dry brining, reverse searing, etc.

[buzzard767]

I think I've previously posted about this stuff but this is from last night and includes pictures.

This is what I did for dinner. Both dry brining and reverse searing explanations are at the bottom of this post.

First of all I dry brined a rib eye. I salted it and added some Old Bay seasoning, wrapped it up in plastic and put it in the fridge for two hours.



Once brined I put the meat in an aluminum lined baking dish and baked at 275 degrees F until the internal temperature reached 92 degrees - in this case, 28 minutes because the steak was thick.



I always have to saute a little something to put on the fork with the steak, in this case, onions, mushrooms, garlic, and green pepper.



Once the temp reaches 92 the steak goes into a medium/ medium hot grill pan for two minutes a side.





Let it rest under the recovered foil for ten minutes and there it is.



Perfect every time.



What's not to like?



The complete info below is ripped and pasted from a knife site I haunt:



[COLOR="Blue"]
First, start off with good steaks as mentioned. I'd suggest ribeyes like everyone else.

Tenderloin/filet mignon, NY Strip, porterhouse/tbones are good too. Try and get the best you can

afford. Choice or prime if you can . Get them thick, at least 1.25 or more if you can.

Next, at least one hour before cooking, salt them. Yes presalt them. Don't lightly salt them either.

Get some kosher and cover the steak. Not super heavy, but a fair amount. Remember, this is a big

steak. All sides. Then place on a flat plate, cover with saran wrap, and put them back into the fridge

or leave them out. I put them in the fridge, I'll explain why later.

Yes this draws moisture out. This isn't necessarily such a bad thing. Dry aging gets rid of moisture

too, which concentrates the beef flavor. But what happens is, after about 1/2 an hour, the moisture

that is drawn out mixes with the salt. After being drawn out, the meat pulls this salt water back in.

After about an hour, you'll notice a lot of the water has been drawn back in. Not all but most. This

actually flavors the meat all the way through. yeah I didn't believe it, but it does. Also

"supposedly" tenderizes the meat a tiny bit. I can't say this for sure, since I'm not food scientist.

At this point, you can pat the steaks dry. Don't worry about completely drying it.

Now you can apply whatever other seasoning you want, if you didn't at the beginning with the salt.

black pepper, garlic powder etc.

The second technique I do is a reverse sear. Preheat an oven to 275. Insert a polder type probe into

the steak where you normally measure temp. Place the steak on a cooling rack and into the oven. Watch

the temp. We're looking for 90-95 here, for medium rare. If you only have an instant read therm,

you'll have to check with times, as I don't cook that way. before the steak hits 90-95, preheat a cast

iron skillet (preferable)regular skllet or grill. Medium-hot heat here. Not high, not medium,

somewhere in the middle.

Once the steak hits desired temp (i go for 92F ), pull the steak out, pull the probe out, and sear

on each side for no more than two minutes each side. You can oil or not, your choice. If not a fatty

cut, oil will help the sear along without having seasoning/meat stick to the skillet. No more than two

minutes. Start with 2 the first time, adjust to preference later. Pull the meat, rest for ten minutes.

You should have a perfect medium rare steak all the way through, without that nasty gray band you see

on thick steaks sometimes. Adjust any of the temps and time for your equipment and experience.

So why the reverse sear? Three things. First, with a reverse sear, you dry out the surface of the

steak completely. This is good. When the steak hits a hot pan, heat must be used to evaporate the

moisture on the surface of the meat. if you dry out the steak, the surface starts to brown

immediately. This helps with achieving a better sear on the outside, without heating up the steak too

much in the middle. This in turn helps out with item number two. It reduces the nasty gray band you

see sometimes in thick cut steaks, between the browned surface and the red interior. This stuff is

dry, and tough etc. With the reverse sear, the minimum amount of time on the searing heat doesn't heat

up that area too much. Third, and quite important, is enzymes. This is stolen from cooks illustrated.

Enzymes called cathespins help break down meat (i.e. dry and wet aging). Well when heated or warmed

up, they're like enzymes on steroids. They stop working at 120 or so though. So if you can keep them

warm, for an extended period of time, you can mimic the effects of aging within the 1/2 hour or so it

takes in the oven. With the reverse sear, you're having these enzymes working in over drive for a

longer period of time, far away from their death temp of 120 or lower. They even recommend going

straight from fridge to oven, to give the enzymes even more time to work.

This is all on the CI site for anyone interested. They have videos showing it all too. Look for "when

should I salt my steaks" and "pan searing thick cut steaks (may/june 200? issue).

Summary? Three steps. (1)Salt thick cut good steaks, one hour. (2) Put in an Oven at 275F until 90-95

degrees. (3) Immediately sear, for no more than two minutes each side on medium hot pan.[/COLOR]

[luvnit]

Very interesting Buzz. I will have to try this dry brining method. Thanks for sharing that.

Nice knives by the way. Very, very nice.

[HomeCulinarian]

Thanx for that explanation. When you posted previously about reverse searing I couldn't imagine what it would be.

I'll give this a try as soon as I can add a nice fat steak to my diet! Today, I'm on clear liquids so I can go in for my base line colostomy tomorrow. I really should stay off the board today... I'm just torturing myself unnecessarily.

[sophia]

Since a ribeye is a very choice steak to begin with, should I assume that the brining in this case is just for flavor? It doesn't seem to me that you would brine for texture with these great cuts of steak like ribeyes and filet mignon, etc. It seems excessive and, in fact, that it might actually do damage.

I'm not a food scientist either, but I need explanations for things like this

[buzzard767]

Quote:

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Since a ribeye is a very choice steak to begin with, should I assume that the brining in this case is just for flavor? It doesn't seem to me that you would brine for texture with these great cuts of steak like ribeyes and filet mignon, etc. It seems excessive and, in fact, that it might actually do damage.

I'm not a food scientist either, but I need explanations for things like this

---

Yes, the flavors of salt and spices are drawn into the meat. No damage unless you brine for several hours. I've tried that and the meat becomes way too salty.

[cjs]

hmmmm, why is this not salt-curing? I like the term "dry brining," but just wondered.

I've got to read this again really slow and enjoy it - the pix were bad enough to look at on an empty stomach...

[buzzard767]

Quote:

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the pix were bad enough to look at on an empty stomach...

---

Ha ha haaaaaa. Taken with my iPhone. Musta had salt on the lens.

[Gourmet_Mom]

This looks really good Buzz! I'll have to give your reverse sear a shot some time when I have a nice thick cut of beef. As for the brining, been there done that. It really is good, but I found that using a ribeye, the salt pentrated and stayed in the fat a bit too much for me. But I really liked it with other cuts I tried. A flank steak done this way with salt, garlic, rosemary, basil, and thyme was a nice flavorful treat!

Actually, I didn't refrigerate mine. I think I brined it for about 30 minutes to an hour on the countertop covered.

[BarbaraS]

Just got the "go-ahead" from the Hubby to do this on Saturday.

Thanks Buzz!!

Barbara

[Roxanne 21]

Buzz, I have done this for years and it is a very nice way to do steaks of any kind. The timing is spot on!

Looks as though you visit the same site Peter does---LOVES his knives....yours are pretty impressive!