Brining (or similarly pre-treating) beef

[melissafitz]

now that our house has reached the point where un-brined chicken just will not do, i'm wondering if there's some sort of similar pre-treating method that's done with beef, particularly a roast. i've brined pork chops (cooks illustrated had a fantastic brined chops with ancho-orange sauce a few years back) but never roast, except for corned beef. I'm not looking for a brining that will impart flavor to the meat, but would instead tenderize and generally improve what's already there.

as i'm writing this, i'm thinking that this type of treatment is probably not used with beef (and i'm sure alton brown would tell me the exact reason why) but i'm interested to hear what you all have to say on the matter.

[klkruger]

It is not used with beef (nor lamb) because brining causes the meat to discolor, turning gray. For roasts that will be cooked completely through this isn't an issue but since they generally aren't it is.

[snowangel]

There was a lengthy discussion about anti-brining -- think about pre-salting. It works. If you don't own the Zuni Cafe Cookbook (by Judy Rogers), run to your local library and check it out. She goes into depth about the why's and where-fore's of this technique. I do it all of the time, with superlative results.

[dockhl]

There was a lengthy discussion about anti-brining -- think about pre-salting.  It works.  If you don't own the Zuni Cafe Cookbook (by Judy Rogers), run to your local library and check it out.  She goes into depth about the why's and where-fore's of this technique.  I do it all of the time, with superlative results.

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Ditto. I love presalting (Russ Parsons had some good observations in that thread, IIRC) and even do it to steaks and tritip before I freeze them.

(You might find the COOKING A ROAST FROM FROZEN thread interesting. I love doing tritip this way.)

[melissafitz]

thanks on the pre-salting tip. i'll definitely check out zuni cafe.

meanwhile, i cooked a pot roast tonight and, while they're rarely anything super special, they're usually super tender and good. not this time -- in fact the fat was even less flavorful than usual.