You know Meathead and Dr. Blonder came up with this method only a few years ago. It goes against decades of experience from long time championship smokers. Does Rendezvous or Franklin or Big Bob Gibson's or the Shed or the many places in KC and Texas and the smokers in NC. Are they going to start drying there meat because you say so.
I think the experience of these pitmasters are much better than a few calculations done a few years ago. And yes I have a scientific background.
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OK. As a scientist (now retired), I’d sure like to see you share some of your "facts" or "data" that actually support your contrary assertions ... beyond of course the fact that you’re "not impressed".
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There's no possible way dry brining makes your meat too salty, unless you accidentally added too much to start with. Wet brining, yes. Wet brining pulls more in the longer it sits in its environment (the salty water). Dry brining only gets the salt you've added, no matter how long it sits. It simply pulls in deeper the longer it sits, it can't and doesn't multiply in power or effect....and really that's the whole point of dry brining- it's safer and you avoid oversalting (if you use 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt per lb meat, or 1/4 teaspoon table salt (half what you'd use in Kosher salt), per lb of meat). I humbly suggest that you got a calculation a little off in your experiment.
Production folk don't do it since it takes time, they'd need a whole 'nuther room for salted meats ready to cook. They also do not use probe thermometers. Us backyarders have time for TLC, they do not.
mountainsmoker, Just sharing the knowledge in case, you'd be surprised how many make honest mistakes and form judgments on flawed experiments. I would like to see/read your facts though, since your post is titled "facts". To each their own, you don't like it, don't do it. What matters is what you and those at your table like.
Too salty for your tastes is not a valid argument against dry brining and where’s your evidence that it dries out meat? If 1/2 tsp per pound is too salty for you, you can reduce the amount. I prefer a bit less than 1/2 tsp per pound myself.
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mountainsmoker have you had a chance to read the entire write-up that Meathead and Dr. Blonder did on Salting And Wet Brining? Towards the bottom, there is a discussion on heat and how it helps brines to penetrate the meat. That alone can explain what all of those pitmasters and chef's do that does work in their fast paced cooking. They use WAY more than the 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt per lb of meat. Chef's cover steaks on all sides very heavily. See it all the time. Even Franklin heavily covers his briskets with salt (and pepper). Heat during the cook helps that heavy coating of salt to get into the meat. So they do dry brine, but just for a very short time.
In Franklin's new book "Steak" he recommends dry brining. He tested salting the meat at 8 different intervals and found the winner provided several benefits.
Because they don't have time. On my visit I walked through the pits (they anyone do this). The incredibly friendly guy manning the cooks that day said there just isn't time or space for it.
Interested in this thread to say the least. My only experience here is that dry brining does not dry out the meat. But I am interested in learning more of the facts that argue against what I have seen.
Well, coming from a totally unscientific side, mebbee, depending on what science is, cuz science has become something other than what science was. In many cases in our culture science has become guessing, opinion & consensus as in voting or polling, can you say rigged. But, back to my opening of my way, unscientific, I used to wet brine turkeys & chickens & thought it was wonderful until I discovered dry from the pages of Meatheads book. Less hassle, don’t need a pale of water & the problem of refrigeration was solved using dry. The tasty fowls came out just fine if not a touch better in the skin department.
Beef & pork, I wouldn’t think of wet. Didn’t know anybody did that. Do they? And the 1/2 tsp. thing of kosher salt, well I measured it out a couple or three times & found I had a little left over after brining my intended morsel. So, I stopped measuring maybe a year & a half ago, why bother with unnecessary hassle. It was mentioned that some, if not most of us are backyard burners. I haven’t had a dry piece of meat in years, Cept when I take my eye, the left one, off of matters & revert to an attempt at cremating. Which when I do that I always think of our departed friend Dan Johnston 949. That never has anything to do with salt. I like dry brining. I’ll side with Jerod Broussard , come git my guns!
PS. I only have two guns & they are hand me downs & haven’t been fired in at least ten years. But, I digress. I prefer bows & arrahs.
I have some follow up questions for mountainsmoker ... especially since it seems the OP has been edited to remove content.
1. What is your scientific background?
2. Please state your credentials (especially related to said scientific background).
3. Is your problem just with dry brining or with all brining including wet and injecting.
4. Do you have any facts, data, studies to backup your scientific claim (which is at best a null hypothesis right now)?
5. Is your argument that new scientific discoveries can’t be made? Or that even if they are that they are invalid because of years of beliefs?
6. Doesn’t using opinions and beliefs over data fly in the face of the whole reasoning of science? Wouldn’t this bother someone with a scientific background?
7. When you say championship what championship are you actually referring to? Some listed don’t even compete. For those that do compete the time restraints of a competition tend to prohibit effective dry brining of meat... which is one reason a number of them inject. To get a salt solution into the meat.
8. Do you have statements from or approval to speak for any of the names you mentioned? How do you know for sure they never do this be it at home?
9. Are you aware that home cooking, competitive cooking, and restaurant cooking have different constraints and that for some it may not be that they don’t want to brine but instead they may just not have the logistics or feasibility to be able to do so?
10. Are you aware that just because they questioned some methods and reasoning, found some science behind things, and published their findings that you don’t have to do it exactly like they said? If you want to shove a beer can up a chicken’s @$$ because you like then by all means have it.
11. Were you the person who also watched Myth Busters and yelled at your TV the entire time calling BS on everything that was busted?
Honestly though... If you don’t find dry brining benefits your cook it you perceive it has a negative impact on things then don’t do it... none of us really care if you do or don’t... most of us have some finding here we don’t always follow or agree with 100%. The problem is the logic you use to present your argument is extremely flawed, condescending, arguably offensive, and void of any scientific substance (even though it argues science).
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