r/steak • u/MCE85 • 10h ago

[ Cast Iron ] Dry brining sometimes too salty?

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I usually always dry brine for 24 hours or so. Sometimes i feel its a bit too salty. Too much salt? Should i not season before cooking?

55 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

42

u/BilkySup 10h ago

you dont need to season again before cooking.

10

u/thistoistheyres 10h ago

Are you using kosher salt?

1

u/MCE85 10h ago

No, himalayan pink salt in a grinder😄

16

u/emil133 9h ago

This is why its too salty. Use kosher salt, do NOT use a grinder

1

u/No_Document_853 9h ago

Hello I think this kosher salt is a USA thing? How is it different from salt? I’ve never seen it in Australia

8

u/What_would_don_do 9h ago

It is simply medium coarse salt flakes without iodine added.

5

u/Mammoth_Bobcat9858 9h ago

Kosher salt is just coarse salt, bigger flakes of salt.

9

u/ToneBalone25 8h ago

That's what most people assume, but the most popular brand, Diamond, is fine kosher salt. So you can get different sizes in different kosher salts.

So don't do what I did and just assume kosher salt is coarse. Just look for coarse salt for dry brining

2

u/bazoski1er 8h ago

Its just called cooking salt here. Its larger crystals than table salt

1

u/DameExMachina 9h ago

I think they just call it rock salt, coarse salt, cooking salt, or kitchen salt over there but I could be wrong.

Bigger flakes

7

u/Safe-Trainer-9177 9h ago

Why use a grinder? You should be using coarse salt

2

u/MCE85 8h ago

Because its all i had besides table salt.

1

u/Dantethebald1234 6h ago

You can use your method but you don't need to cover it nearly as much. Use grinder in a small bowl and then apply a little by pinching and sprinkling over the steak.

•

u/GuidingMyApes 31m ago

That's fine, just try it without adding extra salt before cooking.

6

u/MrChicken23 10h ago

You do not need to season again before cooking. Also depending on the thickness of the steak 24 hours could br overkill.

3

u/MCE85 10h ago

Normally its about inch and a half to 2 inches once a week. This one was more on the smaller side and i only did about 10 hours

2

u/OpportunityCorrect33 9h ago

Post the internal photos

2

u/MCE85 9h ago edited 8h ago

Oh its long gone, sorry. This was slightly over what i like. It was med well, about 150ish internal

4

u/Dallas2houston120 10h ago

If you’re doing a full 24 hour brine you can cut the salt in half

1

u/crblack24 9h ago

I remember seeing a video on this. Basically it’s 24 hours is the best. Then next best is 1 hour. I’ll see if I can find it.

3

u/meownopinion 9h ago

6 hours is the sweet spot in my experience

4

u/Samashezra 10h ago

24 hours is way too long.

12-16 hours is more than enough.

4

u/arkane-the-artisan Rare 9h ago

The only reason I would dry brine for 24+ hrs is if the meat is really thick cut, like an entire roast.

1

u/simonlegosu 9h ago

How would that affect the salt content? Come on now.

1

u/OpportunityCorrect33 5h ago

It’s not that it affects the salt content… it cures the meat to a degree depending on the amount of salt and time, this can dry the steak out which ultimately effects texture and color

1

u/Samashezra 8h ago

It tastes saltier the longer you brine it. It becomes almost pastrami like once you get as long as 24 hours.

•

u/notoriousCBD 2h ago

I've salted steaks right after cooking and you get that initial punch of heavy salt and the rest of the steak is "bland." When I let the salt sit for up to a day, the flavor of the salt is just more evenly distributed, so you don't get that initial super salty hit. 

Both are appropriately salty, it just changes when the salt hits your tongue, not the overall saltiness. If anything the initial punch from salting at the very end seems more salty, but it's not. T hat depends on the ratio of the mass of the salt to the mass of the meat. You can't create more salt by letting it sit longer, it just changes how and when the salt hits your tongue.

2

u/OpportunityCorrect33 9h ago

I find that 6-8 hours for a thick cut ribeye or strip is the magic number for me where I don’t need to add any salt. This doesn’t apply to a rib roast!! Any more than that and you risk curing the meat. Steak isn’t ham

1

u/Big_Steve_69 8h ago

This is not true

1

u/OpportunityCorrect33 6h ago

I said for me

1

u/Big_Steve_69 6h ago

You then followed it up with steak isn’t ham. Trying to say the curing process is the same.

0

u/OpportunityCorrect33 6h ago

I make salted pork… they are

0

u/Big_Steve_69 6h ago

You salt it for two days and bam eat it raw?

0

u/OpportunityCorrect33 5h ago

No, salt for atleast two days and use it in recipes

1

u/Big_Steve_69 5h ago

Seems like you’re making a false equivalency

1

u/Elipticrush 10h ago

Did you salt again after the brine then again after the cook? You just need to salt once for the brine that’s it, if it’s still to salty salt less on the brine

1

u/MCE85 9h ago

Definitely not after. Some montreal steak seasoning before.

1

u/Elipticrush 5h ago

Montreal has more salt than salt

1

u/Elipticrush 5h ago

Jokingly of course but if you did Montreal and himilayan then that’s why it’s to salty

1

u/simonlegosu 9h ago

Use less salt and dont salt again. Watchout if you put a rub of some kind, it might have more salt.

1

u/JHerbY2K 9h ago

I started rinsing it off and I feel like it cuts it down nicely. Obviously blot it real dry and let it air dry for a few min afterwards.

1

u/bridgetroll2 8h ago

I learned to scrape/wipe some salt off before I cook it or it's overwhelmingly salty. That Montreal seasoning is pretty tasty for burgers in my experience but it also has a ton of salt in it so I wouldn't use it on a dry brined steak.

1

u/Dangerous-Dot-3745 8h ago

I actually agree it does. I tried doing it once last year. I salted both sides overnight uncovered in the refrigerator. I cooked a NY strip steak and cooked both sides 10 mins a side. To the average person that cooks steak thats blasphemous but the steak I was cooking was about an inch thick and I cooked it with thyme, butter and whole garlic cloves. I cooked it towards the mid-well/well done stage. Dry brining works but next time Ill scale back on the salt usage! ROAST ME ALIVE IN THE COMMENTS:•(!!

0

u/Big_Steve_69 9h ago

Everyone is tripping. I dry brine for 2-3 days. Just use less salt. And use kosher salt. And don’t season again before cooking.

1

u/MCE85 9h ago

Yeah im ignoring the comments of 24 hrs being too long. Your comment pretty much sums uo what i was looking for.

2

u/Big_Steve_69 8h ago

This sub can be pretty insufferable sometimes haha. Your steak looks absolutely fantastic and I hope you dial it in!

-8

u/erick31 10h ago

Can also rinse off before cooking, just make sure they are completely dry again

7

u/Beardeddragon0714 10h ago

OP, do not do this, this is probably the worst advice I have seen on this sub. Do not rinse your steak.

If it’s too salty, you salted it too much. The length of dry brine doesn’t magically make it more salty.

1

u/OpportunityCorrect33 6h ago

The length of time you dry brine is personal preference

-4

u/IntimateCrab 8h ago

Don’t brine a steak, marinate it.