The Salting Mistake that Prevents a Satisfying Crust on Steak.
BY ELIAS NASH.

There is perhaps no food more glorified than a perfectly cooked steak. It is simultaneously one of the simplest dishes to make, requiring little equipment — just a grill or a cast iron pan — and while you’re welcome to butter-baste it with garlic and herbs, all steak needs is a healthy sprinkling of salt to bring out its rich and complex flavor. And yet, despite its superficial simplicity, the art of cooking steaks has become one of the most highly scrutinized skills in the world of cooking.

Much of the coverage concerning steak focuses on the level of doneness. The quest for the perfect medium-rare steak has inspired countless articles, videos, and even scientific studies. But the interior of a steak only tells half the story. It could be argued that the exterior is more important, being the chief source of the rich, umami flavor that makes steak so craveable.

The crust on a steak is the result of a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. Around 140 to 165 degrees Celsius, the amino acids that make up the proteins in the meat break down, forming somewhere around 3,000 to 4,000 unique chemical compounds, producing a vast array of aromas and opening new dimensions of flavor. However, this re-action can only occur in a dry environment, because liquids cannot reach the required temperature. If there’s moisture on the surface of your steak, the perfect crust will elude you, and the chief culprit might be salt.

Salting steak is all about timing.

The advantages of salting your meat go far beyond taste. Salt helps to trap water molecules inside the muscle of the meat, preventing it from becoming dry and tough. However, this process takes about 40 minutes. During the first few minutes after salting your steak, the salt slowly draws moisture out of the muscle and up to the surface of the meat. There, the salt and water mingle, forming a brine. As the salt gradually breaks down the proteins in the steak, that brine begins to seep back into the meat, creating a moisture-packed environment that ensures a tender and juicy end product.

Now here’s the trick. After the salt draws out the moisture in the meat, it takes about 10-20 minutes for the brine to start reabsorbing into the muscle. During that time, the surface of the steak will be quite wet, and that will prevent you from getting a satisfying crust. There are two ways to avoid this pitfall. You can either salt your steak immediately before cooking it, or you can wait at least 40 minutes after salting your steak to start cooking it. The latter method is preferable because it will ensure a nice, juicy bite. Many chefs recommend salting your steaks as soon as you get home from the grocery and letting them sit like that in the fridge for a day or two before cooking. Keeping the meat uncovered will ensure a dry surface.

More tips for the perfect steak crust

Timing when you salt your steak is crucial to forming a good crust, but there are additional tricks you can use to get that perfect char. On the subject of salting, it’s essential to be heavy-handed. A light sprinkling of salt won’t do much for your meat, so if you’re a beginner, you should probably use more salt than you think. You’d assume this would make the steak just taste like salt but remember that salt helps bring out the full flavor of the meat, so it helps with complexity. It takes some practice to learn the perfect salt level for your tastes, but there are lots of affordable steak cuts for beginners to help you master your technique without burning a hole in your wallet.

WHICH SALT TO USE

Try not to use table or iodized salt to season your steak. Always use coarse kosher salt. Why? Kosher salt has a larger crystal-like shape that allows for optimum absorption and doesn’t come with additives like iodine. It has a lower density, which allows it to gently season the steak. It may look like you’re adding a lot because of the granule size, but it’s not as intense as table salt.

Table salt, although superficially finer than kosher salt, is denser and will dissolve too quickly into the meat, resulting in an overly salty steak. Fine salt is meant to be used as a finishing touch to a dish and not to season one before cooking. 

You may have thought to try seasoning salts like garlic salt or other flavored salts you’ve seen in grocery stores. These salts work the same as table salts in the sense they should be used as a finishing salt. With seasoning salts, you don’t have a lot of control over the final product. If you’ve used too much, it’s too salty and overpowering, and there is no fixing that. Seasoning salts are better for stews, potatoes, pasta, and other similar dishes where you can taste throughout the cooking process.

SALTING A STEAK: FINAL THOUGHTS

The myriad of articles and videos debating how much salt and when to salt a steak is just that – a debate. Each chef and home cook will not be able to agree on the absolute best method to salt a steak because there isn’t one.

Whether you decide to salt it immediately before cooking or 24 hours before, it’s all up to your preferences and how you want the steak to taste. Some may prefer their steaks not to have an overpowering beefy flavor, while some seek that brown crust. Try both methods and see which you prefer.

Read More: https://www.chowhound.com/1498574/salt-msitake-prevent-crust-steak/