So before you say anything, 'twas not I who actually did this. But I bear some responsibility. Kind of like Inception.
I've been trying to get my dad to start dry brining meats. He says is allergic to adding work but I think it's more that he likes the way he does things and doesn't feel like changing, especially if it's grilling advice from me! If I could get his barber to feed this little idea to him, he'd come home a totally changed man, LOL. Anyway, I digress.
Here is the situation: he calls me today and tells me he has dry brined a leg of lamb. Great, I say. The party is tomorrow, so I figure he's just finished it. Then he asks me if dry brining tends to dry out the meat. To that I say, it should not. Then I start asking questions.
- When did he salt the meat? Tuesday, he says. Been sitting uncovered in a separate fridge.
- How much salt did he use? He doesn't know. He just broke out the Mortons and threw it on, like the guy on Youtube did.
- Which guy on Youtube? He does not recall. When I mention the generally accepted amount is .25-.5 tsp per pound, depending on the amount of bone, he coughs.
At this point, I ask if he's got a backup. He says there's a Costco near where he is headed. He was planning to cook the leg today, and re-heat tomorrow, which in this case is a very good plan I think. But here's my question, and I know this story's about lamb but might as well think of it across the board: Is there anything that's not steak in which dry brining for more than 24 hours will help, and on the flip side what is the downside? In this case, with the leg of lamb, my concern is it will probably come out mushy due to the extra time the salt has had in there. Any thoughts on this? Besides purchasing a Pitmaster subscription for pops, which I am sure to do this holiday season!
As always, thanks all. Cheers!
I've been trying to get my dad to start dry brining meats. He says is allergic to adding work but I think it's more that he likes the way he does things and doesn't feel like changing, especially if it's grilling advice from me! If I could get his barber to feed this little idea to him, he'd come home a totally changed man, LOL. Anyway, I digress.
Here is the situation: he calls me today and tells me he has dry brined a leg of lamb. Great, I say. The party is tomorrow, so I figure he's just finished it. Then he asks me if dry brining tends to dry out the meat. To that I say, it should not. Then I start asking questions.
- When did he salt the meat? Tuesday, he says. Been sitting uncovered in a separate fridge.
- How much salt did he use? He doesn't know. He just broke out the Mortons and threw it on, like the guy on Youtube did.
- Which guy on Youtube? He does not recall. When I mention the generally accepted amount is .25-.5 tsp per pound, depending on the amount of bone, he coughs.
At this point, I ask if he's got a backup. He says there's a Costco near where he is headed. He was planning to cook the leg today, and re-heat tomorrow, which in this case is a very good plan I think. But here's my question, and I know this story's about lamb but might as well think of it across the board: Is there anything that's not steak in which dry brining for more than 24 hours will help, and on the flip side what is the downside? In this case, with the leg of lamb, my concern is it will probably come out mushy due to the extra time the salt has had in there. Any thoughts on this? Besides purchasing a Pitmaster subscription for pops, which I am sure to do this holiday season!
As always, thanks all. Cheers!
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