To salt or not to salt

[Bam!!]

Hi :D

Tell me fellow cook a rooneys....do you guys salt your meat before cooking or not ?

I do.

:D

[hvacwife]

No salt here. I do season it with stuff like Mrs. Dash but we don't use salt at all. 8)

[LMJ]

I almost always add an appropriate amount of salt beforehand.

Check the ingredients in Mrs. Dash. It's probably mostly salt.

[ironchef]

I always salt the item before I cook it because the heat will allow the salt to melt and evenly flavor the meat. When you salt the food after you pull it off the grill, pan, or whatever you are cooking it with, more often than not, the salt, when applied to the food, will remain in crystaline form and you will taste the salt, rather than tasting a seasoned piece of meat.

[tancowgirl2000]

I dont use tradional table salt on my meat before cooking but I ALWAYS use Seasoning salt. I was always told that salting before you cook isn't good because it draws out the moisture. However, Salt also tenderizes. SO I salt.....99% of the time my meat is moist enough for us....

[SouthBeach_Cook]

I always salt my meat before I cook it. Whether it'd be fish, poultry, pork, or beef. Kosher salt is my favorite to use due to its crystalized size. You should never salt any meat more than 2 minutes before it hits the fire or else it will start to drain the water off of it.

I know how it feels to throw a salted-for-a-while halibut on a smoking hot pan...AHHH! :)

[Jermosh]

I always salt before I cook or sear any meat. I always use kosher salt due to its coating properties.

[Bam!!]

Thanks !

I started this thread cause somebody said to me "You salt your meat!" that dries it out!

and I answered.....not if you salt it right before you cook it!!!

but now I can refer him to this thread!

:D

[Jermosh]

Well this is kinda back and forth about the salt/dry meat mystery. On one hand salted meat that is going to be uber cooked(CB Brisket) is quite juicy. Then we have the good old brine thing. I honestly do not think that by salting meat that it will dry it out. Granted I do think it will allow it bleed faster IF you do not let it rest properly though.

So is the salt/dry meat mystery, fact, or urban legend?

[GB]

I salt my meat before cooking and even then I sometimes add salt after cooking as well.

Salting meat before cooking does pull out some moisture, but it is such a little amount that you would never notice it.

Try this next time you cook a steak. Take the steak out of the fridge to come to room temp and salt it right away. Let it sit out for a half hour or so. When the half hour has passed and you are ready to cook, notice that there is not juice pooling on top of the steak. It might be ever so slightly damp, but if would be that way even if you did not salt it first.