Broiling a steak - salt me now or later?

[vitauta]

hey steak has gotten expen$ive since my last broiling experience!! so, i figure i can't afford to do much experimenting on my own, and i want to get it right. specifically, i need to know whether to salt and/or pepper - season - my steak before i cook it (and how long before i cook it) - or afterwards. does the salt enhance the juiciness and flavor of the steak, or leech it of its goodness? i have a one inch thick porterhouse waiting on your verdict. any other related cooking tips for this steak (and my old broiler) are welcome too, naturally. i've come to respect and trust this site for its generosity in sharing precious nuggets of food and cooking wisdom with others.

 

[Hyperion]

for me, I sprinkle kosher salt on the steak about 5-10 minutes prior to cooking it. the salt draws out a little bit of the juice and the juice helps forming a tasty crust, but it won't season the inside. I don't put pepper on it before cooking because it'll burn. however after cooking I season the steak with garlic butter and balsamic vinegar.

 

[jennyema]

Always salt meat before cooking it.

 

[jennyema]

"Ask Tom Colicchio his favorite food to grill and he’ll flash you a grin, then shoot back the culinary version of that famous triple-locution about the three most important factors in real estate (“location, location, location”) — “Meat, meat, meat!” A few breaths later he’ll tell you vegetables are definitely, above anything else, his favorite to grill. Soon you’ll discover he knows quite a few secrets about the tricky skill of grilling fish — not to mention that he keeps a charcoal kettle, ready to fire up at a moment’s notice, on the roof of his West Village home. and that his first cooking memory is of grilling:


“Once, when I was 10 years old, we went to our swim club, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where I grew up. My father had a bunch of club steaks in his cooler. There was a grill set up with a hot fire. So I put a steak on for myself. When I ate it, something told me it needed salt. I grabbed the salt shaker off the table, salted the steak, tasted it and said: ‘Wow!’ Then I added a little more salt and thought: ‘That is amazing, what that does.’ It didn’t make it salty; you just started tasting the meat. It was incredible: I had to try it again. So I put another steak on the grill. This time I tried salting the meat beforehand. It was great. I went through four steaks. My dad came back and said: ‘What happened to my steaks!?!?’ I got in a little bit of trouble, but, at a very young age I had learned a lesson about how to use salt.”

 

[Hyperion]

the amount of salt you use is also depending on how you cook the steak:

if you cook it on a grill, the salt will flow away with the juice/dripping, so you need more salt

if you cook it on a vessel, such as a cast iron skillet or a baking dish, the juice will not flow away and the salt will stay put. so you need less salt

 

[betterthanabox]

If I am grilling a steak I always give it a good pinch of kosher salt, a little pinch of pepper and a little garlic, I grill to medium-well and enjoy a melt in your mouth steak with a ton of flavor!

 

[GB]

As Jenny said, always salt before cooking. With steak in particular you want to do it early. There is a technique called dry brining and it is the only way I cook steaks now. What you do is liberally salt both sides of the steak and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. You can get away with just a few hours if you are pressed for time. Initially the salt draws moisture out, but then that moisture disolves the salt and that salty liquid is then reabsorbed by the meat. The result is that you end up seasoning the steak from the inside out instead of just seasoning the outside. Once you try this method you will be hooked.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Salt me now! Pepper me later........

 

[Rocklobster]

As Jenny said, always salt before cooking. With steak in particular you want to do it early. There is a technique called dry brining and it is the only way I cook steaks now. What you do is liberally salt both sides of the steak and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. You can get away with just a few hours if you are pressed for time. Initially the salt draws moisture out, but then that moisture disolves the salt and that salty liquid is then reabsorbed by the meat. The result is that you end up seasoning the steak from the inside out instead of just seasoning the outside. Once you try this method you will be hooked.

I have been looking into that. I initally read that it was a method used to tenderize a tougher cut of beef. I just haven't tried it yet. Think I will soon.

 

[Barbara L]

Salt me now! Pepper me later........

I'll bet that's what you say to all of the ladies!

 

[powerplantop]

About one hour or a bit more I take them out of the fridge add salt, pepper and garlic then leave them on the counter.

 

[Andy M.]

Salt me now! Pepper me later........

Yup. Pepper and garlic powder and such will burn on a hot grill or pan.

 

[GB]

Yup. Pepper and garlic powder and such will burn on a hot grill or pan.

This is something I have never understood. I know pepper burns easily, but how come it dies not burn when making Steak au Poivre?

 

[pacanis]

I pepper my steak before putting it on the grill. Same as my burgers. If pepper burns, I must like the flavor it imparts. I realize it catches fire when excess hits the flames, but I never noticed it burning on the meat.
It's like a moth seeking out the light by the campfire...

 

[jennyema]

I'll bet that's what you say to all of the ladies!

Hahahahaha!

 

[Uncle Bob]

This is something I have never understood. I know pepper burns easily, but how come it dies not burn when making Steak au Poivre?

Shooting from the hip here....Au Poiver is usually Filet...cooked with/in a medium hot pan for what...3 or 4 minutes per side...The pepper is toasted, but not burned...While steaks cooked over a good live wood coal/charcoal fire will be hotter...burning the pepper.

 

[vitauta]

Shooting from the hip here....Au Poiver is usually Filet...cooked with/in a medium hot pan for what...3 or 4 minutes per side...The pepper is toasted, but not burned...While steaks cooked over a good live wood coal/charcoal fire will be hotter...burning the pepper.

you're probably right on! but personally, i prefer pacanis' moth seeking out the campfire light....

 

[vitauta]

As Jenny said, always salt before cooking. With steak in particular you want to do it early. There is a technique called dry brining and it is the only way I cook steaks now. What you do is liberally salt both sides of the steak and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. You can get away with just a few hours if you are pressed for time. Initially the salt draws moisture out, but then that moisture disolves the salt and that salty liquid is then reabsorbed by the meat. The result is that you end up seasoning the steak from the inside out instead of just seasoning the outside. Once you try this method you will be hooked.

god, how this reminds me of adele davis, nutrition guru around the 1970s!! as soon as i can muster the self-discipline to delay gratification for 24 hours, i figure to dry brine my next steak. the procedure is intriguing, and i find myself drawn like a "moth to a flame" (smile, pacanis)

 

[pacanis]

Smiling

 

[Andy M.]

god, how this reminds me of adele davis, nutrition guru around the 1970s!! as soon as i can muster the self-discipline to delay gratification for 24 hours, i figure to dry brine my next steak. the procedure is intriguing, and i find myself drawn like a "moth to a flame" (smile, pacanis)

Be careful, you can over-salt it and end up with a salty steak.