think you should be good.
Happy cooking,
Espen
Thank you so much for this article! I’m currently into “sous vid”, but my steaks weren’t turning out perfect despite my fancy cooking. After trying you salt-tenderizing-thingy, I’ve now cooked my hands down best steak ever! I tried your trick with garlic in addition to the salt, and it produced an absolutely brilliant juicy, tender, mouth-watering steak! I’ve written down some of my experiences here: http://sousvidescience.wordpress.com/
Thank’s again Jaden
Espen
Sue, I think the whole point of the recipe is to make inexpensive steaks taste like your rib eyes. I have used it several times and it is amazing what it will do to a chuck eye steak or a top round. Give it a try as you suggested with the cheap steaks and save the good ones for eating without this method!
Good luck
Tried this last night on a couple of nice, 1″ thick, rib eyes. Disappointed, unfortunately. Didn’t do anything that either my husband or I noticed. Was so hoping for something extraordinary. Maybe will attempt on a less-expensive cut to see if that improves it. Thanks for offering the suggestion.
Oh my gosh, I love you, thank you so much.
Great explanation of how salting works,and salting steak recipe ideas. Thanks I will try them for sure.
We have tried this approach 3 or 4 times now and have been extremely pleased with the improved taste and texture. Thank you for your suggestion.
Note: We still treat the steaks with a mechanical tenderizer (multi-blade knife type) after completing the salt process.
Tried this method tonight….ABSOLUTELY the best steak we have ever grilled!!! I followed your instructions to the letter, even adding some Cavender’s Greek Seasoning with the kosher salt. I will use this method from now on. Thank you!
It depends on what you want to season with. Seasonings like Garlic powder can be put on the steak with the salt and will be infused by the actions of the salt. The only thing salting alone does is make for a better steak and add a little salt to the flavor so don’t put more salt on it. Feel free to season otherwise as usual, unless you’re talking marinade and I’m not sure how that would affect it.
Be sure to use coarse sea salt and not fine or table and be careful with your timing, the steak can come out too salty if it’s done too long or with fine salt.
Hi! Your recipe of “salting” sounds great! I am just wondering, since I have to rinse off the already salted meat, should I also seasoned it with other ingredients, does the rinsing washes away the flavor I intended to add into it?
I agree 100% with Kate. I cook only with Kosher Salt…..it’s a must have in my kitchen.
TOO SALTY??? – Like the lady said, DON’T GO FOR THE TABLE SALT! **USE KOSHER SALT, PEOPLE** If you don’t have Kosher salt, go buy some, ask a neighbor, or use this method a day you do.
I’ve been using this method since you posted about it in 2007, so over 5 years.
It absolutely works. Every time I use this method, everyone tells me its the best steak they’ve ever had.
Making it again tonight. And I can’t wait.
For those of you complaining it was too salty:
Did you use iodized table salt? That kind of salt will make anything too salty in a hurry.
I am trying this tonight…but I only have table salt! I salted the steaks quite a bit and plan on broiling them. Should it take more time with just table salt or less time?
Thank you for this delightful article. You’re rediscovery methods of food preparation known quite well by our not so long ago ancestors. Ancestors who did not even have a word to describe a heart attack. Pure natural unprocessed sea salt, grass-fed beef, fat, and real butter go hand-in-hand and always have(until the 100 years or so).
Tried this tonight and found that the tenderizing aspect worked well, just left the salt on too long causing the meat to be very salty.
Tried this method last night. Worked like a charm. Our steaks tasted like butter. Don’t listen to the naysayers; they probably didn’t follow the instructions.
Um, why are you washing off the pellicle formed by salting the meat in advance?
I’ve grilled many a steak which would run laps around a steak grilled with this technique. Two things – 1. Let the steak sit, uncovered, in the fridge for a day or two before cooking it. It WILL lose a little moisture, but it will be much more tender and taste all the more beefy for it. 2. Salt the steak LIBERALLY (esp. the bone if it’s a bone-in steak) the morning you’re going to grill it and put it back in the fridge. DO NOT rinse it before cooking, but take it out of the fridge 30 min. or so ahead of time. A room-temp steak will cook better than a cold one.
I tried this twice before and worked both time and was GREAT! My only problem is using the right amount of salt, because I leave it overnight in the fridge and until I come back from work!
I’m actually doing it again today and used very little salt on both sides. QUITE EXCITED! π
Thanks for tip!
TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. I HAD PURCHASED AN UNCUT SLAB OF RIB-EYE (CHOICE, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOLD AS SELECT). ANYWAY I TRIED YOUR METHOD. TOO, TOO SALTY AND MEAT STILL TOUGH. WILL NOT WASTE MY TIME AGAIN.
God bless you.
I’ve been eating naugahyde up until now.
Not bad with ketchup.
This is the MOST INTERESTING information I have ever read about salt & steaks! I DID NOT KNOW THIS AT ALL. Going to try to print this all so I can have it to refer to.
Thank you so much!
I’m intrigued by your salting method (I know it’s not “your” method but you explained it really well). I’m having steaks for dinner tonight and our beef here in Peru is anything but tender, although I bought a decent cut. I’m going to photo document and if it works out well, would you mind if I do my own write up, giving you the credit for introducing the method to me? Please let me know.
this really worked! I had steak 2 nights in a row, the other night with the first steak I marinated in a teriyaki marinade sauce for about an hour then fired it. It did not taste good at all. it really did taste like I boiled the meat.
last night, i tried your way by salting it and getting rid of the water in the meat then rinsing off the salt. I then put some steak rub and garlic powder then fried on a griddle for about 3-4 minutes each side (meat was about half inch thick or so) and when finished I poured just a small amount of teriyaki sauce (without cutting the meat) and it was super yummy! the meat was really tender this time and was cooked just the way i like it!
I am going to use this method each time I cook my steaks from now on. thank you for sharing π
Tried this last night and everyone loved it.
Seems counter-intuitive. However methods don’t worry me as much as results–the ends justify the means, as they say. I’ll give this a try next time I’m at the grill. thanks for the tip.
Absolutely Amazing. It really worked!!! The meat was super tender. And that is saying something because it was a cheap cut. WOW!! Thanks so much.
Random question… I also had a Mr. Burke as my science teacher… Did/do you live in Long Beach
Curious, when salting you are drawing the water out of the steak, but by rinsing (the salt off), are you re-introducing water into the steak?
Well, it’s a quick rinse and you’re not soaking the steak in water, just rinsing the salt off.
Gonna try it tonight! Can’t wait! Thanks for sharing!!!! π
No need to use any tenderizer….this method takes care of that and the steak will be so tender you won’t believe it. I use kosher salt when salting and I would recommend that over regular table salt. I’m gonna try the suggested garlic next time I do this. Thanks for the suggestion Furthea.
Hey! I’ll do this tonight, but now another question – to tenderize or not to tenderize. I guess you are saying don’t bother because, well, its not in your recipe, but WHY not? Should I only tenderize certain cuts?
Thanks, Love,
Me!
It works for me, tender, juicy and not salty. Thanks, I’m going to do this every time.
Thank you! Recently Applebees came out with a Roasted Garlic steak that I adore. Well this salting thing with some fresh garlic comes so wonderfully close.
I like eating at Applebees but they never get the steak quite as rare as I like.
I LOVE your drawings and the editorial comments with them! I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time–SADE?! I about died.
This was a complete waste did not tenderize and it was salt beyond belief !
This is the first time my meat is perfect! Thank you very much!
Our steak was super tender, but very salty! Did I just not rinse it enough??
Next time try less salt or less time.
Your right, did not think of that.
Thanks
I plan to try this next time I cook a steak. I love to marinate a steak in moores sauce and I want to know if I did what you said salt the steak for hour or so can I marinate steak in moores sauce? or will that undo the salt brine?
I’ve never tried Moores Sauce, so I don’t know what it tastes like. Try the salt method without the marinating first and see if you like it. If Moores Sauce contains a lot of salt, then salting + marinating will render the steak too salty.
Hi, That was very interesting; my problem though, is that my husband MUST eat a very low sodium diet so I cannot even use salt – he would have a fit. I am right now marinating with honey, barbecue seasoning (from Tastefully Simple) and garlic, pepper, steak seasoning (sodium free) onions and a little – very little barb sauce. I was wondering if I should broil it or fry it up in a pan…if I don’t hear back, i’ll keep checking. Good tip, just probably not for us. Maybe I can use it when I’m at friends’ homes.
This was THEE most hilarious article I have ever read! OMG! Are you sure you’re not a comedian?
I used this with lamb shoulder blade chops, and grilled on my gas grill. It turned out very well, nice and tender. After salting for 1 hour, I rinsed and then applied garlic, rosemary and pepper on both sides, until it was time for grilling. about 3-4 minutes per side, medium rare. Very good, thanks for the technique! I will try this on other cuts.
Well, I was so excited about this, but it did not turn out so well. I followed directions exactly but steak was still a tad tough and WAY too salty. I’m wondering if I should try again with less salt and letting it sit a little longer.
You really want a good steak? Follow these 7 steps and I PROMISE you will never eat at a steakhouse again…
1. Buy USDA Prime bone-in ribeyes about 1 – 1.5″ thick with nice marbling.
2. Salt as mentioned above.
3. ADD SMOKE – even if you have a gas grill you can put hickory or mesquite chips in a tinfoil pouch and get them burning.
4. Use indirect heat, woodchips smoldering on one side of the grill, steaks on the other side on a cold grate (no heat underneath) overall temps should be ~225 F.
5. Smoke for 20-30 min each side (longer for thicker cuts) and remove steaks.
6. Turn the grill up as high as it can go (pref 4-500 F) and sear steaks for 1 min per side – remove from grill.
7. Baste with melted or clarified butter, let rest for 5 minutes and serve.
Thank you so much for this recipe & information!!!
Just want to let you know, after you rinse the salt off, if you save the meat for another day, it keeps really well.
I’m not great at cooking meat…I love steak but am afraid to ruin it. Last week I bought a big chunk of sirloin fillet on sale for $3.99/lb and cut out 1 steak and followed your directions BUT I let it sit too long. The steak was a little too salty but still very good.
The next day I cut up the rest of the hunk and was careful to REALLY follow your directions. :laugh: I cooked one of the steaks immediately and was very pleased–not too salty this time! The rest I dried very well and sprinkled with pepper, rubbed rosemary, garlic powder, and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. I put them in the fridge.
Well, what with one thing and another, steaks didn’t fit into my plan over the next few days. I was fully expecting them to be brown & spoiled when I pulled them out today; I believe it’s been 5 or 6 days since I salted them. They were still RED and had no off-smell. I just cooked one–one might even say, overcooked it–and it is DIVINE!!! Oh, I am so excited! I finally can make a good steak! π
I tried this tonight on a thin ribeye. I coated it liberally with sea salt and let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes, rinsed it and dried it off–then heated some olive oil in my cast iron skillet–cooked for 4 minutes on each side, covered it with foil while my corn on the cob was nuking-( corn on the cob cooked in the microwave IN the husks for 5 minutes for 1 ear is perfection) I was just the tiniest bit too salty but I contribute that to my not perhaps rinsing it enough–at any rate it was tender, flavorful and I will absolutely cook all my steaks this way in the future! Yum and thanks!!!! Love the pics and the “science” behind it.
I don’t know if this will help you but it has NEVER failed for me. First of all, I actually use regular table salt. I salt it with maybe just a little more than one would regularly salt their steak, and I also use pepper and onion soup mix (which I put into the blender to make into a powder) for flavor. I leave this sit for about an hour and a half, rinse and then BBQ or fry as usual. Delicious. I know that some people have said that it tastes salty or that they don’t like the taste of the table salt, but maybe that’s because they use more than necessary.
I tried this today – we had some fairly cheap top sirloin steaks from the grocery store – about 1.5″ thick. I used sea salt on them and left them alone for about an hour and 20 minutes. I rinsed them well, patted them dry, and cooked them up on the stove.
First of all, they are AMAZINGLY tender and moist. YAY.
Second of all, they taste like a salted ham but with a little steak flavor. BOO.
Not sure what I did wrong – maybe a tad too much salt? I will definitely try this again, but if it doesn’t work out again I may have to find something else to try. Very close though: these steaks are usually a dismal failure and are as easy to chew as an old shoe!
