How To Tenderize Steak (Even Cheap Cuts!) With Salt

The question of how to tenderize steaks has several answers, but few are as cheap, easy, and incredibly effective as the one featured in this post. With this method, you only need two “secret ingredients” to make even cheap, tougher cuts of steak tender and delicious: salt and time!

Armed only with a bit of coarse salt and patience, you can totally transform a steak into a meal that bound to score points with the whole family. There’s a reason this grilling tip is one of my most popular pins ever on Pinterest, and it’s because it really does work! To learn how to tenderize steak to perfection the quick and easy way, read on!

Why Salt Is The Best Way To Tenderize Steak

Salting your steaks, a process also referred to as “dry brining,” before cooking them will cause a miraculous, tenderizing transformation! It will make them super tender and juicy, even if you start with thin or cheaper cuts of steak.

But not just any salt will do! Skip the standard table salt — you need to use a coarse sea salt or kosher salt here to achieve the best results. Coarse salt helps create the briny solution that will break down the proteins and muscle fibers in the meat for maximum tenderness. I’m getting hungry already!

How Does Salt Tenderize Meat?

It’s pretty fascinating to consider all the different things salt can do to the food we eat. If you’re saying to yourself, “I thought salt dried stuff out,” you’d be right! The effect of salting any food is largely a matter of timing.

Over a short period of time, like an hour or even overnight, coarse salt will draw out some of a steak’s natural moisture. That liquid will dissolve the salt and form a brine, and once that brine is reabsorbed, it will tenderize and flavor the meat.

If you left salt on a steak for a long period of time (like a few weeks or even months), the salt would eventually pull all of the moisture out of the meat, curing and preserving it in the process. Neat, right?

How To Tenderize Steak By Dry Brining With Salt

To tenderize steaks by dry brining them, start by arranging your steaks on a plate, then cover both sides of each steak with about 1 teaspoon of coarse salt. (If you like, you can add crushed garlic to the salt for even more flavor!) Use your fingers to press the salt (and garlic, if using) into the surface of the meat.

Let the steaks sit for 45 minutes to an hour before cooking, or longer for thicker cuts. (This process is quick enough to do at room temperature, but there’s nothing wrong with refrigerating your steaks while dry brining them, if you prefer.)

After the wait, use a few paper towels to wipe the remaining salt off the steaks and pat them dry. (I don’t recommend you rinse them, as rinsing raw meat risks spreading bacteria all over your sink.) Be sure to dry both sides of the steak thoroughly, so that you can get a delicious, crispy sear.

Season the steaks as desired, then grill or cook them to the degree of doneness you prefer. Whether you cook your steaks on a grill or in a heavy pan (you can’t go wrong with a cast iron skillet!), let the cooking surface get nice and hot before you start cooking to achieve the best, most flavorful results.

Serve and sit back and enjoy the happy faces around the dinner table. :-)

5 More Ways To Tenderize Steak

There are several other methods you can use to tenderize a tough cut of meat, all of which can yield great results:

1. Use A Meat Mallet. Pound the steaks with the spiky side of a meat mallet or tenderizer to break up those tough connective tissues and muscle fibers.
2. Let Steaks Rest After Cooking. Allowing your steaks to rest for 5-10 minutes after cooking will keep them juicy and tender. If you cut into your steaks too soon, those juices will run out instead of getting reabsorbed.
3. Cook Low And Slow. So-called “low and slow” cooking methods like smoking and sous vide (which is pretty much foolproof) help to render fat and break down tough tissues for tender, juicy steaks.
4. Use A Marinade. Marinating meat doesn’t just add flavor — it also helps tenderize the meat. Marinades typically contain enzymes from fruits like pineapple or papaya, as well as acids like vinegar and citrus juice, both of which can help break down tough tissues. (Try the worcestershire sauce steak marinade, if you haven’t already do so!)
5. Cut Against The Grain. Slice tougher cuts like flank steak and strip steak against the grain after cooking. The shorter muscle tissues will make each slice more tender than they would be otherwise.

While all of these methods can be effective, some take a bit more time and effort than dry brining with salt. But it’s always good to have options, I say!

Bonus Tip: If you end up cooking the meat a bit too much, don’t throw it out until you’ve learned how to salvage overcooked meat! You may be able to use it in another totally delicious way!

Do you have a favorite tip or trick for how to tenderize steak?