It’s not as difficult as you may think to get that perfect, golden brown coating on a thick and juicy ribeye steak, a smoky and juicy side of salmon, or a crispy and lacquered skin on a whole roast duck. All you have to do is follow a few simple steps.
The key to air dried meat is to begin with an entirely dry surface, and you can easily accomplish this by allowing the meat to cool in the refrigerator uncovered for a few hours before cooking it. This article will discuss more about air dried meat and whether it is safe to eat.
Why Should You Let Meat Air Dry Before Cooking?
The vast majority of meats sold in grocery shops are wrapped in airtight containers, which are fantastic for preventing the release of unpleasant odours and reducing the pace of oxidation. The difficulty is that these containers hold moisture, the enemy of crisping and browning. Browning and crisping need a dry environment.
A dry surface is more likely to be crisp, browned, and caramelised. Before browning occurs, the moisture that is present on the surface of the food must first evaporate. However, if you wait until the meat is cooking for the moisture to evaporate, the protein will frequently be overdone when the surface is dry enough to take on colour.
What Types of Meat Benefit From Air-Drying?
When the surface of the meat has been air-dried for at least a few hours, pork, lamb, or beef produce a superior crust while maintaining the inside moist and soft; this is because the surface has more time to dry out. The air dried meat snacks apply to big individual pieces such as prime rib and smaller cuts such as lamb chops and pork chops. The same principle applies to complete birds and smaller poultry pieces with attached skin, such as skin-on thighs or breasts. Examples of such birds include duck, turkey, and chicken.
However, it is very vital to air-dry meat and fish before smoking them if you want to do so. For smoky ribs, fish, and other foods, the flesh will produce a dry surface known as a pellicle with a somewhat sticky texture. This will help the smoke attach to the meat’s surface more effectively.
Even meats submerged in a wet marinate for an extended period still benefit from being allowed to air dry for a few hours before being grilled. This prevents the food from steaming and promotes grill marks and tasty charring.
How to Air-dry Meat
Put a wire rack inside of a baking sheet that has a rim. The protein should be dried off using paper towels, placed on top of the rack, and moved to the refrigerator in an uncovered container. Because of the rack, the surface of the meat can be dried evenly on all sides while the air can flow freely.
Let large pieces of beef with a bigger surface area air dry in the refrigerator for one to three days. It is only necessary for smaller portions of meat to be air-dried for around four hours, up to a whole day. Once the outermost layer of the protein can be touched without leaving a trace of moisture, it is ready to be smoked, grilled, roasted, or seared to achieve the desired level of completed cooking.
Is It Safe to Take Air Dried Meat?
We are aware that the concept of drying meat by exposing it to ambient temperature for extended periods may seem like it could be more pleasant, much less safe. In contrast to the chicken breast you removed from the refrigerator a few days ago, dried meat is entirely safe to consume as long as the correct procedures for food safety are followed.
Moisture is the primary factor differentiating rotten and dried meats from one another. If you let a steak lay out in the sun all day, deadly germs will begin to develop on it, which might make you sick. Osmosis occurs when a drying mixture consisting of salt, sugar, and other spices is administered to a piece of meat in one of two ways: either by coating the meat or injecting it. This causes the moisture to be sucked out of the flesh, and it will finally evaporate. Because the lack of water produces an environment that prevents germs from forming, consuming dried meat is risk-free and will satisfy you with your meal.
In Summary
Making air dried meat might be difficult and time-consuming, but the result makes it all worthwhile. This time-honoured method has created many innovative new approaches to enjoying various kinds of meat. When you’ve tasted anything, it’s difficult to fight the need for more that’s likely to follow. We hope that by providing you with this information, you will be inspired to experiment with air dried meat in new ways and to talk about the experience with some of your closest friends and family members. After all, air-dried meat and quality company is one of the most satisfying combinations.