I am definitely no cook but have done this a few times for friends only. Everyone raves about the texture and taste and insist on setting a date when I will do it again. Fantastic and works perfectly everytime. Anyone who says it did not work clearly is doing something wrong.
I can’t wait to try this tip!
One small point of contention however. You mentioned to leave the salt on the meat for an hour per inch of thickness. However, later you state that for your 1.25″ thick steak, you left it on for 1hour, 25 minutes. Based on your tip, a 1.25″ steak should sit for 1hour, 15 minutes, (which would be 1.25hours) not 1hour 25 minutes.
arrrgh….you’re right!
When my husband goes out of town, I like to experiment…knock it off! Mind out of the gutter. I tried this with two, one inch sirloins and coarse Kosher salt. Due to circumstances beyond my control (lost track of time playing an iPad game) it sat for 2 hours instead of one. (It’s a good game) Grilled them five minutes on each side, let them rest, then thinly sliced them and used ridiculous amounts, I mean, a small pat of herb butter. Absolutely fabulous! Had all the great flavor of a sirloin steak, almost no fat (butter doesn’t count) and was super tender. I’ll definitely do this again when my husband’s home.
So I tried this & it seemed to work well. It was a little bit too salty, but I think that’s probably cuz I used more salt than I should. I believe I left out on the counter for about an hr. It was tender (1 inch thick). My only problem is that the meat smelled funny after cooking it. It is well done, but it had this… raw, meat gone bad smell. Is this because I left the meat on the counter for an hour? I also noted that there was a small part of the meat that had turned brown (just a small streak) in the packaging. But I thought this was due to oxidation? Yes, it’s before the due date.
This works great and love the garlic herb butter, I had it before in a restaurant and always wanted to know how to make it thanks
I usu. don’t like to write comments on blogs but the results of trying your method was too amazing to leave silently without a word of thanks. So thank you for sharing this wonderful idea! Our chuck eye steak yesterday was tender and juicy beyond my expectations… turning a $6.29 hunk of meat into a premium high class high quality dinner treat. I think my husband sees me differently now. I was so proud of myself for having found your website! You’ve gained another fan and you can be sure I’ll visit again for other recipes!!
Tried this on steaks that were cheap at the grocery store…..it was to tender and delicious that I will save my money for other things, get the cheaper cuts and fix them this way. I used flaked Kosher salt and they were not salty at all.
funny guy…thanks for the tip :~)
I have to agree with the good Doctor on this one. I tried dry brining a couple of times on steaks and was disappointed both times. On the other hand, I have wet brined venison (notoriously tough and dry) that came out much juicier and slightly more tender than before. I will try the wet brine on steaks next.
Great article written with both information and entertainment!! I have to say i was extremely skeptical so i used this on 2 prepackaged ny strips i got from costco which had been frozen…let me tell you they were like butta!! (no not butter..butta!!) but they did come out somewhat salty. I did both sides of the steak but when i went to wash them off all the salt on the underside of the steaks had dissolved/absorbed…should i have flipped them half way during the process?? All and all i was amazed at the results!!
OK, let me first say that I haven’t tried this yet but I am tonight (just not for friends). The problem with your defense, R.Vill, is that SteamyKitchen specifically says ‘Notice that I didnβt say, βsprinkle liberallyβ or even βseason generously.β Iβm talking about literally coating your meat. It should resemble a salt lick.’ So now I’m utterly confused as to the amount of salt to use. The instructions say to salt ‘generously’ and ‘liberally’ like a ‘salt lick'(umm, have you ever seen a salt lick or was that supposed to be a joke?) The pictures look like they are a little more than slightly salted and if you lightly salt the meat then you aren’t really following the instructions. Either way, I cannot pass any more judgement until I actually try the recipe. All I am pointing out is that a LOT of people did not have good reports and I think it may be solely due to the instructions.
Ok, you are absolutely right! Will edit ASAP!
Ok, this was tender. Not prime tender though.
So salty it’s barely edible.
Will not make this way again.
I bought some tough ribeyes and I thought I was stuck with them. I googled my question and I found your blog. I canβt believe the negative comments on here. I have to say if they are negative then they certainly didnβt do this right. Last night I used your method, lightly salted both of our ribeyes and after an hour they looked exactly like your pics. I love your illustration, we know exactly what to look for and what to expect, very nice touch. And the way you wrote this itβs adorable really. So I followed everything you suggested, lightly salted for 1 hour, rinsed all the salt off, dried them very well, and then I put a little olive oil and cracked pepper and fired up my cast iron until it was lightly smoking. MY GOD! I canβt believe this was the same horrid steak I had tried to cook last week. I tell you it was PERFECTION! It was so tender, so succulent and juicy soft as butter. I have never made a steak that good until tonight when I tried your method again on some choice top sirloin. The top sirloin didnβt have much fat or marbling, but some connective tissue at only 1.97 a pound. This sirloin had the kind of richness of flavor you would get from sizzling fajitas. My cast ironβs are my babies, so I get a nice sear going and let them go 4 minutes on each side on a medium high heat, get a nice crisp on the outside and in the inside a beautiful medium after it has rested about 3 to 5 minutes. I havenβt even tried your herb butter recipe, but all of that said I canβt wait to try it. You rock and I am passing this method on to everyone I know. I love your explanation of how salt breaks down the proteins. It is just pure magic! I usually brine my chicken over night whether I am frying it or baking it, but I wonder how chicken would react with this technique too? Iβm thinking in particular when I flatten out and pound out my skinless boneless chicken breasts. I will try it and report back here with my results. I have to say I was skeptical to the part where we rinsed off all the salt and dried them, but again every preconception I had of beef was blasted out of the water quickly as misconceptions. Such a treat to stumble upon your blog. I can honestly say this has already changed my dynamic and approach to beef and how to get it an awe-inspiring steak to impress. A million thanks again and congratulations on the success of your blog.
Thanks so much. YES it works on all meats. No need to pound the chicken breasts – just salt the chicken and refrigerate for an hour. I also salt whole chickens overnight (go easy on the wings). Instead of brining turkey, I salt for 1-2 days in refrigerator – it sure beats trying to find a container big enough to hold brine and turkey (just salt, cover and refrigerate). Rinse before cooking, pat dry and season with non-salt seasoning.
Holy buckets, just reading this makes me want to eat raw steak. And your humour is as good as the method used here, how can it be possible that I’m so hungry and laughing at the same time from reading 1 article.
I will have to attempt this, but alas, where I live, cheap store steaks are 1 cm thick if you’re lucky.
I’ve never had a steak the thickness of the images here, unless I go to a restaurant.
Move over chilli dim sims, tonight it’s steak for one. And the garlic herb butter looks like a deadly combination too.
Oh hungerrrr… π
Brining is a method I learnt from Chef Heston Blumenthal, not restricted to smokers and if the brine is prepped correctly shouldn’t cause the terrible sufferg .
Salting overnight will draw out all juices and tighten the protein.
I totally agree with your salting suggestions. It’s a technique I learned from Micheal Symon and it’s makes all the difference in the world. I always plan ahead and salt all/any meat at least overnight. Also bring all your meat to room temp is a simple, delicious tip. Save the water brine for meat you’ll cook on a smoker. Otherwise, the texture suffers terribly!
Thanks Derek, hope you try this next time and would be interested for your feedback, positive am quite sure :-)…BUT hey, if negative or you find a better brine method then let me know also. I love learning new methods and mine won’t suit everyone, as above like you say π
Don’t know the names of steak cuts compared to UK cuts, but I’ve done this on most. Rib Eye & Sirloin are our favourites and the occasional fillet. However fillet being an expensive cut, some people still manage to ruin a fillet although a tender piece to start. Brine and quick 15 sec sears either side and it’s done.
If BBQ…maybe 30 sec flips on 600’F heat.
I brine as a rule now. Red Carnivores of huge steaks are back in this house purely on brining. Prior to this it was always a hit and miss, steak russian roulette! So stuck to Chicken/Pork/Lamb/Fish only.
Another great method I have just started dabbling in is SousVide…WOW…it’s what God invented cattle for :-))
Prep the meat the same, brine 24hrs…vac seal then SousVide a steak for a few hours, you can throw the steak in the waterbath temp set to 131’F and it’s done when you get home 2-6hrs for a 2″ thick sirloin or ribeye…pat dry then flip on a VERY HOT dry skillet afterwards 15 seconds x 4, so 1 minute total and you’re laughing!!
(Or a nob of brown butter thrown in the hot skillet if u prefer just before steak hits it. Butter needs to be sizzling like crazy, or you will end up having the steak soak up the butter and poaching.)
Finish: Slice of garlic butter or whatever butter you like once plated, rub it over so you get a nice glazed looking and mega tasty steak.
Comments from friends when they come round to eat is worth the small time using the prep. Try it and see.
Awesome read dude! very informative and screw all the hating chumps ! From one carnivore to another great skills bro!
If you are in no rush; best results would be βBriningβ for 24hrs.
Use about 10% salt to water ratioβ¦for me using βHalen Monβ Saltβ¦I use combination of the Welsh Oak Smoked/Cellery/Plain.
Heat the pan of water, stir in the 10g of salt per 100g of water. Then allow the mixture to cool cold before putting in your steaks.
Itβs to taste really but I find this ratio works for me to give a steak that may have additional sauce/jus.
I do go 15% but would say that was if you were serving up a steak βas isββ¦again, its to taste.
Same as the salting method, take out the steaks from the brine and pat dry. When steak hits the skillet/pan, flip the steak every 15 seconds (not left each side for the minute or two as some recommend). Do this until you reach the total time given for the thickness of steak you are cooking.
Brining 24hrs will allow the salt do its job to tender and season the steak perfectly throughout.
Hope this helps those that couldnβt manage the heavy salting method which can be hit or miss if you are not used to that way. I must say that heavy salting method could cost you the price of a nice steak if it goes wrong, where as βbriningβ is a great method that will not cost u a good steak in the bin or jaw ache!
If you are in no rush; best results would be ‘Brining’ for 24hrs.
Use about 10% salt to water ratio…for me using ‘Halen Mon’ Salt…I use combination of the Welsh Oak Smoked/Cellery/Plain.
Heat the pan of water, stir in the 10g of salt per 100g of water. Then allow the mixture to cool cold before putting in your steaks.
It’s to taste really but I find this ratio works for me to give a steak that may have additional sauce/jus.
I do go 15% but would say that was if you were serving up a steak ‘as is’…again, its to taste.
Same as the salting method, take out the steaks from the brine and pat dry. When steak hits the skillet/pan, flip the steak every 15 seconds (not left each side for the minute or two as some recommend). Do this until you reach the total time given for the thickness of steak you are cooking.
Brining 24hrs will allow the salt do its job to tender and season the steak perfectly throughout.
Hope this helps those that couldn’t manage the heavy salting method which can be hit or miss if you are not used to that way. I must say that heavy salting method could cost you the price of a nice steak if it goes wrong, where as ‘brining’ is a great method that will not cost u a good steak in the bin or jaw ache!
tried it last night….dismal failure. Used sea salt, rinsed well and patted dry. It was still tough and too salty. Good meat remains good meat. Don’t know if I have the courage to try it again.
By far the very best steak I have ever prepared at home! An absolute winner! Thank you very much for the tip!!!
DO NOT TRY THIS !!!
It was a foolish thing of me trying this ‘salting’ process knowing that it will eventually suck out all the moisture out of the meat.
I regret wasting a 4 kilo chunk of rib-eye by following steps on this site, the meat turned out extremely dry and even harder than the pieces that did not get the salt treatment. Even my little dog wasn’t able to chew on the meat. If you’re intending to throw away your food, try out this method.
Whoever invented this philosophy should be dragged to the street and shot !
I tried it last night and it worked a charm! Just don’t leave it too long and you’ll be fine.
I tried this and ended up with tough salty steak
I tried it on pork, but it didn’t work for me.
Can’t wait to try this with some steaks this weekend! Any idea if this works with pork?
You probably used too much salt or left it too long, hon. It works everytime if once you get it right!
Wow. Did not work at all. Salty and gross!
I had such a craving for steak the other day that I did this method to a small chuck roast. That was the best roast I ever ate! Thank you for this!!
Thank you very much for awesome tips and expelling to well!
