Dry Age Beef at Home Alton Brown
Desire perfect steak? This method for dry out brining steak, paired with reverse sear cooking, will result in the tastiest steak you lot've ever made at home.
I conducted a small and seemingly uncomplicated experiment in my kitchen recently. Information technology involved steak, and salt. Elementary enough. Just this basic procedure resulted in the greatest tasting steak I've ever prepared in my own abode.
A while back I posted my fairly extensive article talking nigh the myths and facts of dry aging. A few people commented that I should endeavour to leave the steak uncovered in the refrigerator for a few days, and i even pointed out Alton Brown had a four twenty-four hour period technique for pulling off dry aging at home. Considering the article I wrote (complete with fancy scientific references) says a minimum of 14 days crumbling is required to run into any result, I was pretty skeptical of their suggestions. I came to find that their method is a scrap of a season game changer, it'southward just that they were calling it by the wrong name.
Leaving a steak uncovered in the refrigerator is not dry aging, but information technology is 'dry out brining'.
Hither's the matter – leaving your steak uncovered in a domestic refrigerator for 1-3 days is not really dry aging it. Literally, yes, culinarily, no. Dry anile meats require very specific conditions in order to do their thing, and you can only properly dry age larger sub-primal cuts, not individual steaks (yous can read the article to larn why). What the home-fridge method does is dry brine the meat, or as I similar to call it, deep season it.Notation: the term 'dry out brining' messes with my OCD – technically a brine would indicate the introduction of liquid is involved, then this is closer to curing, only I think this method kinda deserves information technology'due south own title.
The Deep Seasoning Method for Steak:
Start with a steak that's at least one inch thick. Generously season with kosher salt on both sides. Lay it on a rack above a foil-lined tray, uncovered, and put into your refrigerator.
That'southward information technology. That'southward the whole, entire process. Well, not entirely, because at present you have to expect and leave it like this for ane-iii days. Being the impatient person I am, I tried the method out with a few different increments of fourth dimension but discovered that the three day yields the best result (although you will still get benefits from leaving it for a day).
IMPORTANT Notation: subsequently a host of emails from people who complained of overly salty steak, I've added in this clarification. Turns out some folks were smothering their steak in salt, similar to using vast quantities when brining a Turkey. So hither'due south the thing: Yes, you should season generously with salt. NO, you should not use more salt than you usually would. Season it as though information technology were right nearly to striking the grill. IF You PUT A TON OF Salt ON YOUR STEAK, IT WILL BE SALTY! Just utilise equally much table salt as you normally would add to a steak, and exercise non rinse the steak before cooking.
Equally far as the condition of the fridge goes, you're going to want to brand sure at that place's zilch with a stiff odor left uncovered in the refrigerator which could work information technology'south way into the meat. Think raw garlic, stinky leftovers that aren't in a tightly sealed container etc. You tin can likewise put an open up box of Baking Soda somewhere in there (information technology absorbs odors really well!).
Don't be the cowboy who tries to go out this thing for more than three days – in that location comes a point where yous begin flirting too closely with food safety issues, diverse bacterias and overly-funky meat.
Why The Steak Deep Seasoning Method Works:
ane) deep seasoning
In basic terms, the salt gets deeper into the meat than with conventional seasoning. The common salt crystals draw out wet (some from the fridge, mostly from the meat), creating a slick watery surface on the steak that eventually dissolves the table salt, then the process of diffusion draws this salty alkali back into the meat.
2) tenderizing
Salt works to denature proteins. This part tin can become uber-science nerdy, so let'south simplify a niggling. Meat proteins are pretty much strings that are bundled together. Salt has an upshot of loosening these strings slightly from each other, creating a more than tender bite. Fun bonus fact: these are the aforementioned proteins that get all tight and squeeze water to their edges during cooking, which is why we rest steak to allow them to relax, chill out and allow the moisture to render down the strands and distribute evenly for a juicier upshot.
iii) surface drying
You know that delicious brownish crust food gets when it cooks? That phenomenon is known as the Maillard reaction, and is a hallmark of a well-cooked steak. I e'er pat meat downwardly with a paper towel before I cook information technology, to remove moisture and allow the Maillard reaction to occur even faster. Exposing the steak to your fridge works in the same mode, but even amend, and means that y'all'll have a dryer-surfaced steak which will form an outside crust faster, lowering your take a chance of overcooking the interior.
What Dry Brining Won't exercise:
No affair how much people try to convince y'all, this method will not transform a cheap steak into a expensive i, it will merely improve it. Deep seasoning volition brand steak more tender in terms of eating quality and experience, but it won't turn a Select grade steak into a Prime equivalent. The major difference betwixt USDA gradings is marbling, or how much intramuscular fat appears in the meat, and while beautiful marbling does dictate tenderness, the most significant role of fatty is delivering flavour. The deep seasoning method will work it's magic on whatever grade of meat, simply will patently non introduce more fatty into your steak, so the last sense of taste results volition still be proportionate to the quality class you lot purchase. Meaning: deep seasoning is gonna be an improvement no matter what, but it's non going to make miracles happen, so you should still buy a ameliorate course of steak for a ameliorate sense of taste issue.
What if you don't have time to expect?
If you can't seem to find a spare 24-72 hours to deep season your steak, I recommend salting correct before you plan to melt your meat. Salting anywhere between 10-lx minutes prior to cooking will just result in a withdrawal of moisture without enough time to take it return into the meat.
Simply if you do desire to accept the fourth dimension, then trust me, the results are worth the 3 solar day exercise in patience.
I deep seasoned, now what's the best style to actually cook this steak at home?
I'm so glad you lot asked. I recommend you lot get with the nearly-foolproof reverse sear method. You can follow the easy instructions right hither. If you don't desire to apply your oven and a pan you tin can easily create a contrary sear in a charcoal BBQ gear up for 2-zone grilling (direct, and indirect).
Source: https://jesspryles.com/how-to-make-your-steak-even-tastier-use-the-dry-brining-method/
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