wet meat or dry meat?

[DeusDingo]

So as i stated in a previous post my fridge is a dry place. when i dry brine my meat for more than a day (on a rack, uncovered) the meat gets really dry (and i mean really dry). i think i know the answer to this but i just want to make sure i am thinking of this right:

dry meat: good for steaks or searing meats. the lack of water makes for a good sear

wet meat: good for smoking since smoke adheres to wet surfaces better

so i should cover my BBQ meats so they don't dry out but steaks and tri-tip and the like i should dry out


in addition: is this a method that i could use to short term dry age meat or are there additional factors other than a cold, dry place?

[Huskee]

Regarding dry vs wet, that's the gist of it. I personally feel the differences aren't that huge, for instance moist ribs vs dry brisket- both will be very smoky and have a great bark at the end of the cook even though one was more moist and one was more dry when you started. Experiment and see if you notice the difference, you might or might not. Your cooker and temp, whether you sauce or not, etc will have a larger impact on that.

Regarding dry aging (ageing?) meat, that must be carefully humidity controlled, not just dry. I wouldn't recommend doing it at home without careful research. Many have reported it not being worth it to age steaks, it works best with larger primals....but I'm just repeating what I've read I have no experience with that.

[DeusDingo]

well i guess this answers my aging question:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/03/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-dry-aging-beef-at-home.html

[Dr ROK]

I dry brine everything uncovered.

Not sure if your interested, but here's a link for products to dry age beef steak, capicola, salami, pepperoni, etc. using a regular fridge. I have some capicola going right now. Pretty simple process so far. The capicola will age in the Umai bag for 2 months until it's lost about 35% - 40% of its weight.

https://shop.umaidry.com

[Strat50]

I'm with Huskee on this one, as I don't really worry about it, I just cook the darn thing. It rarely makes any meaningful difference in the results I get.

As far as dry aging is concerned, I too have tried the Umai bags and they really do work. Unlike "normal" charcuterie, you don't need a second humidity controlled fridge(with all the gizmos to go with it) to achieve excellent results.

[Mickeylou5]

Question about dry brining

Do I rinse the meat after brining before I add the rub?

[HorseDoctor]

No. You use a measured amount of salt that is appropriate for the piece of meat you're working with. You just add it a few hours earlier than the rest of the rub and let it work it's magic.

[Mickeylou5]

Thanks HorseDoctor! Appreciate the quick response!