Best Salt for Steak: How to Perfectly Season Steak

Understanding how to season a steak properly with coarse salt and black pepper can transform your cooking from good to gourmet. Learn why salting steak is so important, how to salt steak correctly, and the different kinds of salt for salting steak.

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Steak is a centerpiece of many meals. At restaurants, the perfect steak is celebrated for its tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. But what’s the main difference between a steak at a 5-star restaurant and the one you cook at home? It’s possible that the answer to this could have something to do with the cut of meat you’re using or steak recipes. However, typically, the best steaks comes down to how you season the steak. Understanding how to season a steak properly with coarse salt and black pepper can transform your cooking from good to gourmet.

In this post, we’ll talk about why and how salt enhances a steak, the science behind it, and the differences between common types of salt like table salt, kosher salt, and sea salt.

Why do you salt steak?

Salt is much more than a flavor enhancer. Salting steak correctly is essential in creating a flavorful steak. Here’s why…

Flavor: Salt is a universal flavor enhancer. It intensifies the natural flavors of meat. When used correctly, salt brings out the beefy richness of steak, making each bite more flavorful and satisfying.
Juiciness: While many assume salt dries out a steak, when used properly, it helps retain moisture and creates a juicy steak. When salt is added to beef, it breaks down the beef’s muscle protein, draws moisture to the surface of the meat, and has a hydrating effect. It ultimately creates a juicier, more tender steak.
Savory Crust: When you cook a steak on a hot grill or skillet, salt helps create the crusty exterior you want on a steak. The moisture drawn out of the piece of meat by the salt evaporates during cooking, allowing the surface to crisp up and caramelize as the steak cooks. In scientific terms, this is called the Maillard reaction, and more commonly known as the browning reaction. Ultimately, this browning creates new flavors and a rich, flavorful crust that you find on a good steak.

Types of salt

There are many different types of salts such as table salt, kosher salt and sea salt. Think back to your high school science class and you probably recall that in its most basic form, natural salts is sodium chloride, NaCL. The thing that makes these types of salt different is the texture, shape and processing.

Kosher Salt

Most chefs recommend kosher salt for seasoning steak, and we agree. Kosher salt has larger, coarser crystals than regular table salt, which makes it easier to handle and spread evenly over the surface of the steak. The large flakes also create a nice crust on the steak when it sears. When salting a steak with coarse kosher salt, it’s important to be generous. The large crystals mean that less salt is absorbed per grain compared to finer salts like table salt, so don’t be afraid to coat your steak liberally. The two big brands in this space are Morton and Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. We like both but we have noticed that the crystal size is very different between the two brands.

Table Salt

The most common type of salt found in households is table salt, and it’s often used in every day cooking. It has a fine grain, which makes it easy to measure and dissolve quickly. However, it’s small size means its easy to apply too much on the surface of a steak, which leads to a salty steak. If table salt is all you have on hand, it can be used, but do so sparingly.

Sea Salt

Another popular choice in salting steaks is coarse sea salt. It comes from evaporation of ocean water or water from saltwater lakes. Typically, there is very little processing of Sea Salt and it is also more expensive. Sea Salt can often be used as a “finishing salt” because of its appearance and because it leaves a salty pop of flavor on food. The biggest downside of sea salt is the price, especially if you opt for the premium varieties like Maldon salt.

Pink Himalayan Salt

Himalayan salt is known for its pink hue, which comes from trace minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It’s a naturally occurring rock salt that is harvested from mines in the Himalayan region. Himalayan salt is available in fine and coarse grain, and coarse grain is preferable for steaks. Himalayan salt is often more expensive than Kosher salt and there isn’t a significant advantage to using it over Kosher salt, so we prefer Kosher salt in cooking. If you want to use a finishing salt, Himalayan salt is a popular choice because of its pink color.

When to salt your steak

Timing your salting is just as important as what kind of salt you choose. Most chefs recommend you pat your steaks dry with a paper towel, and then salt your steak at least 40 minutes to one hour before cooking. This gives the salt time to draw out moisture, form a brine, and reabsorb into the meat. Salting just before cooking doesn’t allow the steak enough time to reabsorb the moisture.

But, if you’re in a rush, go ahead and salt just before cooking. It won’t give you quite the same level of flavor or tenderness, but it still enhances the taste.

How to salt steak. How much salt to use.

Now that you know about the different types of salt and when to salt your steak, let’s talk about the best way to salt your steak.

Many home cooks hold their fingers too close to the meat when sprinkling it with salt. This is bad because it leads to an uneven distribution of the salt crystals. The goal is to make it rain kosher crystals on the meat.

To do this, it’s a good idea to place your steak on a rimmed baking sheet or a cutting board. Then, hold your hand 12 inches above the steak and sprinkle with the salt from up high. This will allow you to season more evenly and completely. For best results, be sure to roll the piece of meat in any salt that has landed on the baking sheet.

In terms of what amount of salt to apply, we generally eyeball it since all steaks are different. However, the general rule of thumb is to use ¾ to one teaspoon of salt per pound of steak. If you’re doing this visually, it means you coat both sides of the steak and sides with salt so that a visible layer of seasoning is on every surface of your steak. You don’t want the salt to pile up, but it should coat the beef.

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