American Steak?

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I can believe that baking soda is used to tenderize meat. But as was stated by GAHC, it's either neutralized, or washed off. The person in question did neither of those, and all I could taste was baking soda. That's why I didn't like her steak preperation.

I've never used baking soda personally, but I could see how it could work. Bicarbonate of soda is mildly alkali, and would break down proteins and fats.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I will try anything and do. But to pour baking soda on a steak would most likely get a negative response from me.

Yes, but if you take a swig of vinegar, then a bite of steak, it will likely get a very positive response from anyone you are eating with :LOL:
 
So whats the consensus regarding when to season a steak?

Do you season (salt & pepper) well ahead of grilling? Or do you wait until its time to start cooking them?

Addies post got me to thinking about this. She mentioned someone had instructed the forum to salt the steak well ahead of cooking.
Some here a trained chefs. How were you taught?
 
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I season just before cooking, no matter which cooking method I use. Here's why. I enjoy the flavor of beef. Seasoning with salt and pepper, and other herbs and spices you may want to use, when added just before cooking, only flavor the outermost layer of meat, the surface. This allows the primary flavor to remain, beef. Think about deli beef. It's brined, or dry cured with salt, sometimes sugar, and seasonings. All of the meat, inside and out, tastes the same, like deli meat. I have made my own corned beef, and pastrami, and though I enjoy those preparations, they don't taste like steak.

Meat, when salted, absorbs the salt into the cells, all of them if left long enough. There is of course, natural levels of salt from the blood and cellular fluids already in the cell tissue. Salting is used to enhance the beef flavor on a steak, as is pepper. Seasonings applied just before cooking do just that, without trumping the original meat flavor, and that goes for all proteins, or for that matter, all foods with which you use salt.

There are definite times when brining, or packing with salt is needed. In my opinion, steak cooking isn't one of them.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I season steaks just before cooking. Use of a dry rub for other cuts of meat is a different story.
 
Seasoning could be a simple as salt or any other stuff that people sprinkle on their steaks. It also depends on the cut of the meat what is sprinkled on and how it's cooked. I would ask her what seasoning she's lonesome for. In my own family the faintest sprinkle of anything is "Ick, too much", while another person wants it all and with a heavy hand. Ask her "What seasoning do they use back home?". Back home could be her own back yard and not the entire 50 states.
 
...In my opinion, just about anybody can learn to cook just about anything...
If you can read, you can cook. My SIL is living proof of that.
Just ask Himself, her brother, about her first pie crust...

If we're trying for when a majority of people season their steak, I'll season ours sometime between when I take it out of the refrigerator and when it goes on the grill. No particular time, but the steak is out on the counter at least a half hour before it hits the grate. Usually it's just a generous dose of McK's Montreal Steak seasoning because that's what I have on hand.
 
If you can read, you can cook. My SIL is living proof of that.
Just ask Himself, her brother, about her first pie crust...

My mom always said that and I always believed her :LOL:

I would only add that you need to actually follow the directions, until you're comfortable enough that you can start winging it. I had a friend who would consistently overcook meat because it didn't "look" done and she couldn't understand why.

Ever since I read this article, I've been salting my steak at least 45 minutes before cooking; I only season with salt and pepper and cook to medium-rare. It comes out perfectly seasoned, juicy and delicious: http://www.steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html
 
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