Can you dry brine semi-frozen meats effectively?

[Attjack]

Does a frozen or semi-frozen meat negate penetration?

[SmokeyGator]

Yes. But I have put semi frozen stuff in wet brine to speed up the defrosting process. Overnight soak and the next day the temp probe was reading above freezing in fhe middle.

[Jerod Broussard]

Pretty sure it slows it down but will speed up once the meat thaws. I say this since the heat applied to meat when cooking is what gives energy to the salt ions to penetrate during cooking (melting fat and what not aids in this penetration also).

[HorseDoctor]

Salt will penetrate the thawed (exterior) portion of the meat. Dry brining process won’t begin until thawing begins.

[LeeAvirett]

As you know, molecular action slows as temperature drops. So diffusion of salt through the cell membranes of frozen meat would be seriously impeded. Not sure what semi-frozen means but try bringing it all up to about 37 and you will get the job done. The warmer the meat the faster the salt will absorb by diffusion. In making dry cured ham, for instance, it takes every bit of a month to fully permeate the meat and another 60-90 days to reach a balance throughout the meat.

[EdF]

Speaking pragmatically, it works. Yeah, not as fast, but it still gets the job done if you leave it there long enough.