Who here has used a sous vide machine
Salting non seafood meats the day before you cook them makes a HUGE difference in taste and texture. It's a very often overlooked step. Im not as sold on the room temperature steak thing, Ive always heard it and do it most of thje time it as it doesnt hurt anything to do, but the science behind it shows it actually doesn't make a difference
https://www.seriouseats.com/2013/06...u want your,to your final serving temperature.
That article in the first section concocts a scenario that seems doomed to fail and disprove the theory that I believe which is that salting a steak and letting it rest at room temperature yields a better steak.
He's offering the theory that room temp lets it cook more evenly. I've never heard anyone say this and it makes no sense. the outside cooks more quickly. You're not trying to cook a steak evenly at all unless you're trying to ruin it. The goal I try to achieve is a good steak which by my definition is charred on the outside and warm, pink in side that's juicy. I don't care if it's even. I want char and pink. the less brown I can get the better. His next odd thought was to char one side then move to medium heat to let it cook. I don't get it. Unless you want a brown, medium steak this makes no sense.
Anyway, I don't know the guy or what his intent was, but that first objection seems off. He does address in his summary the reason I think a rested steak that's salted turns out better and that's a dry surface.
So, without knowing the intent of his argument and finding the suppositions to be incongruent with my own theory, I'll say that a salted steak that's allowed to rest for 30 or 40 minutes on a cooling rack will come out better. The salt will cause the steak to sweat away excess moisture. The salt will also liquify and be drawn into the meat providing a better flavor. The kicker, of course, and where I wonder if he was strawman fishing is that OF COURSE you dry off the water from your steak before cooking.
Salt, rest. DRY, then grill on a hot fire long enough to get char on the outside and warm pink inside.
For a 1.5" NY strip, that's 30 to 40 minutes sweating and salting and 3 to 4 minutes per side on a hot fire.
Still, his point is sound and if you throw a wet steak on your pan or grill you will get a bad, gray steak that has no char and is a waste of time.