Love it! That it is so detailed
Reporting back. My first observation was, I wished I had bought a slightly better cut of meat. I’m not sure what the name was, but it was like 4$ a lb so it was cheap. I put ton’s of salt on both sides and was able to rinse it all off pretty easily. I let the meat rest for 5 min after grilling. What caught my eye was there was alot of “water” still on the bottom of my dish even after letting it rest. The salt content was fine for me, but the fiance and daughter said it was slightly salty. The thing I liked about this is, you don’t need to season it, other than with the salt precook, and the cracked pepper afterwards. As for the butter, I didn’t make a roll. I chopped garlic, parsely, and butter. Put in a small dish and just warmed it microwave, and just dipped steak in it. Was great. Overall a success.
I’m trying to recipe as we speak, with a cheap cut of meat 1 inchish cut. I’m heavily salting both sides with thick pieces of Sea Salt and about a teaspoon of rosemary on 1 side. My idea behind heavily seasoning is to test theories about if it turns out too salty, or if people were just using Table(fine), or not rinsing well enough. I am worried as the salt on the bottom will release the water, but won’t it just re-absorb into the meat? I will post my results later tonight. With salt level, if rosemary made it into the meat.
This website is Hilarious!!! I am salting the steak now! I cannot wait to keep trying this! Thanks so much!!
I was laughing so much at the side remarks and comments that I forgot to pay attention to the actual salting process… I had to read it again – for the article this time! Great sense of humour.
Thanks.
Thanks for the tips. I will be going home to try it tonight and tell you the results.
Hah!, that’s my grocery store too. Works with cheap pork from The “A” Grocery in Echo Park too.
Used this technique on 3/4″ thick kangaroo meat. Too bad i didn’t follow the salting time (more than 1 hour), and my kangaroo steaks turned out to be too salty.
I guess next time i should either cut the salting time back to 45 minutes or just dilute the salt with a whole lot of spices.
Anyway, great article! I’m a first time steak cooker, and all of this is gonna help build up my skills!
Thank you Matthew, that makes a lot of sense
Actually, table salt in many countries is iodized, which is what changes the flavour. It’s much harsher. Kosher salt will not have any iodine added and its coarse textures lends itself well to this type of work.
Sodium Chloride is sodium chloride! whether its kosher or rock salt or table salt or any other kind of NaCl ! Know what salt tastes like ? Salt! All salt is the same, paying twice the odds for larger crystals is a joke.
Thanks!! The whole article was awesome!! I loved our steaks last night too!!! Thank you 1000 times!
I tried this out tonight but with less than half of the time of exposure to salt, and it came out not bad at all. Next time, however, I will increase the time of salt exposure closer to the recommendation. I’ve even posted not only a photo of the steak being cooked but have recommended this website as well on my facebook food page: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=334521533265826&set=a.228574883860492.73654.228447563873224&type=1&theater
ha, pooop.
i just tried this and was very disapointed with the results, it was way to salty, i tried the recipe again but with alot less salt and the results were stunning, so i came to the conclusion that different cuts of steak will require more/less salting we shall have to experiment.
That’s cute!
I regularly look on sites like this for ideas for when im cooking meals, and when i find a good recipe like this I save it to a folder in my favourites, yeah you guessed what i named the folder “cookin shit”……..
p.s I will try this on tomorrow nights steak night.
Less salt sounds good. I have never measured the amount of salt that I use, I just use the salt shaker and “eye-ball” it. I use enough salt to see it (more than I would use if I was just to season it – probably twice as much)
I made this last night with so-so results. I used fairly cheap steak that was 1″ thick. I salted each side with about 2/3 tsp salt and left it for 45 min. I also rubbed crushed garlic and chopped rosemary on. I rinsed it very well and patted dry very well, seasoned with fresh ground pepper, then grilled. They were pretty tender, though definitely not “gucci”, and I think it’s possible they were tender to begin with. They also tasted SUPER salty. Not to the point where it tasted bad, but way more than my liking. Maybe I should cut it back to 1/4 teaspoon? The garlic herb butter was great though! I used that on my baked potatoes as well.
Kosher salt is the salt to use here, kosher salt is big yet flat so that it will stick to the meat better. What you’re doing to the meat is NOT breaking down proteins. Salting is actually pulling out moisture from the meat. This method can be reproduced with your fridge and dry aging but it takes longer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGM5JchxuzI
Also, fuck, shit, bitch, asshole, cunt, dick and fuckwad. Say whatever you want. Readers will come if you give out sound advice
This is the most bad-ass advice on gucci’ing steak ever. I’ve used this method for 4 years now, and nary a complaint from my bad ass family. Thanks!!!!!!!
If any of you are having trouble with this recipe. Try this; marinate your steak the day before or at least a few hours before cooking. Don’t bother buying the expensive marinades. Make your own. And this works on thin or thick cut steaks.
Start with the base. Use 1 cup oil(evoo) and 1/3 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup water. Continue with this ratio if more is needed. Add a pinch or two of salt per steak…Table salt or kosher, what ever you prefer. Pour over steaks and let the vinegar and salt acids break down the fibers in the meat in the fridge. Don’t forget black pepper before you cook it.
Add a pinch or two of each for some fun;
Italian- garlic, basil and rosemary.
Mexican- garlic, oregano and salsa as a garnish.
Asian- Garlic and ginger.
That was gross!yeah the steak was tender I’ll give ya that but it tasted like I was eating salt! My family was so disappointed! I will NEVER do that again! U didn’t say how long to rinse for, I salted it like a salt lick that was the main mistake u want to lightly salt it!
Sounds like a great recipe to try out. Loved the article and it was funny. Has anyone tried the rock salt
I tried it with New York Strip cut. It was great sale – 4pack but meat had little marbling, thus I thought this recipe would work- inky it didn’t. I think the reason was, thickness was 1/2-3/4″ and needed min 1″. I left kosher salt on 45min. I rinsed extra well, and patted extra dry, yet meat still was very tough to chew and extra salty(none added after drying and grilling). So I guess have to use only 1″ or thicker and retry time stated.
Wish there was a way to tenderize thinner cuts without all the salt.
Just tried this with a piece that was cut from our Christmas rib roast that was tough. It was delicious and tender, one of the best steaks that we’ve had (we also used the herb butter.) I don’t use much salt, so I was a little apprehensive, but there was no saltiness.
I just tenderized and barbequed a nicely marbled blade. It was so flavorful and very tender and juicy. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Oh phooey – I like the realness of the commentary! Keep it up, it’s a fun read!
exactly!
Don’t know why you would be offended by the word “shit”. It’s just a word. I am a 65 year old woman and he made me laugh. Maybe you need time to develop a sense of humor!
Jaden, THANK YOU SO MUCH for publishing this salting technique. I am not a very experienced cook, but I was able to make the most delicious steak for my fiance last night. It tasted like something from a very expensive restaurant! So tender and delicious.
I thought the above article is very informative and will try soon. I was going to do this today but my wife beat me to it and put the regular spices on the steaks before I could come down and do them this way.
Will send an email when I get to do it.
Yeah well after reading your response to this wonderful article, I now am going to send it to my 5000 friends just to spite the fact that you are a conservative jack off.
Made this at home last night with some pretty inexpensive NY strip from the ghetto Von’s in Echo park. It. Was. Delicious.
Sounds like an excellent process. Have to give it a try! By the way ~ great cooking requires a vast vocabulary of vulgar words. My Mother swore by it π
I have tried this 4-5 times. Every time, the texture and tenderness is great but its just too salty to be enjoyable. I noticed a few others have had this problem. It seems like too much salt “osmosises” its way into the meat and doesn’t rinse off. I’ve used different salts, but its always the same. Am I using too much salt? Too much time?
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I really enjoyed reading it. It is entertaining and very easy to understand!. “Churching it up ” is a recipe for dull and boring.
Refreshing!!
Lost Appetite…try for just one day to stop being a “tight-assed and a stuck-up prick”.
Gahh can’t delete- that was meant for a comment from last August, and other people already addressed them. Whoops. Ah well. Love the post, going to try it tonight!
You, sir, need to work on your comprehensive reading, as it’s clear you didn’t read the article, or at least, didn’t retain anything that you read.
Quote from article:
“So, my friends, I am offering you a very juicy secret, one that will turn an ordinary βChoiceβ cut of steak into a gucci βPrimeβ cut (And yes, I know what βChoiceβ and βPrimeβ means β itβs the marbling. The salting doesnβt affect fat content β Iβm using those terms as a figure of speech and something people can relate to).”
The recipe didn’t work for me…I think the steak was too thin (3/4 inch), and the length of time salted was too long (1hr 20 minutes)…they were inedible they were so salty. I am going to give it a try one more time…this time with a one inch steak for EXACTLY one hour.
This was a great article until you mentioned Christina Aguilera. For future reference, people don’t like the words Christina Aguilera mentioned with food.
And a twit.
The only thing that turned me off was your nose in the air snobbery. I’m glad that he/she told it like it is. Table salt does taste like shit. Why church it up?
It is baffling to see such a wonderful and informative article ridiculed for including the word βshit.β What sort of sensitive and infantile individual do you find yourself in order to become so offended by such a trifle of an utterance? This, my kind sir, is the year 2012. We, as adults, use different words to express ourselves, sometimes even vulgar ones. Oh, and everybody poops.
It is baffling to see such a wonderful and informative article ridiculed for including the word “shit.” What sort of sensitive and infantile individual do you find yourself in order to become so offended by such a trifle of an utterance? This, my kind sir, is the year 2012. We, as adults, use different words to express ourselves, sometimes even vulgar ones. Oh, and everybody poops.
I was definitely a little scared doing this, but this resulted in the best steak I have ever made at home. Thank you!
And a dork
This was a great article right up until you mentioned table salt “tastes like shit”. For future reference, people don’t like the word shit mentioned with food. All the appetizing pics ar now null and void. It’s a shame you have such a limited vocabulary that you ruined what could have been an A+ article that went viral on Twitter. I won’t be passing this one on to my 3023 Facebook friends or my 11,989 Twitter followers.
Yes I am a critic, author and blogger
hi just to clarify.. when salting with herbs, spices etc. wouldnt rinsing the salt off after 1hour+ wash away that? or i didnt understand correctly? i was going to try thing out but kinda got confused? wanted to ask before doing it. i hope you can help clarify. thanks π
Might it be better to use rock salt instead of kosher salt, so as to minimize the risk of over-salting?
Barry,
Kosher salt doesn’t taste any different, the grocery store recipes all call for it because it costs more !…lol
This is an interesting method, which I will try! I usually salt my steak after frying (dried and oiled steaks, very hot, dry pan).
Hello! Can I do this method with dry aged steak or will it make it toooo dry/salty etc…
This sounds great! I’m soooo excited!!
I read the whole thing all the way through!! You are hysterical and had me laughing – my kind of sense of humor!! and I’ll kosher salt the shit out of my steak tonite!
Totally wanted to pin this to pinterest! π
Super excited to try this tonight with a sirloin!
I’ve become obsessed with kalbi (Korean BBQ short ribs), made with 100% grass-fed beef, but I’m struggling with tenderizing. Pouding and scoring didn’t do much. And I’m allergic to most ingredients found in traditional Korean marinades. I tried marinating in fruit juice alone, but that, ironically, seemed to make the meat tougher, and diminished the crunchy texture that I so love. I’m quite happy with unmarinated kalbi, so I thought I’d give this method a try. My question is:
How long should I salt the meat if it’s only between an eighth and a quarter inch thick (cut LA-style)?
If I salt it for too long, will it turn out too salty?
Any other suggestions for tenderizing grass-fed kalbi?
Thanks!
For steak that thin, I wouldn’t heavily salt – it would end up too salty. What you can do is salt or season like you normally would – and let it sit for 15 minutes before cooking. That extra time will let the salt penetrate the meat throughout. Better yet, this is what I’d do: https://steamykitchen.com/16463-rosemary-garlic-steak.html
Just an average cook who loves steak who stumbled across this when trying to find a way to tenderize my steak. I’m a little nervous to salt the hell out of my steak …. but after reading where you wrote … “because regular salt tastes like shit” I laughed out loud and knew you are my kind of girl! Who says something like that on their blog??? Cool people that’s who! I’m adding Kosher salt to my steak now – will repost how it turns out if I remember to. (P.S. – your pictures and drawings are totally fine .. 100 times better than I could do and they look good to me)
Followed the directions used strip steak.. I can never grill this cut properly, so tried the technique. I found the finished steak a tiny bit too salty for my taste but I may have used too much [coarse ground kosher salt].. The steak was very tasty and I ate every bit. Just won’t have any salt tomorrow!
