Thread: Add Salt -- Before or After Cooking?

Just read some web recipes lately that say salt should be added after cooking -- ie, salt toughens meat, flavour is better when added after to anything. Hmmm, I always seasoned meat beforehand and add salt to whatever I am cooking when I start it.
What do you think?

add afterwards, if needed.

adding before means that the meal is already salty.

^ It's my own cooking, not out of a can! If I don't add it, it would taste like baby food.

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

salt toughens meat

I think that is a good enough reason to add salt later Jettie.

Never heard of that toughening claim before though!

All the chefs I see on the telly season the food before cooking.

You can always add salt, but once it is in the dish your screwed!!

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Just read some web recipes lately that say salt should be added after cooking -- ie, salt toughens meat, flavour is better when added after to anything. Hmmm, I always seasoned meat beforehand and add salt to whatever I am cooking when I start it.
What do you think?

Depends upon the cooking? Grill etc I would season before, but casseroles etc I would season during cooking. Food that needs to be seasoned after cooking has not been prepared correctly!

^ OK, got me there, NH. Season "during" cooking?
If I cook stews or soups and use bouillion cubes, I never add salt. I usually make most stuff myself because the canned/pkged stuff here is loaded with sodium.

I think what you may have seen is the suggestion that seasoning (adding salt to meat before cooking) draws out the moisture so in theory that means it toughens up. However, if you do this just before cooking it really is insignificant. You will see people saying different things re seasoning but normally I would season 'during' cooking for liquid (tasting as you go along) and 'before' for meat.

Originally Posted by Thai Pom

You can always add salt, but once it is in the dish your screwed!!

Yeah, I add a little to start with then keep adding a little at a time and tasting as the meat cooks.

I salt after when char broiling, but season anytime I want to and do taste as I go along, but meat usually will need salt at the table when I cook it. as well as fresh ground pepper..

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

I'll say again; any thing served to the table that doesn;t need a touch of seasoning (salt & pepper) has been over seasoned while cooking, IMO.

Spoken like a true American.

European chefs get annoyed if you salt their food at the table as it should be perfectly seasoned on arrival. It is seen as an insult to the chef in France and Italy.

I've always added salt during cooking. You have a little taste and decide if its needed or not.

Fuck the chefs. How do they know my tastes? They are cooking for me I want salt I'll salt the fucker if I want to.

I also use salt before, during and after depending on what I am cooking.

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Originally Posted by friscofrankie

Fuck the chefs. How do they know my tastes?

European chefs don't care what your tastes are; they're cooking for their own ego.

Before & (more often) during. Never after. Like you say, Jettie, you're cooking for yourself & know your tastes. Seasonings should be allowed to develop in cooking time.

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

Cooking too much in for too long cloaks the flavor and can take a wonderfully flavored soup, gravy, sauce or casserole and turn it into a bland, homogeneous bowl of blah. I do not add salt to casseroles or meatloaves unti l I eat them.

I do the exact opposite of that. I don't put salt on any grilled or roasted meat before I cook it but things that have several ingredients like mentioned above, gravy, meatloaf or casseroles, I think need salt during the cooking process. You cant add enough salt after, if it hasn't been cooked in, I believe.

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

What do you think?

I think it depends on what your cooking. To a great degree I agree with Frankie. For stews, beans, chili and the like I never salt until the last few minutes of cooking.

Intteresting. Actually, I rarely add salt to dishes as I often add soya sauce or something with salt in it. For steaks and chicken, I sprinkle salt with whatever spices before cooking. Understand now about how it will draw out the moisture. Thanks, Ossies.

Originally Posted by EmperorTud

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

I'll say again; any thing served to the table that doesn;t need a touch of seasoning (salt & pepper) has been over seasoned while cooking, IMO.

Spoken like a true American.

European chefs get annoyed if you salt their food at the table as it should be perfectly seasoned on arrival. It is seen as an insult to the chef in France and Italy.

In polite society, you always spoon a bit of salt and pepper on your plate and dip accordingly to avoid embarrassing the hostess. Most restaurants always put too much salt and spices IMO.