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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3961 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 3, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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On the topic of when to add salt and pepper, Kenji has done his usual excellent work on when to add salt to burgers. Basically he concurs that you want to add it right before you cook, and finds that adding salt too soon can actually be quite harmful to the texture of your finished product.

I enjoy Kenji quite a bit and have derived a lot of technique from his notes.

I find that he takes his recipes probably a half-step more seriously than I do for lowbrow food (I also notice he's always cooking 1-2 person portions, and so when I'm cooking for 4+ there have to be compromises and assembly line design that he doesn't have to deal with). Great call out on seasoning time.

Yeah, definitely agree that Kenji is a bit of a madman in how far he goes to cook food. He seems to recognize himself that for most people, they don't need to go the extra mile to do the absolute best version of a dish. But I do appreciate his commitment to testing out theories and cooking approaches, it is always super educational.

Salting too early also causes moisture to seep to the surface which prevents browning. Same thing to roast a chicken. Salt goes on right before heat or days before heat like a dry brine. Anywhere in between is wrong.

The usual advice I see is 30-45 minutes to let the drawn-out moisture get drawn back into the meat. Or immediately prior to cooking, like you said.

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