Get Tastier Results By Salting Your Meat At The Right Time

Many of us plan our meals just far enough ahead that we don’t really have time to season our meat until right before it hits the skillet. Many pros swear that for the best results, you season a day ahead. They’re both right.

Photo by HAMED MASOUMI.

Food & Wine conducted a meat-by-meat test to determine how salting your meats a day ahead of time differed from seasoning right before cooking, judging the results on flavor and succulence.

The results were surprising, and in many cases, inconsistent across meats. Chicken seasoned a day ahead of time was more flavorful [and] tasted more balanced”, while pork seasoned the day before “was so dry, it was the most disappointing thing we ate”. Hit up the article for the full rundown of the debate and for more details and which method won out on a few other of your favourite cuts. Every chef has his/her own preferred method, so if your experience differs from the article, let’s hear it in the comments.

The Juicy Secret to Seasoning Meat [Food & Wine]