Thanks for the article, Freds
Makes sense to me, I have always done this with pork chops but never knew why other than cuz my Great Grandma said to….also keeps the fat ring around the chop from curling.
yes! yes! yes! was delicious! Just returned from Spain where I ate at an Argentinean restaurant and had meat I could practically cut with a spoon. Cooked a steak here in the states and was ever so sad thinking I had been ruined to meat at home forever…until today! This was perfect! Not the same as christmas day in spain, but there are probably other variables at play, I am sure….Thank you! Can’t wait to try your slow cooked salmon next π
I used this method with coarse sea salt and loved the result! If you end up with very salty meat, you’re doing something wrong. My steak was very tasty, very soft and perfectly seasoned. Excellent tip!! Thanks a lot!!
I was looking for info on how to tenderize a pc of steak (to use in a stir fry) for my Dad –(101+) — he just loves steak and it getting harder and harder for me to put a great beef meal in front of him – where he does not complain about “cant chew” the beef — this worked great, but I will say that I did pound the steak down a big before I tried the salt —
Just Fantastic –and it worked — with a wonderful piece of angus serloin — (ps — he still has most of his own teeth) -no idea how it would work for an elder that has a set of denture’s
— Many tks for all this info —
Big John — Maybe you missed the part about Osmosis which is the key to this technique working… and that is certainly NOT junk science
I just wanted to say thank you so much for the great technique, I now never cook my cheap non-aged supermarket steaks any other way.
As for other peoples experiences of it being too salty, I would recommend using sea salt, as it has more minerals and less sodium. Also make sure there is no additional salt in the rub you are using on the steak, I mix my own without any salt for right before I sear.
I also let the meat rest in between a few layers of paper towels, I find that the resulting consistency results in closer results to a proper dry aged steak.
The best trick that I use is using half sea salt/kosher salt and the rest smoked sea salt for the salt rub. The smoked sea salt gives it incredible smoky flavor for most nights when I just feel like pan searing on my cast iron.
What a great post. As an expatriated 4th generation ranch kid away at college, I have eaten a fair amount of beef.
I can tell you my family has literally been preparing steaks with this technique for generations. My great-grandmother would use a ton of kosher salt, leave them out for at least an hour, sear them in a blisteringly hot, well seasoned cast iron skillet, and never cook them beyond medium rare.
Eating your own high quality grass fed beef is just a bonus…
Ive been looking forward to using this recipe, unfortunately I didn’t NOT see the same results as promised in the article π my meat was dry and salty in spots, it seemed to be even dryer and harder than when I do nothing to it :/ very disappointed I was hoping this was the secret method I’d been hoping for π
I think that guy was just trying to be funny. I mean he couldn’t have been that stupid, could he?
Best steak hubby ever made–thanks for the prep and cooking instructions!
I followed the recipe exactly. It was unfortunately and overwhelmingly salty. I’ll do something with the meat, maybe a stir fry or something.
Judging by the salt levels in most prepared foods on grocery store shelves, I think a lot of people must have a big tolerance for salt. I guess I don’t, as I only use enough in my cooking to bring out flavor.
The texture was definitely good. There must be a better way to accomplish the goal.
I loved this post! super funny! My cousin bought these steaks and after cooking a couple realized they weren’t good at all! so he tasked me with finding a good way to cook them so as not to waste the money he spent on them. Willin to try about anything, and In bio last semester we just went over pretty much what you just said, and I don’t know why I didn’t just apply the same school of thought. anyway, good post, loved it! happy cooking!
Charles,
I hope that my responses will do Jaden justice.
First, the FDA an any chef will tell you that it’s not safe to leave food out like this. In reality, it’s usually fine for an hour or two. There is ALWAYS the chance that bacteria could get on the food while it is sitting out, but then again, the same could happen sitting in your fridge. The meat COULD spoil in the two hours you have it sitting out, but realistically it is highly unlikely. So in the end, it is your call. But I use Jaden’s method frequently and have yet to get sick. The chances that you will get sick – unless you have a filthy kitchen completely ridden with bacteria – are quite slim.
Secondly, the process by which the liquid/salt exit and enter the meat will draw in additional flavorings on the meat. If these are finely ground spices like cayenne, for example, much more of their flavor will find their way into the meat than you will get by simply laying a piece of rosemary on top. Therefore, be careful that you don’t overdo it with finely ground spices. Anyways, no matter what you add to the salt, at least some of the flavor will be imparted into the meat. You could go on to add more of your favorite rub on the outside of the meat after you’ve rinsed it if you feel it’s necessary.
Finally, half the time I cook my steaks in cast-iron using a stovetop to broiler method commonly used in restaurants. If you have only been cooking your steaks on a stovetop I would highly recommend this method as it doesn’t really add any additional work. I would also highly recommend investing in a cast-iron skillet if you don’t already have one. You can actually find them really cheap at thrift stores. Anyways, you want to quickly sear the steak on the stovetop (2-4 minutes at high heat on a pan that has been preheated for 10 minutes) and then flip it and transfer to a 500 degree preheated oven for the remainder of the cooking time, which will vary depending on the type and size of steak. This transfer to an oven is part of the reason that a cast-iron is very nice. I guarantee you that this method – in combination with Jaden’s salting technique – will give you a (cheap) steak that tastes and feels like you payed $40 bucks for it at a classy restaurant.
Happy eating!
I just tried this tonight for the first time. What a difference! I actually enjoyed the steak I made. I’ve only started eating red meat in the last couple of years and not very often. Up until 2 years ago, I basically had no experience with cooking it myself. In an effort to start learning, without a lot of expense or possible waste, I bought a family pack of 12 steaks. Well, not knowing what to do, I tried pan frying, broiling, marinating(although not very long) and still tough, chewy, in a word, bleeeeh! I’d eat as much as I could, since I was hungry but most of it went untouched. Did I mention that I’ve been going through this pack of 12 for the last year? I was down to 2 steaks with no plans to make that buying mistake again. Over Thanksgiving dinner, there was a chef present talking to some others about cooking and I overheard them talking about brining steaks. So I did a google search and saw you had a post about it. Thank you! I don’t have to be a red meat drop-out. I am going to definitely be using this technique again and again.
I do NOT salt it twice. I also leave my steaks overnight in the fridge without covering them. It dries out the meat really well with a lot less salt. I have never had a more tender juicy steak! YUM! This is not my recipe however, I found it online at another site. But it works and the meat is not too salty. And it is TENDER TENDER TENDER!
I use sea salt because i think the idea of declaring salt (a non-living thing) as kashrut or non kashrut is absurd. Seriously, what an irrational thing to do! Salt is… uh.. salt people, even if it is sea salt, once you wash it and dry it, it is just plain old salt. What I will say is that you must NOT use fine ground salt. That will make the meat too salty even with a lighter rub.
You must use coarse salt.
The process is tempting me to try but I get really upset at all the hoity toities saying use kosher or sea salt. I will admit that the courser salt will probably work better for this but any salt from the ground was dried out from sea water and kosher simply means it has been blessed a Rabbi. I defy anyone to tell the difference.
Brining actually works very well. You have osmosi, the only difference is once all the water comes out then the cell walls absorb the liquid. Wich is what you want. A properly made brine should not only be salty, but also contain lots of aromatics and seasoning like dried herbs and spices. The back and forth process of releasing juice and then reabsorbing really shrinks and then stretches the cell walls which is how you get really tender meat with the combo of lots of aromatic salty brine. Yummyness.
Agreed, mine came out the same way.. To the letter, but far too salty, blech!
I love this explanation and I can’t wait to try it! I have forever been doomed with the inability to cook steaks, although I have had sucess with an olive oil & salt rub/marinade on a bbq. My question is: during the +/- 1 hour that the steak is soaking in the “salt rub” do you leave it out at room temp or do you refrigerate it? Thanks! Looking forward to yummy steaks!!
Epsom salt is for medicinal purposes dont ever put it on your food.
this did not work for me, I coated a 1″ thick rump steak in sea salt and let it rest for 1 hour, then I thoroughly rinsed off the salt before cooking the steak to medium rare, the results were disappointing, yes the steak was nice and tender but every bite tasted too salty, so despite rinsing off the steak the overall flavor was of salt, not steak! and I did follow your recipe to the letter.
Thanks, you saved me $$$. I tried on top sirloin, kosher salt ~ 1.25 hours, rinse, dry and threw on the grill. It was the most tender tastey moist top sirloin I ever had in my life! Thanks, I can’t wait for the next steak dinner.
I just tried this for the 1st time. I had four 3/4″ top sirloin steaks. As mentioned earlier in this article…I was met with much skepticism from family members. So I only treated one. Followed the directions as closely as I could (even the crushed garlic and rosemary bit). I only added crushed pepper prior to grilling. I just took it off the grill (med-rare closer to rare – 6 min total cooking time) The out come…OMG is what my wife and kids all said when I put a piece in their mouths…sounds like a major success to me! Too bad I get to eat the rest and they get the other ones that weren’t done.
Thank you so much!!!
We have tried this several times, with several different kinds of steak, and across the board, it’s been fantastic. Thank you so much!
Umm, Epsom Salt is not really a salt you would want to consume (unless of course you are constipated!) It is mostly used for soaking your body…you would only want to consume it as a laxative and it tastes TERRIBLE! Using epsom salt in place of kosher salt for this dish would be kind of like swapping milk of magnesia for the milk in your scrambled eggs, or using baby powder in place of powdered sugar on donuts! If you do decide to do this, make sure you have plenty of TP for you and all of your guests!
Made this last night using Choice NY steaks from Costco. Came out damn good. Coarse ground pepper to coat the steaks is better than the finer or pre-ground peppers. I normally use montreal steak seasoning and i noticed that although the meat is cooked to a good medium/medium-rare, the outer layer is a bit more dry. With this method, i noticed a consistent moisture/juiciness through the whole steak. Excellent recipe and explanation of how it works!
I tried your recipe today and unfortunately it did not work. my family was very upset because we had to throw all our steaks. they were far too salty. i followed all your steps but it didn’t work. i don’t buy your method.
You know, Johnny boy, sometimes science just doesn’t get it right. When some of the foremost cooks in the world- Like Alton Brown and America’s Test Kitchen swear by a particular method, there is a reason: it has been tried thousands of times and it WORKS.
Working in a food lab and being a good cook are two very different things. Apparently what they DIDN’T teach you is how to thoroughly read an article… later in the piece,it is explained that the meat will reabsorb the briny water and flavor the meat all the way through, as well as tenderize it. This method has been demonstrated on countless cooking shows and in recipe books dating back decades.
Did you TRY this method before shooting it down? Nah, I didn’t think so. Hypothesis – experiment = bad scientist
This is absolute nonsence. I once worked in the wold’s largest fresh mest food lab…we knew a LOT about meat tenderness. Salt most certainly will NOT tenderize meat. It is collagen protein that holds met fibers together, and collagen is not salt soluble. Muscle protein (myosin) is salt soluble but will not affect tenderness. And leeching moisture out of the meat using salt is supposed to aid in tenderness? ridiculous.
Junk science misinformation by the author.
I qualify myself as the family livetockman. Along with fattening the hogs for market, I am the family butcher, who salt cures the hams, bacons and variety meats for the smokehouse. He cuts the hickory too.
A agree with and reccommend the salt rub and rinse as described for meat preparation. Including cut or whole poultry.
Knowledge of the salt is everything. Any non-iodized salt can be used. Canning salt is much more economical than kosher which is the same, except you don’t pay the Rabbi. It is the iodine that is added to table salt, that makes salted meat cook up dry and stringy.
In cooking, use non-iodized salt only. Enjoy.
B: I hope Jaden responds to you, but do not use epsom salt! That is magnesium sulphate, which has neither sodium nor chloride, you will just ruin the meat!
Oh my goodness, I was on vacay and didn’t have chance to respond to everyone! (Thank you Ted, for stepping in)
B: I hope you didn’t use Epson salt!!! Last resort, use regular table salt, but just halve the amount of salt.
I am trying this with rib eyes tonight!!!
