Dri-Brining a steak ?


 
Lynn Dollar

Lynn Dollar

TVWBB Emerald Member
Does the salt also flavor the steak ?

If so, then commercial seasonings should not be used ? Just add some pepper and garlic ?

I reverse seared a ribeye last night that I intentionally did not dri-brine. Used Cattleman's Grill Steak seasoning. I thought it lacked flavor from what I'm accustomed to. But put a dab of Cattleman's on my finger, and it tastes very salty.

IDK what to think about this. And if dri-brine, how much salt to use ? I've seen Harry Soo just cover the steak with salt, but others say to only use the amount of salt you would normally use to season.
 
The short answer is yes, the salt certainly does flavor the steak. I am not a huge salt fan (which makes my doctor happy) all the time. But, it is not just the salt that I look for in flavor profile, I want more than just salt, I want more mouth feel, broader flavor.
I am also not generally a commercial “seasoning“ fan (most seem to drown out the flavor of the beef), more basic salt and freshly ground black pepper tends to be what I like. I have also used a product called “mignonette pepper” which is a pepper and coriander blend (Penzeys) from time to time and I like that a lot.
I don’t know if any of that helps answer your question but, salt absolutely flavors any protein.
 
You can dry brine anything, and if you want to use a commercial seasoning that contains salt, just rinse the surface salt off of the meat prior to adding the seasoning that contains salt. Dry brining on a steak also helps to form a better crust in my opinion. I put on a fairly heavy dose, but nothing crazy. A little more than I would if eating. After brining, I don't rinse, as I only add pepper and sometimes garlic powder. If I'm doing fillets, I'll top with a garlic butter after pulling from the sear. Hope this helps.

Charlie
 
Honestly I REALLY tried to get on the salting bandwagon and like it. Honestly I don't get why people do this to a good piece of meat. It completely changes the texture profile and color of the meat in a way I truly find unpleasant at best, does not add flavor only "saltiness" when I would rather control that level differently. I get it on things like turkey in a wet brine maybe even chicken and for pork to cure it. But I don't want my steak to look and taste like Lox.
I take a thick cut high quality steak, make sure surface is dry. Heat and temp stabilize my grill (and not to the insane flame thrower temps I see some using). Typical setting on my Genesis is outside burners on medium and middle burner is low. Just prior to going on a light coat of EVOO, generous seasoning S&P only or S only (note many know I hate the taste of burned pepper) so may think me crazy. But this method does not burn the pepper. I have posted photos of my results with perfect ALL OVER crust, nicely pink from edge to edge and most importantly they taste like STEAK not Lox. I don't go in for dark black stripes. Though thanks to quality grates and skillful cooking I get to die for results every time (unless I get distracted and forget them on the grill :D)
But, I guess the beauty of this hobby is everyone has a "go to".
 
I learned in my clumsiness what happens when you heavily dry brine a great piece of meat and instead of rinsing it off after 20 minutes, you only remember it after 20 hours.
 
The great thing about any cooking is that you can do it your way. I've tried dry brining myself a few times. Not the month long stuff, just an hour or 30 mins.

My current favorite way is to liberally season with my go-to rub about 15-30 mins before grilling over a very hot lump charcoal fire that has some mesquite chunks around the outside of the fire for smoke. I sear first, in a closed cooker, usually a couple minutes, flip, and then one more time on each side, and then allow for less direct finish cooking in a closed cooker, or until internal is approaching 100F, depending on thickness. It's a little art, a little science. I like a full surface Mailliard sear, not just black grate marks. I like the steak to have a kiss of mesquite smoke flavor.

If I don't feel like building a fire, I won't eat steak. For me, a good charcoal fire is the standard to beat. No gas or cast iron for me.

I have done one steak dry brine overnight. Didn't think it was better than my regular method.
I've had a good number of dry brined steaks in high end restaurants. I honestly thought they were drier than I like a steak to be, and not all theat much richer in flavor. Certainly not enough to make up for being dry.
 
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