Old sous chef at the steakhouse told me to salt my steaks 40 minutes before cooking, not right before, I thought he was crazy for 2 years until I actually tried it

I used to just salt right as the steak hit the pan. Thought the whole 'dry brine' thing was chef Instagram nonsense. Then this 60 year old guy who'd been doing 800 covers a night at a place in Dallas just looked at me and said 'you're burning off the moisture, kid, not searing it.' I tried it one Sunday prep shift with some ribeyes. The crust was way better, more even, and the inside stayed juicier. Has anyone else had that moment where you ignore some old school advice forever then finally test it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_drew22d ago

Same reason my grandpa's tools still work better than my new ones...

singh.blair22d ago

Funny how we trade durability for convenience and call it progress. These new tools are made to be replaced, while the old ones were made to last a lifetime. The real kicker is that we're probably paying more for the privilege of throwing them away sooner. Wonder what that says about where we're heading as a society.