One question: Will it be okay to delay the cooking after the salting / rinsing / patting? (I can throw the steaks back in the fridge for one to several hours to no ill effect?)
Yup – I do that all the time
Can you use epsom salt instead? I want to try this out tonight and have checked all my local stores, none of them have kosher salt.
All I have is table salt or epsom salt π
Excellent article! I have been frying my rib-eye steaks with Montreal seasoning, but I’m adding the seasoning just before frying. I tried to fry three steaks at the same time yesterday, and ended up with a bunch of water in the pan. This got me thinking, which is how I found your article. I have a few questions, though. First, is it safe to leave the steak out for 1-2 hours? Could you explain how this is safe? Also, even if I add seasoning to the salt, I should rinse it off with water and pat clean, correct? You’re saying that the seasoning should be soaked into the meat through salting, and no longer needs to be present on top of the meat? Lastly, will your method work for frying? Do you have any tips? No lid on the pan? Olive oil okay? I can’t wait to try this, as I have been on a mission to get my steaks right.
Best regards,
Charles
can i still do the salting method even if i have marinated the beef already? If I had found your site earlier I would not have done the marination.
I enjoyed your blog post and want to try this. I recently purchased a grass fed london broil steak. Did not have much time to marinate it about 1.5 hours, and found the steak acceptable, but too bland. I did buy another of these steaks because it was $6 a pound and it is healthy, grass fed beef. It is a lean cut. Not much fat (which I actually like for health purposes). Will this technique work even with the lean cut? I don’t mind the salt entering the beef, it could use the additional flavor.
yes, go for it!
Kosher meat is not perfect, my friend worked for some people who got meat ready the kosher way and perception is not reality. The jews there had the most disgusting work habits I have ever seen, very cruel too. I will never eat Kosher meat. As for this receipe, just a long way to get tender meat that could be done so easily other ways. This is complicating matters. It isn’t that hard and yes the salt is way too much.
This is what is known as dry brining it works well with chicken too but you MUST make sure the surface salt is washed off thoroughly I tend to soak the meat in clean fresh water for 2 hours changing the water every 20 minutes. The point of the salt is to break down the protein strands in the meat which of course then makes the meat more tender.
The point of doing it all at room temperature is also so that you are cooking the steak at room temperature rather than from cold this also means the meat stays hot when resting.
IT says there that ordinary salt tastes like shit.
How does the author know what shit tastes like to compare?
Wow, I can’t wait to try this out on my next steak. Very informative and sounds easy as can be. Thanks for your hard work and sharing. I also like your artwork and sense of humor.
Cheers.
OK, at first I was offended by the “dumbing up” of the science lesson. Then again, I am a well educated, licensed medical professional. More importantly, I am also a recently reformed vegan. That being said…GREAT read! Great steaks! The whole project was fun! Excellent site! Thanks!
Denise- your “belief” does not resemble reality; salt is an excellent anti-microbial, and the beef will be perfectly safe.
Dude, you just changed my life, thank you so damn much.
If you are looking to cook the different style of steaks or any other meat dishes then this is the right collection of recipes for you: http://goo.gl/pLXHk
Great article!
I am a professional pit master. I compete in organized bbq competitions against many of the best pitmasters from all over the US and Canada. Therefore I have LOTS of practice cooking various cuts of meat on the grill.
While I disagree that you can take a choice cut of meat and make it as good as a prime cut, I do agree with your methodology. As far as beef goes, you really DO get what you pay for.
That being said, you CAN certainly improve the flavor and tenderness of ANY cut of meat.
Your preperation is spot on. One of the keys, I believe many of the people above me, are missing is the thickness of the steak. MINIMUM 1.5″ thick, which is a thick cut of meat is required for this to work. You CAN use thinner cuts, but for obvious reasons you would need to scale back the amount of salt you use, greatly.
Another is, that (as you stated) if you’re using butter to finish your steaks using unsalted butter is a MUST!
I prepare my steaks using salt (and other spices, included in a steak rub) and you can either leave them on the counter, wrapped in foil or plastic wrap, for those afraid of contamination, or another method I use is called “hot tubbing” your steaks. I season the steaks with my rub, and use the foodsaver to vacuum pack the steaks. After drawing a “bath” in the kitchen sink using hot tap water, I drop the steaks in and weight them down so they warm up evenly to an internal temp of around 100 – 110 degrees. After firing up the grill to as high as you can get it (for my grill, it’s around 1100 degrees, but can be 600-700), I pull the steaks out of the bags, wash really well, pat dry them, and grind some pepper over them. Put them on the direct heat for 2 minutes per side, and probe for an internal temperature of just (5 degrees) below the level of doneness you want. Which should be (IMO) medium rare. Pull and ALWAYS let your meat rest! Put some foil over them and let them sit for 20 minutes or more to let the juices re-distribute. Then serve… you will have one juicy, flavorful piece of meat!
Love your blog here! I have always said that even the cheapest steak choice can become a great steak if treated correctly! I am working on a quick blog about marinating and am going to include a link back to this blog! Following you now! Follow back please @ http://www.pargasjunkyard.wordpress.com and on facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/PargasJunkyard Thanks!
Ms. Hair et al,
While the initial article is several years old as I write this, I wanted to chime in to say that I first started tying/using this particular technique last summer (2010) and have had mixed results ranging from absolutely awesome to mediocre & salty.
That being said, as of last night, I think I finally nailed it down with a $5 rib-eye (prepackaged from TJ’s with very little marbling) and the result was fantastically tender, not salty and just damn good.
Since it’s still fresh in my head from last night, I thought I would relate some of the details that might perhaps assist others.
First, I used one of Tr*der J**’s ‘cheapo’, shrink-packaged rib-eyes that I think are around $5-$6/lb. Rather than my usual routine of letting it warm up a bit from its cold refrigerated state and then washing, drying and applying salt, I just took it right out of the package, no washing, salted both sides and let it sit.
Next, I changed up my salting technique: instead of using my usual fine-crystal sea salt from the shaker-container and liberally salting and slightly rubbing it in, I instead used rock sea salt which I ground coarsely, and somewhat liberally over both sides of the steak (but did not rub it in). The steak was approx 1.25″ thick and I let it remain in the salted state, at room temperature for approx 35-40 minutes, turning once. I noticed more liquid on the steak than other times past.
After the 40 minutes was up, I noticed a distinct change in the texture of the meat: very tender. I washed very thoroughly, lightly rubbing the surface for about 90 seconds under cold running water and then dried very thoroughly using several sets of paper towels (patting but never squeezing). Before I started to rinse the steak, I had placed my favored cast iron pan on the stove (I don’t have a bbq/grill) and cranked the flame to ‘High’ and let it heat while I rinsed the steak.
After drying the steak, and with it now being very tender, I tied some kitchen twine around the sides of the steak to firm/shape it up a bit (not really tight, per se, but tight enough to bring it together and firm up slightly) I crushed a couple of garlic cloves and rubbed them liberally over both sides of the steak (but not leaving any garlic chunks on surface). With my cast-iron pan now very, very hot, and with no oil on the steak or in the pan, I placed the steak in the center of the pan, covered, lowered heat to medium, waited two minutes, cranked the heat to high for 30 seconds, flipped steak, covered again, reduced heat to medium, cooked for another two minutes, removed pan from heat and let sit in pan for another 30 seconds, removed my beautifully browned (and slightly charred) steak from pan and let sit for another 3 minutes before eating- The result was one of best steaks I’ve ever cooked in the kitchen in 20 years of fooling around with steaks. Thank you Ms. Hair.
That was explained right in the second paragraph. You sir, are a c omplete moron.
And you sir, are an asshole. It hardly sounds like you read the article.
Thank you so much for this detailed and humourous article and photos! I was literally LOLing!! I will definitely give it a try on my next steak. My palate is telling me it’ll be carcasstic!
Cheers!
Frankly, I like the way you sharing this and I really can feel the passion that you want to showed. I’ll definitely will try this and I basically understand the idea….
Common guys, she is sharing her experiences, everyone know it is impossible to satisfied everyone… appreciated the feedback so that we others don’t do the mistake twice. π
Get the idea, try, improvise, modify, leverage from other and if 1 day you get the perfect steaks…do share it with us.
How about the side dishes on the carrot, mushroom, asparagus, broccoli..normally you steam it and then grill it or just grill it??
Many thanks and keep it up…
Thank you so much Moskito!
As for the vegetables, I normally just grill the asparagus, mushrooms on medium-high heat. For broccoli and carrots, I’ll grill on one side of the grill that’s on low heat (while rest of grill is on high or medium-high heat), cover and let roast until done.
A bit more radical salt application than I am used to, but I will definitely try one your way.
Wonderfully written article, thanks for sharing
Actually the salting process for kosher food (a) does not take that long, and (b) is applied to large, wholesale cuts of meat – a kosher butcher (or packing house) slices steaks just like any other butcher, without salting each piece.
So you SHOULD be able to use this technique with individual steaks.
I don’t agree with the part about leaving it set on the counter for an hour, and 25 minutes. Wouldn’t it be loaded with bacteria by the time you cooked it?
@Denise Because a whole cut of meat (as opposed to ground) gets thoroughly cooked on the exposed surfaces, any potentially harmful bacterias that may have flourished on the exterior typically get killed off within a few minutes at a temperature higher than 165ΒΊF. It’s important that the meat be from fresh a clean, trusted source and stored at a temperature no higher that 41ΒΊF shortly after it was butchered up until you take it out of your fridge. At that point the typical rule is not to let it sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. In this case, the generous salting on the exposed surfaces should help prevent bacteria from growing as rapidly as it would on unsalted meat. It takes a significant amount of salt to totally kill bacteria, but a generous coating as shown in this article will at least make it more difficult for bacteria to flourish.
I would also add that while it’s not recommended to let raw meat sit out for more than 2 hours at room temperature, in visiting some foreign countries I have seen raw meat (no salt or other preservation methods used) sit out much longer than that before getting cooked without making anyone sick including foreigners who weren’t accustomed to such lax food safety practices. It’s best to observe proper food safety and sanitation and not gamble with making anyone sick, however. My point is that your steak should be well within the safe to consume range after letting it sit salted on the counter for 1 hour and 25 minutes then immediately cooking it.
What you are describing here is simply using salt to quickly dry age meat. It will make the meat taste better but will still pale in comparison to a dry aged steak. Your usage of the words “Prime” and “Choice” however, is just plain incorrect. The difference between USDA graded Select, Choice, and Prime is the amount of fat present in the meat. Select being the leanest and Prime being the most marbled, to indicate that salt can make up this difference is just wrong and you shouldn’t use words that have specific meaning in the grading of beef. Salt cannot improve the fat content, so your article and recipe gets two thumbs down. Do a little bit of research next time. When purchasing Prime Dry aged beef you are not getting ripped off either. You get what you pay for. You, sir, are an idiot.
I am definitely going to try this. I live in Africa (been here almost 7 years) and just had the toughest ribeye I have ever had in my life. And it was supposedly grassfed. I think it is the way the animal is slaughtered (under a great amount of stress) and it is not aged in any way (to my knowledge). So, anything that will make it better will be great. I have tried salt before, but only as the meat was put on the grill. That did not help much. So, thanks for the advice. I will write back and let you know how it went.
You guys, if you ended up with a salty piece of beef jerky, you did something wrong. This is an excellent idea with solid science behind it. I’ve tried salting a number of different cuts and have had success each time. Many thanks to the author.
This is how I prepare all my steaks. If it tastes overly salty, you’re using too much salt, not rinsing it well enough, or some combination of both.
When you rinse, make sure you vigorously rub all surfaces of the meat, and make sure you get it out of any openings (as would be present in a ribeye or strip).
If you don’t get good results at first, don’t just throw the method away. Inspect. Adapt. Fortune favors the bold.
Hi Jaden, I really enjoyed your article. One question: do you salt one side or both sides of the steak? Thanks in advance for your help.
I tried this, and I would not recommend it. Yes, the technique pulled water out of the steak, but as the blog post itself points out, salt is drawn into the meat.
Normally, I salt my steaks right before cooking. I want a nice crust, but I do not want too much saltiness WITHIN the steak itself. Unfortunately, this is the result I got with this technique. In nice steak houses, they salt the steaks right before cooking the steaks. That way, you get some nice saltiness on the crust, but within, it’s just nice steak-y flavor.
LOLs.
