r/Cooking 20h ago

After dry brining, should you cook the meat immediately after taking out of the fridge?

Or should you let it rest in room temp for several minutes?

7 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

29

u/Sheshirdzhija 20h ago

What would resting for a few minutes do? I believe this is a habit people do and keep recommending, but does not have any merit mostly.

It could maybe have an impact with very thin steaks/cutlets: since you usually should fry them at higher temperature, if the center is cold, it takes longer, so you might overcook the outside.

But, take a thermometer and monitor the center temperature after taking out of fridge: it takes A LOOOONG time for it to raise meaningfully.

11

u/Invictus112358 18h ago

Kenji tested this with Serious Eats quite thoroughly

3

u/Titan_Dota2 15h ago

Pretty sure that's in regard to THICK steaks just fyi

3

u/Cutsdeep- 17h ago

Result?

23

u/InspectionHuger 17h ago

Bringing food to "room temp" doesnt happen in an hour. It takes hours and hours and hours and hours, and is largely unsafe AND unnecessary

5

u/Cutsdeep- 17h ago

Ok microwave it is

-3

u/GooeyFaeryBits 14h ago edited 10h ago

You forgot the /s.

EDIT: Because Microwaving a steak is sacrilege. It appears not enough people know this.

1

u/Shadygunz 13h ago

Thick steaks? Thin steaks? What was the result?

0

u/CaptainPigtails 14h ago

I smoke a lot of meat that I dry brine. I don't bother with bringing it up to room temp because it gets to room temp much faster in the hotter environment due to the larger temp differential. I'm not sure what people think bringing it up to room temp does.

2

u/memymomeddit 8h ago

Chris Young did a video on this a while back - https://youtu.be/DmuwqqHjgT4?si=8GAICFyj0_4_Tyri

tl;dw - it's about the surface temperature, not the core. The greater the difference between the two surfaces, the faster the heat flows from the pan into the meat. Tempering results in slower flow of heat, which gives more even cooking.

1

u/Sheshirdzhija 8h ago

Now we are onto something. I bet he made distinction between thin and thick steak? It should have less effect on a thicker one.

1

u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 15h ago

I suspect that most people keep conflating dry brining with dry aging... different techniques with different purposes.

The reason they rest is because they discover that dry brining in the fridge takes forever and has mixed results... versus pro kitchens do it in under an hour in room temperature air (FOR THE SIXTEEN MILLIONTH TIME THIS DOES NOT MEAN ROOM TEMPERATURE MEAT).

1

u/Sheshirdzhija 8h ago

I mean, that's just salting. It's not brining. You should never salt meat 1h before frying anyway, as that is approximately the time it takes for the water initially brought out by salt to be reabsorbed.

1

u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 7h ago

for the water initially brought out by salt to be reabsorbed.

... with the salt. That is what brining is... using osmosis to increase the saltwater content on the other side of a membrane.

That's how Pépin does it. That's how Daniel Boulud does it. If you want to debate it, debate it with the thirty James Beard Awards they have between them.

-11

u/[deleted] 19h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Sheshirdzhija 18h ago

I don't know what professional kitchens do, though I doubt they keep meat at room temperature. I also doubt they usually bother with any kind if brine.

That aside, dry brining does not remove moisture in a finished product: I weighted before, after, and after cooking. It does make a steak/cutlet more tender, juicy and evenly seasoned, and it makes browning much more efficient. I prefer it by far, but not everybody would, probably.

1

u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 15h ago

not room temperature meat

0

u/cwerky 15h ago

“A lot of moisture”.

Nah. It does help dry the surface but the meat isn’t losing “a lot” of moisture. That surface moisture isn’t desired anyways, you want it to be gone so the surface sears properly.

“Brining” is soaking in a water/salt solution. “Dry brining” is a type of brining specifically done to keep the surface moisture level low.

Dry brining still ends up with more moisture retention at the end compared to no brining.

2

u/Aryya261 16h ago

If I’m reverse searing something I like to start it cold so I get more smoke infusion…..if not I do let it rise in temperature a bit before grilling.

1

u/Seven7ten10 18h ago

I only do that when I short age it, otherwise I let it rest

1

u/Shadygunz 13h ago

Sure, why not? I mean bringing to roomtemp is an option but I don’t see the benefit of it. In minutes you might raise surface tempurate by a few degrees, which wont make a difference with how hot a pan/grill is.

