Salt keeps water in meat
Also searched as: brine, dry brine, juicy from salt, salt makes juicy
In short: Salt loosens part of the protein structure in meat. As a result it holds on to more water as it cooks and stays juicier.
Like a corset that is too tight being loosened a little: it still holds, but squeezes out less.
Simplified model
What happens
Dissolved slowly penetrates the meat and changes proteins in the muscle fibres. They contract less strongly when heated and bind more water. That takes time: after an hour the salt is only in the outer millimetres; after a day it is inside too.
Why it matters
Salted meat loses less juice when cooked and is seasoned all the way through, not just on the outside.
Rules of thumb
- Salt early or right at the last moment, not 20 minutes before: then the drawn-out water is still on the surface.
- Thick cuts and poultry: salt overnight or up to two days ahead.
Levers
2
In practice
2
Poultry
Turkey and chicken benefit most, because breast meat is lean and dries out quickly.
Meat
Dry-salt pork chops and roasts overnight.
Juicy
Meat is drySources · 2
- America’s Test Kitchen: Salting turkey – how long is long enough?
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Fleisch