You gave me a good laugh.
I just feel sorry about all the meat that is wasted on trying this.
But never mind my comment, I’m just a cook.
I tried salting the steaks. The salt draws out the juice which contains the flavor. The meat had a funny taste from the sea salt. I won’t do that again.
Sorry….Gene
Thanks Jaden!
I was wondering – does anyone have any input if this works on kosher meat? Kosher meat has already been salted to draw all the blood and so is quitely salted to begin with. Would this process make it any saltier?
I would not do this with kosher meat – it’s already perfect!
Just an FYI, I cook my steaks like this in the oven, right next to the broiler flame. I do it for three minutes on each side. I try to get 1.25 inch cuts.
But if you use prime steak with a lot of fat, watch out for grease fires! Just a warning.
I’ve been doing this for ages. Those two “cheap” cuts are not cheap at all. They look like prime grade, which is the most expensive grade (besides Kobe, obviously).
Does this work on select or choice cuts? I don’t think so.
So you’re headline is deceiving. People still need to buy high-quality steak for this to work right.
Can this method be used to prepare a roast? What would be the modification in technique?
Used this method on two sirloin tip steaks with sea salt and grilled them on a foreman. AMAZING! So tender, juicy and flavorful.
I might try this sometime or maybe not but I definitely gotta give 3 thumbs up for the excellent writing. Quite a riot…
This works great; I’ve done this a half-dozen times with filets. They’re juicier and tastier than without the salt process. It’s weird to wash steak under running water and then dry them off… but that’s what it takes. I roast my steaks in my Micro/Convection (using Convection only, of course) at 390Β° for about fourteen minutes or until the center is 130Β°F. Pat dry again if I’m going to pan sear and create a wonderful sauce or sear/char them on the grill; both for no more than 80-90 seconds/side on high heat. The results are steakhouse perfection. The outside has a nice char and the meat is bright pink throughout; no gray areas at all… perfect!
I tried this last night on two cheap steaks (1″ Round Steaks). I did 1 Teaspoon of Kosher salt then put some Dry-Rub I threw together on as well. Let them sit for about an hour, pan-fried them about 4 minutes per side, then let them sit for 5-10 minutes.
It was the best steak I’ve had for the type of cut used, and better than some prime cuts I’ve had as well. I’m considering using this method for a prime cut, but I will probably salt it for less time per inch.
Also, you’re right, even though I rinsed off all of the dry-rub I made, it was bursting with flavor.
Makes sense to me, but regardless if it works or not, I enjoyed your sense of humor!
We tried this idea tonight on some steaks of home grown beef–took an already great cut of meat above and beyond. π Of course I made a few changes…..no idea how much salt I used, I just used my grinder until it looked like enough (though still not quite as much as you used–we’re NOT salt people), and I also only let it sit for 30 minutes at the most (that’s all the longer I could hold off the starving menfolk.) I used the butter too, and it was excellent. π
Thank you so much!
Don’t try this unless you normally eat a ton of salt. If you are not a salt eater, all you end up with is a horribly salty piece of meat.
Well, I may have been considering trying salting the steak, but I don’t recommend the bourbon part of the note, until I read some of the comments, which were discouraging but I might end up trying it any way and try to use less salt. I had read on another website about salting it, too, so it might work if it’s done with the right amount of salt.
First try was a success. 1.8 lb single flank steak (choice), 5 min./side over a full load (single layer of Stubb’s briquets) on a 22.5 in. Char-Broil kettle grill. A little chewy but good flavor. Made sure to measure 1 tsp. salt per side,45 min./side before hitting the grill. Maybe salt choice is critical. Used Diamond Kosher (supposedly hollow crystals). Steak sat at least 5 min., maybe 10 min.(martinis, dont’cha know). Technique seems basically sound. Will try again.
I just had to leave a comment even though i have never before. I was searching for a way to tenderize steak because i am grilling some steaks later today and i really enjoyed reading this page. Regaardless if it works or not-i got a good laugh reading this! π
I’m almost 60 years old and well experienced in cooking, so after reading the science behind this over salting and resting the steak method, I thought I would give it a try.
After following this recipe to the letter, and perfectly grilling the steaks (rib eyes) I ended
Up with two of the saltiest pieces of beef I ever had. It was literally inedible. Ruined, two beautiful pieces of meat we looked forward to. DO NOT use this recipe!
I tried this and it worked perfectly. I will agree that it was a tad bit salty, but I used the garlic butter and it was a match made in heaven.
I would not try this on rib eye, NY or any really good cuts of meat. I used Sirloin. I don’t love sirloin, but I buy it. This made it perfect.
I agree with Kimberly on this one, your using far to much salt there. Unless you want to turn a $10 steak into a $2 piece of jerky.
I tried this out on 2 steaks totaling in price 18.00. I thought it would turn out amazing, I love to take chance on experimental stuff when it comes to cooking. BUT my steaks were 2in thick and I let them sit in the KOSHER salt for 1 1/2 hours and rinsed it well, and patted dry with paper towels, and it just ended up being extremely salty and I ended up NOT EATING MY MEAT. I was very very disappointed. I would NOT recommend this at all.
I gotta say it sounded so good I was hooked! OK wisenhiemer, I did everything you said I should do and now I waiting for my “salt/fresh herbs marinade” to complete! Wish me luck (my kitchen is a mess)……If you don’t hear from me again it means it was beyond great………..Simon π
Tried this method tonight. Coated the steak in salt and let it sit for the recommended hour and fifteen minutes. Came out extremely salty even after washing it all off and chewy as ever. Overall unimpressed. Next time I’ll just pay extra for better cuts of steak.
Love this article. I didn’t want a marinade as I’m going to use this in a stir fry and knew that brining was great for pork chops so that’s what I had googled first. So glad I found you instead! I’ve just decided to bump up my recipe from the old method of cut and saute to bbq, slice and then add to my stirfry. Makes my mouth water already! Love your sense of humour BTW. Your photos were awesome!
Love the tips – but really love the writing style! Sat here chuckling while I read it, sipping on my rum & coke (I’m on vacation – I can drink all day if I want to!). Already bookmarked your site. Cheers!
This was great. I have googled and read so many ways to marinade a steak. Tried a handful to no avail. Tried packed marinade. Nothing works good. Steak cuts are just not like they use to be. I am definitely trying this won. In fact I am going to go do it right now. We talk the same lingo….thanks for making me chuckle. Enjoyed your article a lot.
@SteamyKitchen:
Thanks for the tip! I’ll try that next time.
By the way, I tried this recipe with venison (backstrap, tenderloin and ham steak) and it worked wonderfully! This is my new go-to method.
Hey there! THANK YOU so much for sharing this wonderful tip!! I haven’t tried this…but I am sooooo looking forward to try it. And I love the way you talk, I laughed out loud at work and everyone thinks I’m a weirdo – especially if they peek at my screen that pretty much has salted steak picture zoomed in.
taste like a salty steak. tried it verbatim. my homade marinade smokes this salt lick
Just tried this technique and it worked well! Flavor/level of saltiness was great, but our steak (NY strip) was not as tender as I thought it would be with this technique. Any other tips or ideas for added tenderness?
Try getting your steak from another market OR when you purchase your steak, use your hands to gently touch the steak (while in its package, under plastic of course).
I’ve found that the more tender the steak to the touch, the more tender the steak is to eat. This method works really well esp for filet mignon.
I just finished my steak following this technique. It worked pretty well, but my steak was bordering on being too salty. I tried this on pork for my wife and she enjoyed it, all though we both agreed the saltiness could be less. What can I do to make this less salty? Do I simply add less salt during my salting process or should I let the salt sit for longer in order to even itself out to the center of the meat? I tested it tonight in order to have it done for our party tomorrow.
Hi! I had a quick question! this is my first time trying this recipe, and I would have to say i used alot of salt as well as salt it for around 4-5 hours! Will this effect my steak at all? like making it really salty?! Please respond asap thanks!
ummm, i think i love you!! you are hilarious!!! please never stop blogging while drinking bourbon on the rocks!!!
This is one of my favorite ways to make steak. This also worked very well on Pork Chops!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Do you add the garlic butter before you grill the steak or after it’s finished? I am going to try this method in a day or so, thanks!!
Hi Cora, Add the garlic butter once the steak has been grilled. Since the steak will be nice and hot when serving, the butter will melt over beautifully!
I just took a 1 1/2″ thick 1.4 lb steak, salted for 1hr 15min, rinsed, paper toweled it dry & cooked it to 140. It was phenomenal. Thanks for the information! I think I will always salt & season this way.
Meat in a slow cooker is not the same as a grilled steak, in my honest opinion. I don’t use my slow cooker anymore after I learned how many of the nutrients are destroyed by the over cooking. Personally, I’d rather put in the extra effort with the salting and grilling, keeping the nutrition of the meal I’m eating.
I have tried this with steak, chicken and pork and each one turned out supper tender and flavorful! I have not mastered grilling but with this technique it tastes like I have! I will never cook meat without marinating it in salt first. Thank you so much for this page!
Thanks Crystal!
a slow cooker is the best thing in an apt, you don’t have to salt in advanced, i just put steak on a bed of potatoes and carrots and season with steak spice, let it cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours and its for tender
This is exactly how I’ve cooked my steaks for years, glad to see I’m not the only crazy one! Works great, definitely going to try your recipe at the end of that article. Om nom nom! Great article and wonderful photography!
I just stumbled upon this website a day after I had a steak cooked, and I approve of this! What a coincidence that we used the same method! It was just sooooo simple that my friends can’t believe this is just what you need to do. I modified mine a little bit, though:
After the salting, I placed the steak in a ziploc bag with3 tablespoons of olive oil and massaged it for five minutes and left to marinate for over an hour. Overall the whole process with the salting takes 2 hours, but everyone will thank you for it. I didn’t even use any other flavorings and just let the taste of the steak shine.
Here was the end product in our En Route community page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=214185745270124&set=a.213029198719112.52981.198205076868191&type=1&theater
Thanks for the info! I cannot wait to try this! And TsunamiJane – do what I did – get a George Foreman grill (countertop model). They work great and no need to light a grill to cook for 1! I cook ribs, steak, and chicken breasts on mine and you even get the pretty grill marks! : )
This really works! I looooove how you wrote this article. I was nervous the first time I tried this, but we’re “salting” right now and I can’t wait for dinner. Tip for anyone who tries this….follow the directions as written!
1. Sea Salt, sea salt, sea salt
2. Rinse, rinse, rinse
3. Pat super dry with paper towels
4. Cook ’em up!
Also: I live in an apartment and don’t own a grill. Any suggestions on baking or frying this? Baking is preferred!
Hi! Haven’t tried this yet. Was wondering if it works with pork as well? I have a bunch o’ boneless pork ribeyes, thick suckers.
I did it! I tried it and oh my GOSH it was amazing!! I had tons of compliments, the meat was nearly falling apart as I was putting it on the grill. It’s delicious and fantastic and the rosemary finished it off perfectly. It wasn’t overly salty (and I don’t much like salty, so that was a relief.. I was worried, no lies) I’m definitely doing this again for our big party.
I’ve been using this method for half a year now and figured it’s about time I leave a comment. This method really results in tender, flavourful steak. I’ve experimented with various additions to the salting process, like Worcestershire sauce and other spices, and in the end I just like using slivers of garlic. Simple and delicious. I find it’s better to season with pepper right before grilling; otherwise it doesn’t seem to permeate the meat so well.
If people are having problems, maybe they’re leaving the steak in salt too long, or not rinsing and drying thoroughly? Any of these things may lead to oversalted steak that lacks a nice crust. I just eyeball my steaks (usually ~1″ thick) for water buildup, leaving them under salt for anywhere from 45-65 minutes; I’ve never had any problems. Thanks!
I’m going out this weekend to get a big vat of kosher salt for this. I am doing a big cookout, and I want to surprise everyone with steak. Obviously you then start researching how to make cheap cuts taste amazing and bam.. here you are. You’re funny and articulate and to the point so I actually understood you. My pants did NOT come off once. I’m testing it out this weekend.. I may be back with questions, so I hope you’re still here
I tried your recipe how to turn cheap steake into
gucci steak. All I got was very salty steak, I rinsed, rinsed, rinsed and it is too saly to eat
hi Jaden. just came across this while doing a search. I am a horrible griller but there have been requests in my cooking classes for steak. Great Instructions! !m I am so excited to try this. Love the drawings and text!!! Will let you know how it goes!! xo, Elana
Maybe I did something wrong, but all I had was a dried out piece of salty steak by the time I was done.
