I just randomly came across a Cook’s Illustrated article in which they dry brine the ground meat for chili with salt and a little baking soda. They explain that the baking soda raises the pH of the meat thereby causing the proteins to attract and hold onto more water. I have found occasional inaccuracies in the Cook’ Illustrated scientific explanations, so I thought I’d post it here to see what the scientists here have to say. The photos of browned ground beef make me want to try this technique, and I have never found their techniques to be faulty, only the explanations. Anyone ever try this?
Complete coincidence but today I saw a post on GMG Grill owners FB page which was suggesting baking soda added to dry brine so could be something in it, although not done it myself.
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Thanks for the feedback. I also came across it in a NYT cooking article about meatballs. Seems one of the members there has been adding it to the ground meat for years. I’ll give it a try on my next ground meat thing - what ever it happens to be...
There are several articles about the usefulness of baking soda and baking powder on the interwebs. I usually see them in regards to crisping poultry skin and browning. Here is an article by Kenji at SeriousEats on baking powder (not soda) on poultry. I have tried it and found the improvement to not be worth the hassle and if done improperly I got a metallic taste. Reverse sear works best for me.
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In ground meat chili, it seems to me that the moisture problem is solved easily by (1) Don't overcook the meat (2) add lots of liquid like tomato sauce (3) use fatty meats.
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