Seasoning: salt, when and how much

Seasoning: salt, when and how much

The right timing makes all the difference in the result

The technique

Salt in small pinches from a height for an even distribution rather than a concentrated pile. Taste, adjust, taste again. Salt distributes differently depending on whether it touches a dry surface, a liquid, or raw meat: adjust the amount accordingly.

When

Salt meat well before cooking, at least 40 minutes, or right before searing: both windows prevent the salt from drawing out moisture without having time to reabsorb it. For a broth or sauce, salt at the end of cooking when the final volume is reached.

Pitfalls

1. Salting meat 10 minutes before cooking draws out moisture without it being reabsorbed, drying out the meat
2. Salting a dish that will still reduce makes the final result too salty
3. Never tasting along the way and only correcting at the end

The benchmark

Between 40 minutes and 2 hours before cooking a thick cut of meat, the drawn-out moisture has time to be reabsorbed along with the dissolved salt. A well-salted dish tastes good without making you think about salt: that is the final benchmark, not a fixed amount.