I used a london broil, and followed the instructions to a T. The salty taste was so over powering and there was hardly any juice left in the meat.
I was so excited to try this, but alas, I ended up throwing out my steak.
We got an 1/8 of a cow this year as a new way to buy meat. We received numerous steaks but I have always been disappointed with my steak-grilling dis-abilities. I did a Google search first and then noticed that Xmarks had a ranking in the “steak grilling” category. This post was at the top and I soon learned why. This recipe is superb! Even my wife who is not a beef-eater was drooling. My three sons (11 and under) were all begging for more (instead of hot-dogs. I thinly sliced the leftovers for an omelet or a burrito. Thank you for your lighthearted genius.
Is there a printable version of this? I can hardly wait to try it!
I first heard about doing this in Hawaii. Its their “secret” method for fire pit cooking steak at those fancy luaus and such. Your post helped me get it right for the first time. And let me say… You are now my food goddess. I only used crushed white pepper with the salt, and started out with 3 steaks. By the time my family was done having neighbors and friends taste it, it had turned into a cook out to remember. Total steaks cooked: 16. Thank you so much!
I love this and cant wait to experiment~ one quick question.. when you add flavoring to the salting process, after the salting process is complete.. are you rinsing all of the flavors off as well.. and grilling it without the flavors? THANKS FOR SHARING!
Nope. The flavors of the garlic and rosemary transfer into the steak during salting.
This made me laugh my socks off and really want steak. Good thing my feet were hot and I have steaks in the freezer.
Thanks to a Dutch blog I was directed to your wonderful steak page! Always a discussion with (old fashioned) chefs to salt the meat upfront. I received some Spanish red wine salt lately and that has become my unmissable steak salt. I massage the meat one hour in advance. It does not give a ‘specific’ taste but enhances the meat even more than the ‘fleur de sel’ I used before.
Even ‘cheep’ steaks I sometimes buy for lack of time taste much better.
Glory to the steak!
This is such wonderful directions, and you are so funny, I was hootin all the way thru… ahahhaha great job.. and finish that bourbon..
LOVE the way you talk /write. I’ve never commented on a post before (i swear! + i’m young so imagine) but this is awesome, will email to all my friends!
Great post, can’t wait to try this. Love the illustrations too!
I think I love you.
There is no such thing as a protein cell…
Typo Jaden not Jsden sorry.
Hi Jsden,
Thanks for the tip on the process of the preparation of the steak. It is fantastic. I was impressed. I believe it was the best steak I ever cooked. Thank you. I look forward to seeing more of your recipes. I can’t wait to try it out on chicken too. Thanks so much.
Sincerely,
Bobby
Thanks, i have been brining turkey, whole chicken, and large cuts of pork for some time, but it does not work well with chicken parts, pork chops, and as you stated, steak. I tried this on skinless/boneless chicken breast and pork chops. You only need about 7-10 minutes, but they came out perfect. I plan on trying this out on some steak next.
PS Can I come to your house for dinner π
Okay so I used the Margarita salt and made sure I wrinsed them all very well afterward and while cooking them I seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper and they are sooo good!!!
Okay so I am attempting this on a rib eye with Margarita salt since I don’t have any sea salt or Kosher. I will let you know how it turns out.
Dave try Asda .. I think I saw some in there the other day
I have been using your recipe for over a year now. I use it on top roast, a 2 to 3 inch cut. I spread out the salt on a cookie sheet and add any spices I want to use. I then place the meat on the salt and spices. I spice the top of the meat and then add salt fairly heavily. Let set for 1 hr. Rinse and pat dry. I grill it at about 450 degrees for 40 minutes turning over ever 10 minutes. So that the streak is a nice medium rare.
I used to use sauces on my steak when eating it. Since I have been doing this I never use a sauce. My whole family loves steak done this way.
Thank you.
hi! can i do the procedure above including seasoning the meat/steak and then put it in the freezer for future use? good meat for steaks arrive in our local meat shop every wednesday; i like to cook my steaks on fridays. thanks!
Oh, I forgot to say that I let it sit in the salt overnight.
I used this method with a bottom round roast, then braised it. It came our delicious. I am wondering it will work as well with a chuck roast. If you could answer pretty quickly I would appreciate it,since I need to prepare it for company this Sat., 3/19. Thanks so much!
Hello Jaden –
This sounds delicious and easy, my kind of recipe! How would you go about doing this for a 2-1/2 pound round roast?
Leave it whole?
How long on with the salt?
(yes, I am very cooking challenged):)
Thank you,
dooks
Leave it whole, salt generously (I’d suggest using 1 1/2 times the amount of salt that you’d normally use to salt a roast), cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight.
Next day, rinse off, pat dry. The reason I am suggesting using only a little more salt than you’d normally use is because most people will cook the roast with a sauce in the pan. And the sauce generally contains salt already.
Hi Steamy
Great article and i will try it as soon as…but one question: Kosher meat is salted like you recommend. Does the Kosher salting render the meat more tasty too?
Salt is flavor and brings out the flavor of whatever ingredient are you cooking. So, my answer is yes!
DUDE, ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS YOUR STEAK ROCKED! LOVE IT. I CAN’T COOK WORTH SHIT AND DAYAM, THANKKKKK YOUUUUUUU. YOUR A GENIOUS
I absolutely love steak, but occasionally stumble across that tough steak and since using this technique I do not have this problem anymore. I have passed this wonderful tip to my friends and family. Thank you for sharing your secret and also making it interesting & funny to read.
Great tip, and you are definitely a hottie π
Will this work with lamb and other red meats too?
Yes, it sure does.
I’m going to try that…. Thanks for the tip….
WHOA, Jaden, this is amazing! I am a big steak and venison eater (we raise beef and shoot deers) so man!!! This just changed my life! My steaks are never quite that great unless it’s tenderloin, but now I bet they will be! And I love a ton of salt! My best chicken recipes include tons and tons of salt and then there’s this smoked pastrami that I make which of course uses a serious salt brine.
Thank you SteakLady. I have gone 25 years without knowing how to cook a steak.
Thank you for helping me cook the BEST late Valentine’s dinner for my husband. The choice steak (ribeye) was perfectly tender and seasoned. Used garlic and rosemary, your suggestion for those two spices was a winner. Can’t wait to try another type of cut.
You’re so welcome!
I did try a iodized rock salt too and the rump steak (also from the supermarket!) came out rather well. Also, added a few rosemary sprigs when frying. It gave a lovely flavour to the meat!
Gave this a try on the world’s crappiest piece of steak. From one of those frozen boxes at the super market. They’re like a quarter inch think and when I broiled the first one
(without this method) it came out like shoe leather. Gave it to the dogs and they gnawed on it for a solid two minutes. Mmmmm rawhide! Tried this method with iodized table salt- it was all I had and I didn’t think the steak could get worse. What a difference! It was a little salty, but again these are thin steaks, probably already brined in some sort of gross solution and I used table salt. The steak was actually edible though! I can’t wait to try this on “real” meat!
I was sooo excited to try this recipe, as I have been trying my hand at brining with great success. In fact, my google search for “brining steak” is what brought me here. Unfortunately I am sad to report that despite following your instructions to the letter, my steak was ruined and HORRIBLY salty. I realize that “saltiness’ is subjective, but this was waaaaay over the top. I really do not recommend this method. :<(
This is the best article I have ever read about steak! Its written in my kinda language.. Thanks soo much..
I tried this tonight with a 1-inch thick steak, and I actually took caution and used less salt like you recommended because it had a lot of marbling. I followed the instructions to the letter: left it to sit for just one hour, rinsed it twice over, and made sure it was dry. We didn’t add extra salt in the pan, only pepper. I’m sorry but it was just awful and ruined the meat. It was so unbelievably salty, especially the fat, to the point we were taking every forkful with potato or vegetable to cut the saltiness. We fried it in a pan so perhaps this only works if you grill it or something?
Thank you for this…someone just stumbled this post on twitter and I forgot all about seeing this post last year. I need a lot of help on grilling steak so I’m keeping this one bookmarked. π
im a first timer, hope it works for me preparing a candle light dinner for this coming valentine. wish me luck.
I used the salt/rosemary/garlic combo on NY strip today for my mom’s birthday dinner and it was wonderful, or in her words, “ridiculously delicious”. Thanks so much for sharing!
I was wondering…after the salting process is finished and rinsing is done and patted dry – will I be able to marinade the beef for another hour? or will this just make it tough again? By the way your article is hilarious I have read it twice now… π
I’d suggest trying the salting w/o marinade first. Instead of marinating, just add spices to the salt (like I’ve used garlic and rosemary). I would not recommend marinating after salting, there’s really no need to – esp since most marinades contain salt (and then you’d be oversalting)
I’m going to try this tonight! Is it a good idea to use iodized salt?
No, use regular KOSHER salt (you’ll find either the Diamond brand or Morton’s at the store)
So I love the idea of this!! I have some t-bones and was wondering if you thought it would turn out as good if I seared in a skillet and then broiled to finish? Its a lil cold for the grill!
Cook any way you want! π
wow! that’s awesome! Works the same way for chicken? Am trying to make chicken breasts (julia childs way) tonight β¦
PS: love your infographics! π
I use this technique for chicken, turkey, pork.
I’m trying the recipe tonight, it sound great. But what is kosher salt! I’m in England and no one here has hear of it. Well not were I live anyway. I have really good Malden Sea Salt, so I’ll use that. Can I make kosher salt?
Yes, just use sea salt!
Is there a way not to use salt for low sodium dieters and healthy freaks like my family, but still achieving the osmosis effect?
Wow amazing – love the 3rd grader pictures π It does the job!!
I read this article the beginning of 2010 and have used it on every steak since! It took some time to really figure out how much salt per thickness of steak. And also how long to leave it on. Typically I coat a 1 – 1 1/2″ steak in kosher salt (and fresh cracked pepper) for about 30-45 minutes. I can tell by how the steak looks and feels when it is ready, too. Weird, I know. At any rate, thanks so much for the article!
Jas
PS
The butter recipe is a big win at my house, too!
This sounds great…will be trying this week. What types of cuts do you recommend for this method?
I like your recipe and I will try it but I have a question.
in case if i want to marinate the steak in teriyaki sauce, which one is first, salting or marinating in the teriyaki sauce?
thanks
Do one or the other – not both! teriyaki sauce has salt it in so your steak will be too salty.
Works.
Did not work for me. So much salt ended up in my digestive system that I am taking an extra blood pressure pill tonight.
This is AMAZING. I’m totally trying this.
This is the third time I’m using this method on London Broil. I LOVE IT!! But even more, I love reading the recipe over and over again. What a way to get some laughs at the end of the day!!
Thank you so much Ria! Happy new year to you.
Thanks for a great article! It was fun and informative :). I’m going to try this w/tri-tip, though I havn’t decided when to add the balsamic marinade we like. (Shrimp curry next π
should this salting method be used on prime grade steaks? or only on choice?
hmmm i will try it tomorrow,off to buy ingredients.im a steak lover too and spending good amount of money eatin’ at resto for a steak:) thanks
Tried but was very salty taste. What did I do wrong?
I am going to try this. I do have one question though, I am so used to having my steaks marinated for flavor or seasoned with steak seasoner… Can these things still be done with your method? And when? The garlic-herb butter just isn’t my thing and there are certain flavors I crave with my steak. But I am afraid if I were to marinate it along with your method, it would defeat the purpose because it would be letting the water back into the steak, or if I were to use steak seasoning, it would dry it out on the grill. Do they just not go hand in hand?
Wow, I tried your method last night, and it worked great! I pulled out a NY steak that’s been sitting in the freezer for almost two months. Usually steak that’s been sitting in the freezer for a while don’t come out as juicy, but after following your method, I was amazed with the results! I should have taken a picture, but I couldn’t wait to eat it! LOL
I’m making a steak dinner for some friends on Thursday. I can’t wait to try this recipe tonight so I can make sure I’m doing it correctly. The method actually makes a lot of sense to me. I’ll keep you posted on how it turns out for me.