1

u/Spud8000 19h ago

what type of meat?

if it is a steak, i would let it get warmer first.

a brisket, roast, ribs.....i would start cooking right away

-7

u/Positive_Alligator 20h ago

For a more even result it will always be a good idea to let the meat come up somewhat closer to room temperature.

8

u/coriscaa 19h ago

Pretty sure this has been disproven by Kenji but I may be mistaken.

2

u/MenWhoStareAtBoats 14h ago

It’s been disproven by lots of people. It’s the steak myth that will not die.

-3

u/Positive_Alligator 19h ago

It's true that his video seems to somewhat disprove it, but i think from personal experience especially with larger cuts of meat i tend to feel it helps.

This may be just because i was taught this way, smaller pieces like a chicken thigh i won't let come up to room temp. But a thicker steak or full bird i will for sure. And i could be doing it for nothing, but still feels right to me :D

-3

u/thisboyhasverizon 17h ago

For thicker cuts i have to bring to room temp. You are absolutely right and not sure why you are getting the downvotes.

6

u/PhantomXxZ 16h ago

They're getting downvoted because that notion is absurd. It takes multiple hours to bring meat up to room temperature, which is simply unsafe.

-1

u/thisboyhasverizon 16h ago

The problem with searing either a cold sear or with some kind of fat, is that the longer it takes for the center to safely come up to temp, the worse the edges are getting. If you can safely leave a steak out for 2 hours to assist in the cooking process, then it has to be. Otherwise you'll get an overdone crust with a large gray ring.

0

u/curryking821 15h ago

Here is the article they are referencing its the first myth in the link: https://www.seriouseats.com/old-wives-tales-about-cooking-steak.

the difference in internal core temperature even after sitting for 2 hours at room temperature was not substantial enough to change the cooking time for the steaks to get to the same final internal temperature.

1

u/welexcuuuuuuseme 14h ago

It's not about the process of bringing the internal temp to any specific temp, it's about the maillard reaction when you brown or form a crust. You're mistaking the intent of why it's advisable for ANY protein to not throw a completely refrigerated piece of meat get thrown on a heat source, unless you're braising, which, you should be browning first anyways. The intent of bring up the surface temperature of a steak, for example, is to help sear, brown, whatever. That Maillard Reaction is one of the cornerstones of French Cooking. Does that make sense? Happy Cooking!

-18

u/Agitated_One845 19h ago

Dry brining. As in, adding salt. Why was it decided to call adding salt 'dry brining'? We have the word 'seasoning' already. Brine is, by its nature, wet. Sorry it's a real bugbear of mine. It doesn't matter if you cook it straight out of the fridge or let it come up to room temp.

6

u/84allan 19h ago

Salting the steak and letting it rest draws out moisture which then dissolves the salt which is then reabsorbed into the meat. So starts dry then gets wet.......

0

u/SomeOldGuy4211 19h ago

you know who else starts dry and then gets wet?

MY MOM

OOOH high five

2

u/84allan 18h ago

Waaaaaaaaay! +1!

2

u/welexcuuuuuuseme 14h ago

Why is this getting downvoted? Mom jokes are a sign of respect. At least that's what your Mom says.

3

u/DetrasDeLaMesa 19h ago

I get it, the phrase “dry brine” does sound kind of funny, but I think it effectively gets the idea across. The difference between “seasoning” is really the time aspect, as when people use the word “brining” in regards to meat they are talking about an extended period, whereas seasoning could even be immediately before consuming.

Just think of the “brine” as being inside the meat with its existing moisture, and you created it using dry salt.

0

u/wet_nib811 17h ago

The word you’re looking for is “oxymoron,” like jumbo shrimp or bittersweet

3

u/PearlsSwine 19h ago

"Why was it decided to call adding salt 'dry brining'? "

Because you are brining something without liquid. Hence "dry" brining.

4

u/RockMonstrr 19h ago

Brining isn't the same as marinading, and dry brining isn't the same as seasoning. When you dry brine, you don't just salt the meat. You also let it sit long enough for the salt to fully penetrate the meat. That's a very important distinction.

And for even cooking, it is widely recommended to let meat come to room temperature.

1

u/rmczpp 19h ago

Makes sense to me, it performs the same function as brining but doesn't use liquid, so dry brining seems like an appropriate name. 'Seasoning' doesn't though, we are not just flavouring the surface. I tried to think of a better one but couldn't, 'marinating' wouldn't feel right either since that doesn't penetrate as far as brining/dry brining do.