My sous chef swore by salting steak 2 hours ahead, tried it and ruined dinner service

He said let it sit uncovered in the fridge for exactly 2 hours before hitting the grill, and I ended up with a crust so salty my regulars sent two plates back. Has anyone else had that trick backfire or did I just use the wrong salt type?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara_jones941mo ago

I read somewhere that kosher salt and table salt are totally different beasts, kosher crystals are way bigger and flakier so they dissolve slower. Maybe you used fine table salt instead of kosher? My buddy tried this same dry brine thing with a ribeye and it came out perfect, but he swears by Diamond Crystal kosher specifically. The other thing I heard is that the 2 hour window is a minimum not a maximum, like you can go 24 hours uncovered in the fridge for a deeper dry brine effect. Sounds like your sous chef nailed the technique but you might have used the wrong salt type, that would definitely make it way too salty fast.

jamesm481mo ago

Yeah @tara_jones94 nailed it, I read a similar thing from a chef on serious eats that said kosher vs table salt is a total game changer with dry brining. Sounds like you just oversalted the outside cause the salt hit too fast.