Melt in your mouth, tender steak – every time!
Love a good steak? Me too! A few years ago, Hubs just came home with a hankering for steak after reading this article on how to get fabulously tender steak, no matter what the cut, choice, prime, whatever. We thought we’d give it a try. It. Was. Awesome.
Now with some of this Shelter-at-Home weirdness, we find ourselves finally assessing exactly what we have in the freezer, and looking for ways to not only eat what we have on hand, but to make it delish!
You can absolutely take ANY cut and this will work. We’ve used expensive cuts like porterhouse and rib eye (because who wants to screw up an expensive cut!?) and we’ve used cheaper cuts like chuck, flank and sirloin (because who wants cheap but chewy…?)
Whichever cut you choose, liberally sprinkle them with kosher salt.
Let the salt sit an hour for every inch of thickness.
Can you see how the salt draws water out of the steak…? It then sends it back into the steak and the salt tenderizes the protein… there’s some science-y process going on. Please refer to the original article for the scientific facts on how this works. All I can tell you is that it’s magically delicious.
It’s the same concept as brining a chicken or a turkey. (Click here for my fool proof brined chicken recipe.)
Make sure you rinse off all of the salt and pat the steaks very, very, very dry with paper towels before cooking your steak. (HH forgot to do this step the first time. The steak melted in our mouths, yes, but it was so salty it was almost inedible…)
We use a cast iron skillet to ensure that our cooking surface is very, very hot. You need a nice sear on steak, and we can’t seem to really get a good one on our grill.
Cook it up, serve with some Baked Smashed Potatoes, a nice salad, and a nice Cabernet (Justin is a nice one.)and you have a great meal!
I can’t get to the “melt-in-your-mouth steaks” post. Has it been removed? It popped up on my FB page and I still can’t get to it!
I also cannot get to themelt in your mouth steakspost
Does this make the steak salty? My hubby is very sensitive to salt,, i.e., high blood pressure
Well, now I want steak.
It looks divine, and I am definitely going to have to try this out!
I hope your new year is going fabulously well!
Thanks so much for this post. I’m definitely going to give this a try.
We started leaning toward a more Paelo type way of eating this year so grilled steak has been a big part of our diet. Since winter has set in and standing in 2 ft of snow trying to grill is not something I enjoy doing, I’ve been desperate for a way to cook steak inside and have it actually taste good.
Thanks again 🙂
I did this with a round streak. I turned out very salty still after a real good rinsing 2 times and dried very well. Is there beef hat this wont work with?
Did you use kosher salt?
Now I want a steak! I am going to have to try this 🙂
This looks fabulous… I think I will make a special trip to the grocery store just to make this….oy!
I’ve been cooking my steaks like this for about 6 months since I read the same article, found it on pinterest…. it’s so good! Even my husband agrees that it’s the best steak he’s ever had.
I’m not a real meat eater…as in steak and potatoes type things but it sounds good!
Looks and sounds delish…I will have to give this a try. Thanks
Hugs
SueAnn
I had no idea about this steak secret and yet I cook all the time. I will definitely have to give this a try the next time we are cooking steak!
I had no idea about this steak secret and yet I cook all the time. I will definitely have to give this a try the next time we are cooking steak!
I never make steak because I don’t know how to make it well. I may just have to try now! Thanks for sharing!
HAHAHA Cheap O steak!(any ole’ cut (we used ribeye and porterhouse)!
I had to chuckle too! Ribeye and porterhouse are not my idea of cheap!
You both read it completely wrong.
I love steak, and your tip for making any cut of beef taste fantastic is so handy! Definitely sharing w/ my husband…as he’s the cook in our home! 🙂
After doing this step, do you marinate it afterwards or just use dry seasoning?
We did not marinate the steaks after doing this.
Do you salt both sides of the meat???????
I had the same question, and Yes, the original article said to salt both sides of the steak.
News flash: RibEye and Porterhouse are not inexpensive cuts!
They are if you buy them from Walmart or kroger! Freaking shoe leather.
…Nobody said they were?..
Do you just give the steak a quick rinse or do you soak the salT ogg?
Quick rinse and pat dry.
i’m trying this trick for christmas steak dinner today. wish me luck. they’re from kroger and were tough as leather, cooked right out of the package, last time. a major disappointment. Fingers crossed.
Well Cindy how did the steaks turn out
Yes How did it go?
Tried this on some kroger sirloin steaks. I only salted one side (heavily). Let it sit about 2 hrs & 15 min. Rinsed per the instructions, then on to the grill. They came off the grill looking wonderful. But they were as tough as shoe leather. you know the kind, the ones that as you chew, the wad of meat in your mouth seems to get bigger & bigger. i saw another pinterest article to tenderize using baking soda. That was even worse. Even after rinsing, i can still taste the baking soda. Yuck!
i wish it would’ve worked.
I tried the baking soda too, almost puked lol, all went into the garbage. Now afraid to try the salt. Ugh
Guess you should do both sides of the steak. One side the salt only penetrates around half way through the steak. I have been using the Texas Roadhouse copy cat rub and the sirloin steak has been nice and tender. usually sirloin is on the tough side. only thing i did not like about the copy cat rub is the onion salt, yuk, hate that flavor. so next time i will leave out the onion salt. maybe even the garlic powder.. good luck if you try the kosher salt again. i am going to give it a try.
