BEHIND THE SCENES

SALTING–THE SECRET TO JUICY ROASTS

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We’re big advocates of brining in the test kitchen (see “How Brining Saved Thanksgiving”). But brining works best for lean types of meat like poultry and pork. Is there an alternative to brining for fattier meats like beef? There is—-salting. Salting is a kind of “dry brine” in which meat is rubbed with salt and then refrigerated for several hours. How does salting do its work? Initially, the salt draws out moisture from the meat, and this moisture mixes with the salt to form a shallow brine. Over time, the salt migrates from the shallow brine into the meat, just as it does in our usual brining technique. Once inside the meat, the salt changes the structure of the muscle fibers, allowing the meat to hold on to more water, so that it turns out juicy and well-seasoned.

We tried salting in developing our Slow-Roasted Beef and found that salting for 24 hours worked best—the results were remarkable. In addition to the slow-cooking technique we use in this recipe, salting helped transform our bargain eye round into a tender, juicy roast that rivals beef tenderloin. (Note that smaller cuts of meat, like steak, do not need to be salted nearly as long—about 40 minutes is sufficient.)