Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
So I didn't say that you shouldn't have any salt in your seasoning, but that most seasonings - especially most montreal steak spice blends - have way, way more than they should, and that caking salt on a steak is not a good method. To respond to your points individually,
1) If the flavour you're going for is "salt lick", sure. If you like your steak really salty, fine, go nuts. I'd rather have other seasonings that bring out the flavour of the meat.
2) As you say, minor, and you shouldn't really need the help on that one.
3) This is true, but again, not necessary if you're searing properly.
4)  You want a crust of salt on the steak? I mean, leaving aside the fact that any number of seasonings create "mouth feel" just as well ( the one I suggested is here, and contains things like mustard seed and chiles that have their own texture).
It seems to me that people who liberally apply high volumes of salt to steaks are only comparing the result favourably to a bad steak cooked badly. I can certainly see it helping quite a bit if your usual cooking method is otherwise producing dry, bland meat, but if you're doing things properly you don't need it to get good results and you can spare yourself an excessively salty steak.
Either that or you just really like salt, which, well, personal preferences I suppose. |
No one is advocating the extreme of a caked on salt lick, you are either introducing a straw man argument here or you just truly don't know how to season & grill properly but think you do. Spend some time in a professional kitchen, take a cooking course or read up on the issue - liberal use of salt is proper technique when grilling red meat.
Points 3 & 4 are linked to moisture content inside the meat, and on the surface. Salt is what enables a level of moisture control. This is a key factor in searing properly. Meat crust does not mean a crust of caked on salt, it's a physical descriptor for the end result of protein denaturation and caramelization (Maillard reaction) which occurs during a proper sear. Surface desiccation is desirable in this reaction, which comes back to the presence of adequate salt.
You're point about minimizing salt to bring out the flavor of the meat doesn't even make sense. It's the Maillard reaction that gives grilled meat its desired intrinsic meat flavor.