Fattier Meat Requires More Salt to Taste Right
While it’s fair to say that most foods should be salted to taste, this in-depth experiment shows that fatty meats require much more salt to keep them tender.
YouTube channels Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen tested five different meats, each with a different fat content range (according to an independent laboratory). Then, adding more and more salt to each cooked meat, the group of tasters decided whether the seasoning was enough or not. The results showed that turkey and pork required the least amount of salt (0.5% salt by weight), while steak and 90% lean ground beef required slightly more (0.75% salt by weight). Finally, the more common 80% lean ground beef (20% fat) tasted properly seasoned with only 1% salt by weight. In general, the fattier the meat, the more salt is needed for the right taste. So the next time you’re about to cook a good piece of meat, be sure to factor in the fat content of the meat when you season it. You can read more about the experiment at the link below.
Do you need more salt for fatty meats? | Illustrated chef