Old timer told me to salt my cutting boards not the meat

Guy who trained me 20 years ago in Brooklyn swore up and down that salting the board instead of the steak would give better crust. Tried it on a ribeye last Tuesday for the first time since he said it and yeah, he was totally right. Anyone else heard that trick or was my mentor just weird?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben66211d ago

My old man used to do this too. Key is to get the board real salty and let the steak sit on it for like 5-10 minutes before flipping to get both sides. The salt pulls moisture out of the meat but since it's on the board, it doesn't wash away the seasoning. Just pat the steak dry with paper towels after and you get that deep brown crust every time.

alice_kim11d ago

Hard disagree honestly. Salting on a board just makes the steak sit in its own juices and turns the crust soggy. Better to salt the meat directly and let it rest on a wire rack so air gets all around it. That's how you get that crust, not by trapping moisture against a board.