I really want to try this but we DON’T have any kosher salt but I do have sea salt, do you know if you can substitute kosher for sea salt?
I don’t know if you can substitute. I recommend that you stick with kosher.
Does it work with sea salt or does it have to be kosher salt?
I think sea salt would be too salty…
I use Sea salt. It turns out perfect every Time.
II’m not a good cook to put it bluntLy, but i Followed the instructions and my family was blown away!
That is awesome!!!
What kind of steak is in the skillet in your photo aNd how long do you cook it on each side?
WOW! I am anxious to try this! Thank you so much!
Not sure i will try it again. Followed the directi to a t and it was so salty, you could hardl eat the steaks.
I’m sorry to hear this this did not work for you, as it is generally a pretty fool-proof method. You used Kosher salt and rinsed them well?
If you do not rinse really well it will be too salty. You need to use the Kosher Salt. Seems like I read someplace where the Kosher Salt has half the saltiness as regular salt.
I have not cooked steaks for the past 35 years since they always turned out tough! But i decided to try your recipe and you were right! As long as you use the kosher salt and rinse well, it turned out great. I could eat the steak and I don’t have any teeth. Thanks so much for this recipe.
The secret was to liberally cover them with salt and then let sit an hour per inch of thickness then wash the salt off dry the meet and sear at high heat good luck
I tried this mrthod with. Ny strip and it was still chewy. Please tell me what might have have happened.
Hi Elaine, Sorry this didn’t work for you. It’s possible you didn’t leave the salt on long enough? I have no way of knowing though. Good luck!
Stupid QUESTION…
Do you seaR in a dry pan? A couple min each side right?!
Also, do not season as ususl I assume??
Most of these comments are not telling HOWy the steak turned out???
Do you let the meat sit with the salt in the fridge? I am clueless when it comes to steaks. Sorry for the all caps, I couldn’t turn it off.
Ok i TRIED it, cover in kosher sal,t, PUT in fridge one hour. Washed wEll. Let sit 15 min and put on HOT GRILL.
It was tough EXCEPT very middle.. Ribeye
I never ate steak before I met MT husband. My parents couldn’t afford that. Well my father n law was a chef for over 30years.. He uses Italian DRESSING. As a marinade. I’ve tried alot of different ways. To cook our steak. My husband wanted me to go back to using the Italian dressing. They way I’ve done it. Is leave them out I do put kosher salt on both sides. I’ve never rinsed mine off. I season it the way I want then put alot of butter all over them. Sear them in my cast iron for about six Minutes on each side. On high. He like his medium rare. So his is done quick. I like mine well done. I just cook mine on low until its done
Thank you!!! we did it just as you described And it was the best Steak we’ve had in a whIle.
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Using baking soda is called “velveting the meat”. What i do is cUt the meat in to the appropriaTe size, then sprinkle it with a tabLespoon of baking soda. Put a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, and a couple tablespoons of wine in with the meat. Mix it up and let it sit for a 1/2 hr. Then rinse it rEally well, and plungw it in to a pot of boiling wAter. Remove it quicKly and drain it. Then cooK it per your recIpe. It works pretty well.
Tried this. Steak was too salty and was not tender as i had EXPECTED. ☹️ I used kosher salt and rinsed heavily.
Nope. Solid rinse but just ended up super salty and still tough. I tried on a super lean stear ny strip. Gave it some extra time because Recipes always seem to short change.
Great idea! But i honestly believe that most people cannot read!
Dont use salt …. Just sprinkle steak , chicken , pork chops etc. with BAKING SODA on both sides. LET SIT FOR 30 -40 min. Then rinSe off and pat dry. This is called “VELVETING”.
Used often in chinese dishes. Leaves no taste and makes the meat very tender. Trust me
Made this last night with Ribeyes from Safeway turned out amazing
I tried the steaks last night. Mine was excellent. Anout 1 1/2 inches thick. My husbands was thicker and he likes his done. His was a little tough.
Thicker maybe sear in hot skillet and turn heat down to cook to degree of doneness.
I’ll definitely try again. ❤️
This is similar to what I do with my steaks but the rest of the science part is missing. use equal amounts of kosher salt and cornstarch. This works for that perfect crust on the grill as well. The secret to getting that beautiful crust is to get the surface as dry as possible. Both cornstarch and salt are drying agents (salt alone will not work as efficiently). Salt & cornstarch alone is not enough. Once you evenly coat the steaks with the cornstarch and salt, you need to put it in an extremely dry place. The driest place in your home is your freezer. What this does is force all of the juices into the center of the steaks (note: it must be coated on all sides. If you leave this at room temp (which science knows contains humidity) the salt and cornstarch will reach saturation points and start to melt into the meat, causing it to become salty/mealy meat). In the freezer is where you use the 1hr/inch formula. For 1” steaks leave in the freezer for 1 hour. In that time, get your dry rub/seasonings of your choice and bring the grill/griddle to high heat. Remove your steaks from the freezer and just brush off the excess salt so the meat is not too salty (as many comments complain about) and immediately season and place on the grill/griddle to sear then move to cooler side of grill/griddle to desired doneness using a meat thermometer. This must rest at least 10 min. This is the time that all those juices that were forced to the center by the drying, will redistribute back into the steak. .
Thanks for sharing. We’ll have to try that technique.