This worked great for me!! I tried it on Christmas day with 2 porterhouse and 2 New York strip steaks. One thing I did after I placed the salt on the steaks is wrapped them in some paper towels to help absorb the moisture coming out. For those that are saying the steaks are too salty are apparently not following the steps outlined above correctly. These were the best steaks I have ever cooked and I look forward to using this method again when I cook the next batch!!
Salting A standing rib roast
I cooking Christmas dinner this yesr 16 lb standing rib roast and was wondering if I can salt it the same as the steak and how long befoe I wash and pat dry.
I usually salt the night before, but just use the same amount of salt that you would normally sprinkle on the roast…i.e. don’t over do it.
Hello,
Thank you for your great article. Also the pic is very nice.
Thanks
WOW!!! I have struggled to get the flavor of the different marinades that I’ve used to actually “flavor” the meat but tonight… I used fresh rosemary and crushed garlic… Viola! Every bite…. even a few hours later with a cold bite of steak… the rosemary and garlic permeated the steak. Holy Cow! Thrilled! I will be using this method again… very SOON! Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing such an informative article.
You Made reading this article funny and cool to read and very
use full thx
For the record, this has nothing to do with osmosis. During osmosis, liquid flows through a semipermeable membrane from the more concentrated side (steak having a higher concentration of water) to the more diluted side (consider the brine as water being diluted with salt.) Osmosis actually draws water out of the meat, but the benefits of salting more than outweigh any drying out the osmosis does.
I also was very skeptical about this method, but I was amazed at how great it worked. I posted the results to my blog: http://engineeringeats.blogspot.com/2010/12/pan-seared-ny-strip-wgarlic-herb-butter.html. =I pan seared the steak after salting it and it tasted amazing.
OMG! I can’t believe I just grilled a steak like this. a ny strip. it was unreal. thank you! i am going to be the star at the next family steak night!
Hi Jaden, I am new to your blog. Steak looks mouthwatering. Could you please tell me how long should I grill the steak to be well cooked on my gas grill?
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks
Mary.
I’m curious…can you use this salting technique and still marinate overnight with your steak? Thanks for the really interesting post. I’m so excited to try it since my husband has his doubts.
I’d really like to hear how people make this edible. I had the same experience as Nancy Hicks and am returning to my original, overwhelming cynicism about this method doing anything other than creating inedibly salted meat.
I am not a frequent visitor to cooking blogsites, I certainly don’t often leave a comment but I do cook a lot and I must say that I am completely floored by this method! The steaks (medallions really) were out of this world! On par with the finest NY Steakhouses (at least the ones that I have visited, which are quite a few…). They were perfectly charred and deliciously tender. After the salting process I coated the edges in crushed peppercorns, brushed the tops with apple-cider-vinegar, and threw them onto the (very hot!) grill. I took them off at medium-rare, (a little late) and served them with sauteed oyster, shiitake, portobella mushrooms and onions. Yum. Thanks for the amazing tip, I cant wait to try it again.
I tried this last evening with some new york strip steaks. Salted for an hour. Rinsed well, added some lawrys seasoning..which i always do. This was tender but completely inedible due to the saltiness. Perhaps if it were salted for just a small amount of time and smaller amount of salt. Tonight im looking for a recipe for what to do with leftover salty steak. Any ideas?
If this does indeed work, I botched it horribly. I can’t think of what I could have done wrong, UNLESS…
For lack of fresh rosemary (and finding my garlic a bit past its prime), I used dried rosemary ground with a mortar and pestle, and garlic powder. I suppose… the dried seasonings absorbed the water, so that salt was the only thing that could go “back in” the steak?
I don’t know; though, while that explanation doesn’t make sense, neither does this technique. The only thing I did differently aside using the dried spices was that I vacuum-sealed and froze the meat immediately afterward. Once cooked it was (I must confess, as expected) inedibly salty.
Actually, I prefer to salt the steak just after grilling, before resting it for a couple of minutes. I believe it helps to preserve steak juices.
In South America, Paraguay to be exact, they salt their beef like this for grilling. They take a huge hunk of beef and use large salt crystals (not sure what kind but much larger than the kosher salt you mentioned) then they let it set for around an hour and plop the whole thing on a grill. Takes over an hour sometims to cook because of the thickness, but always has a great flavor. Even the worst cuts can come out pretty good. Oh yea, and they don’t wash the salt off either!
Are you supposed to salt both sides of the steak? Or just one?
Both sides
can you salt, not cook and freeze for later?
I haven’t tried that, but I’d try salt, rinse, pat very dry and then freeze.
can you can use a himalayan salt plate, and not have to rinse?
That was entertaining read, but i’m not amused after eating the steak. Other than using sirloin, I followed your instructions to the letter. The meat was overly salty and not any more tender than normal. The steaks I used were from my freezer and from a steer that I raised and had butchered. I only throw that in so that you’ll know that I completely understand the beef that I’m using. Luckily I wasn’t cooking for company. I’m considering using your salting method again with a ribeye, but I seriously doubt that the taste or texture will change favorably. If not, the dogs will just love me that much more. This is the second time I’ve been burned by an internet recipe…gonna stick with what I know from now on.
Great and very informative article. I’d rather buy top of the line steaks too….
http://www.meathub.com/steaks-s/46.htm
Thanks SOO much! Although i didin’t actually cook….;) I used your BEAUTIFUL:P drawings for my bio class packet!:) LOVE IT!:p
Hyundai to BMW, NO THANKS! I’m a proud Genesis owner and Hyundai’s aren’t the dogs of the car industry any more. Get with the times! I’ll try the steak though and BTW I have owned a BMW. I’ll stick with the Hyundais.
Hi,I like your slides and the explanation of why this works. Now I will be try your method.
OMG that was amazing and u are a genius….by far the best steak i have ever had
?
No, because then you’re letting the water back into the meat. Just rinse it off and pat very dry.
After the salt treatment to tenderize it, can you soak the meat in water to remove some of the salt?
I just recently got married and I never really knew about the cuts of meat! I currently have these two meats “Tip Steak thick cut for BBQ- USDA Choice” and “Beef Round Top Round for Rouladen- USDA Choice”. How well will the kosher/ seasalt work on these cuts, and what on earth is Rouladen? They look like steak but who knows!!! What is the best way to cook steak grill or oven? HELP!
I have been using this method for about 8 months now. I was prepared for it to be a disaster the first go-round (OMG, that is a lot of salt!)…
It’s like flash-drying the meat, it’s not too salty and you can clearly see how the texture of the flesh has changed once it’s rinsed off. Like buttah. Gives flatirons the texture of filet mignon.
Love the tip, thanks!
My family and I have been using this method to prepare our steaks for about 6 months. I was surprised at how simple this is and how delicious the steaks turn out. Thank you for the tip and all of your wonderful recipes.
wow…”too good to be true” I thought, and it was. Tender sure, but way, WAY too salty. Sorry, but cheap steak is cheap steak. Will never do this again.
O-M-G….I rarely cook steak at home; When I do cook steak it’s either seasoned too much or not enough! I was so scared to try this, but I did and……
my t-bone oven broiled steak came out DELICIOUS with no seasonings AT ALL! O-M-G! I bought a 1 inch thick t-bone from Jewels, I layered both sides with sea salt on a plate with a spoon underneath (so that I could watch the water leak out) for about 40mins because I was scared of getting the steak too salty like other before me. I put the steak on the the broiler pan on HI broiling in the broiler and it cooked on both side for a total of 18 mins. When I took the steak out of the broiler, the steak looked so plain and unattractive. But when I tasted the steak, it was wonderful! I could not believe it! I sprinkled some pepper on a piece and it was okay so I tried the garlic butter on another piece (with no pepper) and this tasted even better than any of the previous pieces. THANK YOU so much for sharing your “cheap steak” secret! I will never be afraid to cook another steak at home again!
Good article, but for ever “source” you find recommending this technique you will find 10 others that state not to let the salt sit because it draws out moisture. How about someone post real life results in video format? The more tender steak should be visible.
The bottom line is you cant change nature, and prime is prime for a reason.
WOW! KAPPPOW!!! I’m STILL on a high and I ate that thing 12 hours ago! Best steak I’ve EVER done myself – and I worked at a fancy schmancy steak place back in the day. …Then I became veg because I could never cook any meat as well… Not sure I’ll ever go back now… π
Though I did augment a little… after the salt trick, the washing and patting… I put a splash of red wine and Tamari, garlic + rosemary on it and let it sit in that for a couple hours. Then onto the grill… then resting time… then lemon butter. Then… ahhhh…. π Powerful goodness.
THANK YOU! – M
Mary, I love your enthusiasm! Just made my day! π
my husband hates fat (filet guy all the way) and hates salt. Filet is in no way in our budget but his 40th birthday just passed and we didn’t get to do anything so I saw this and thought maybe he and the kids would enjoy this..it is the salty taste that scares me.. he does hate salt..comments?
If he *hates* salt, then I’d stay away from using salt.
Yes, same method works for broiling or grilling.
Holy crap.. I just read through all the comments, hoping to draw on some of the successes and fails- I just bought some cheap steaks this weekend with this article in mind (I read it originally a few months back), and now I can’t wait to try. That’s pretty awesome that after 3 years, this article is still going strong π
Question.. I think someone asked this before, but I’m not sure that I saw an answer- does this method work pretty well for broiling too? I live in MN and it cooled down pretty early this year- I’m not looking to grill at this point.
It worked! My girl friend thought I was the best steak chef ever. I almost for a second forgot I was cooking for her it was so good! Thanx alot
It’s taken me a week so i don’t even remember how i got here, but 800+ comments/amusements later and i WILL BE tryin’ steak for the first time in over 12 years-as long as i’ve been in Indonesia! Daddy used to fire up a mean grill back home and i can still smell the steak charrin’…No grill now but a stovetop and a countertop oven for sure…I don’t quite know how yet but i’ll find the way. I’ll have to admit, when i first read your article i thought you were the funniest GUY i’ve read for awhile-musta been the language! But i especially loved the green centipede and i tried your method out immediately on a whole chicken to roast in that countertop oven…i used FISH SALT. That’s right!! It’s coarse sea-salt (lowest grade, i’m sure) from the Aquarium Shop used to keep aquarium fish healthy…
I KNEW you wouldn’t mind if i shared that!!!
And BTW, the whole, roast chicken was totally, crispy, golden, moist YUM.
You are a great gal. I’ll be back, for sure. Thank you.
I used this method last night, and the result was great. I used three 24-oz. cuts of 1ΒΌ” choice Angus sirloin, sprinkled coarse sea salt liberally on both sides and let sit for about 40 minutes, rinsed and patted dry. Threw them on the backyard charcoal grill for about eight minutes on each side. The steaks came out medium rare and delicious. The only problem I had was that I couldn’t get the grill quite hot enough to really carmelize the steaks the way I wanted. But everyone who partook commented on how great the steaks tasted, and that is, after all, the real test, is it not? βRob
It’s probably been said a million times already, but this method really works!!! I first heard about it on a local radio cooking show in Los Angeles and being a steak lover just had to try it. I was truly amazed at how good the steak was. I just patted dry, salted with Kirkland sea salt, wrapped the steaks loosely in parchment paper and let them sit for a few hours or up to a day in the fridge. That’s it. I didn’t even rinse, just patted them off again. Then I’ll throw some cracked pepper and garlic powder on with some olive oil and throw them on a hot grill. 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side and I am done! They end up being only as salty as they normally would had I not cured and just seasoned and cooked as usual.
Unbelievable tips here. Never thought to salt the steak to lock in that flavor! Going to try this tonight!!!
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.
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
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. π
Excellent read Jaden. And, it was hardly funny at all… π Love the illustrations.
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!
Comment deleted due to profanity and rudeness. Happy to let your comment through if you clean it up.
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.
it did not work ,even I followed the reciepe it was very salty
to much so
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
I love it. It came out awesome. I sent this recipe to my brother . Now I am his best sister.
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.
Of course I read all comments! π Let me know how your testing goes.
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!!
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
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. π 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!
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?
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.
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.
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
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.
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
This is such a WONDERFUL recipe! I’m not a steak lover but this one was perfection!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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! π
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.
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?
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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!
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
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
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! π just kidding.
Remember timing is about about thickness – so if your roast is thick, leave the salt on longer.
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.
Sounds like a great idea, I’m going to try it, but with some kosher salt.