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Getting Your Juices Flowing


What is the purpose of drawing out all the juices from a piece of meat with salt just have to have them all reabsorbed again.  To me, this doesn't make any sense.

--Linda

I mention this process in the posting Salting Meat Before Cooking.  It is also part of the working of dry rubs containing salt that are used on meat.

There is some benefit from simply having the liquid reabsorbed, since it will make the meat more moist, but the real benefit is that the salt dissolved with the juices is absorbed at the same time.  The salt both seasons the meat, enhancing flavor, and causes the meat proteins to absorb more water, resulting in a juicier, more tender dish.

Because it takes a long time for salt to penetrate, this is mostly surface phenomenon in the case of salting just before cooking.  Dry rubs may take hours or even days for the salt to fully penetrate the meat.

Comments

Thanks for the explanation Dave. I always thought that aside form seasoning, the salt was only meant to draw out some liquid so you could pat the meat dry and avoid a watery mess when searing.

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