By New York Steak, I assume you mean a New York Strip Steak. This is a fairly tender cut, usually about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. It is more flavorful than is the tenderloin. It can be prepared in numerous ways. The easiest is to sear it in a dry, heavy cast-iron pan for about 2 to 3 minutes per side for rare, and depending on the thickness. And I have never dried out a steak from salting it before cooking. Meat is dried out by overcooking, period.
Jkath, I heard the same thing about salt drying out meat and followed the advise religeously for years. Then, one day I got lazy or careless and salted the meat before cooking. It came out just fine. So I did some experimenting. You know me
. It made sense to me that salting beforehand wouldn't dry out meat. After all, packing a Prime Rib roast in a salt crust before roasting is a classic method for preparing that cut. And meat tenderizers have salt in them as well. The results of my experimentation, in the oven, in the pan, and on the grill were the same. Salt as is applied for seasoning purposes draw out so little moisture as to be negligible.
Now it is true that packing raw meat in salt is a method for drawing the blood, hence making it kosher. But the meat is left in the salt for a good deal of time. I imagine packing the meat in sand would do the same thing. Salt is used as it is a preservative and inhibits bacterial and other micro-oranizm growth. It also flavors the meat. Sand would just make it gritty, and you'd get that nasty rancid flavor from spoiled meat
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Enough foolishness. Other ways to successfully prepare this cut are to directly broil it, again using a dry, or just lightly oiled broiling pan, about 2 inches under the heat source, for about three minutes per side. You can chop the steak into bite-sized pieces and use it in Shish Kabob, or bake it on top of rice for a great pilaf (sear the steak in your cast-iron pan before baking it. What! You don't have a cast iron pan! They're cheap and almost a necesity in all kitchens, IMHO.). You can dice and lightly pan fry with a touch of liquid smoke, some cilantro, diced onion, lime juice, and diced green pepper to make Carne Asada Burrito filling that's amazing.
Just use your imagination. You'll be surprized how many things you can come up with.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North