Soaking meat in water before cooking

What say you. Yeah? Ney?

If yes, how long?

I always quickly rinse my meat under water to get off any slime. But with respect to maximizing flavor, soaking it in water for 5-60 minutes before cooking is something I always wonder is beneficial or not.

Are you talking about brining? If so, yes to chicken, turkey, and lean pork.

No to soaking. Even after brining you have to dry the surface of chicken, etc., or it can be soggy.

if you are going to soak it might as well just boil the meat :smiley:

Rinsing or soaking washes away flavors.

i do it for oxtail. Just to get out all that residual blood and grime. But I do it cause I want a really clean broth. If i was just doing a braise I wouldn’t really care

rinsing of meat or seafood in cold water is fine, but I usually make sure I towel dry as best I can (unless it’s going straight into another liquid)

Like Charlie, if I have time, I’ll blanch any meat and bones once (or twice!) before making any broth or stock. It’s an old school Chinese method and also high end French technique (a la Thomas Keller for the non-believers)

Did someone tell you to do this? If so, I’ve never heard of it, and personally would say they are nuts.

You shouldn’t wash or rinse chicken, ever.

I guess for those who don’t wash their hands, clean their kitchen, or wash their clothes, then yes, avoid rinsing meat.

I like to brine poultry or pork in some water and salt for about 15 minutes before cooking. You have to rinse the brine off and blot dry before cooking.

and definitely don’t dry the chicken by grasping it by the legs and swinging it round and round as quickly as possible.

[head-bang.gif]

What about using a salad spinner on the chicken and then later using the same spinner for your salad? Would that be an issue?

I think you may have hit on a new crash diet.

Yeah, that is one way to shit off some calories for sure…

In this recipe… the ground meat gets rinsed?

MEATBALLS



1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 1/4 cups unseasoned bread crumbs

1 cup grated pecorino Romano

1 cup whole milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup olive oil

Handful fresh basil leaves, torn (not chopped)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt



Extra pecorino (for serving)

Extra fresh basil, torn (for serving)


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  1. Rinse the ground meats in a colander under cold running water. It’s best to do the two separately. Handling the meat as little as possible, press it and stir it gently against the side of the colander to drain thoroughly. Shake colander up and down a bit. Allow the meats to drain and keep discarding the red juices that collect at the bottom of the bowl. You want the meats to dry but they will still be extremely moist.

Most of time I will soak my upland game birds and fowl… I also soak my fish…ie walleye… Northern, crappie

Maybe just a touch of salt added

Soaking raw meat for a few minutes would seem to help remove any rancid film from the meat and prepare the outside of the meat for any seasoning better, without risking any dilution of the interior meat flavor.

With high quality meat it probably doesn’t matter either way, but I was curious about the opinions of others.

I guess I don’t see how rinsing or soaking raw meat would make any difference in “preparing” the outside of the meat for seasoning. I’ve never soaked or rinsed a steak, and I don’t know of any restaurants offhand that do…

Bruce

  1. By removing the thin film of slime, seasoning will stick better.
  2. I sometimes put a thin film of oil on top of the seasoning to help hold it in better.
  3. Restaurants rarely make steak that tastes as good as mine.