In general, would I need to season a meat when making a sauce?





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}







13















enter image description here



I'm making a Romesco Sauce. I wonder, in general, would I need to season the meat that goes with the sauce? or do I leave the meat plain (just cook thoroughly without even salt and pepper).



enter image description here



The above image is the grilled chicken that the Romesco sauce goes with. Does it look like it has been seasoned?










share|improve this question































    13















    enter image description here



    I'm making a Romesco Sauce. I wonder, in general, would I need to season the meat that goes with the sauce? or do I leave the meat plain (just cook thoroughly without even salt and pepper).



    enter image description here



    The above image is the grilled chicken that the Romesco sauce goes with. Does it look like it has been seasoned?










    share|improve this question



























      13












      13








      13


      1






      enter image description here



      I'm making a Romesco Sauce. I wonder, in general, would I need to season the meat that goes with the sauce? or do I leave the meat plain (just cook thoroughly without even salt and pepper).



      enter image description here



      The above image is the grilled chicken that the Romesco sauce goes with. Does it look like it has been seasoned?










      share|improve this question














      enter image description here



      I'm making a Romesco Sauce. I wonder, in general, would I need to season the meat that goes with the sauce? or do I leave the meat plain (just cook thoroughly without even salt and pepper).



      enter image description here



      The above image is the grilled chicken that the Romesco sauce goes with. Does it look like it has been seasoned?







      sauce






      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question











      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question










      asked May 23 at 17:15









      spacenetspacenet

      711 silver badge4 bronze badges




      711 silver badge4 bronze badges

























          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          18














          Learning how to season with salt (especially) when cooking is what separates good cooks from those who are not as accomplished. Yes, you should season the chicken, whether or not is has an accompanying sauce. With attention and experience you will learn how to adjust that seasoning depending on the seasoning of other ingredients in the final dish. However, you should season each component to some degree (again, salt specifically...other spices as needed).






          share|improve this answer





















          • 6





            Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

            – Wayfaring Stranger
            May 24 at 0:29






          • 5





            @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

            – nostalgk
            May 24 at 19:18



















          14














          Moscafj explained that you should still season, but not why, and why salt is so important.



          Salt is not considered a spice in the kitchen, but rather a "flavor enhancer". It doesn't add all that much flavor itself when used properly, but rather enhances the texture and flavor profiles of whatever food is seasoned. It increases the intensity of sweet flavors and reduces the intensity of bitter flavors. It also helps release certain flavor molecules, again changing the flavor profile.



          Using the right amount of salt in your dishes can completely change the flavor pallette of food, and unless you need to eat a low salt diet, it shouldn't be skipped.






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

            – PLL
            May 26 at 10:11





















          9














          Is the seasoning on the inside or the outside?



          If the seasoning is on the outside, then there is little point to seasoning and then adding another sauce. For example, you won't use a dry rub (seasoning) on BBQ ribs and then put a wet sauce on top of that. Not only would the angry gods of BBQ smite you, but also you are just mixing two flavors on the outside of a food object (with the meat flavor on the inside). You could just put the dry rub in the wet rub, put it all on together, and mostly get the same effect.



          On the other hand, there are cases where you would want to have different flavors on the outside and the inside of a food item. As pointed out in comments, meatballs are a great example of this. You don't mix spaghetti sauce into the meatball mix as you are forming them, but you also don't want to use just plain meat. You would add some salt and pepper, or herbs or parmesan cheese or something, even though you intend to put a flavorful tomato sauce on the outside. The reason for this is that a meatball, especially a large one, would end up rather dry and bland in the middle if made from plain ol' ground beef. A nice salty, herby interior would contrast nicely with the beef flavor and the tomato sauce (and, a nice Chianti).



          In addition to meatballs, other ways to get different meat flavors on the outside and inside include things like stuffed chicken breasts, or meats that have been pierced with a knife and have seasonings pushed into the holes; a lamb roast with garlic and rosemary, for example. Finally, anything marinated long enough (like a sauerbraten) will pick up the flavors of what it is soaked in, even deep into a thick cut of meat.



          Salt is not like most other seasonings



          So far, we discussed general seasonings, that is, dry rubs of spices and herbs. Salt is a component of many dry rubs, but has some properties that set it apart. Spices rubbed on the surface of a meat do not penetrate, nearly at all. But salt does. Salt moves through meat by diffusion; when the dissolved salt concentration inside and outside a cell is different, salt will pass through the cell's membrane. This is a physio-chemical property of cell walls, not biological, so it works even when the meat has been butchered.



          Therefore, there is the entire art and science of brining meat. Soaking meats in salt water or crusting them entirely in salt, salt penetrates deep into the meat by osmosis and subtly changes the flavor.



          What to do for your chicken? (i.e. Conclusion)



          Every recipe has its own requirements and its own individual interpretations. Many people believe strongly in brining pork ribs or a pork butt (thereby seasoning it) even if they put a wet sauce on after, but I'm not really a fan and think that if you leave enough fat on the pork stands on its own.



          To address the specific chicken that you have above, I would try to recreate that by grilling on BBQ at medium-high heat (400 F/ 200 C) without any seasoning, just rinsed well in cold water. At higher heats, seasonings will burn given a cook time of 15 mins (half on each side), so to get the chicken to look like it does in the picture, you can't put anything else on it. If I was doing it, I would not even use salt.



          Chicken breasts can be pretty thick, so the combination of a plain breast and a strongly flavored sauce can be unsuccessful if there is too much dry meat in the middle of the breast, so consider getting breasts on the thinner side. Given enough time, though, an alternative is brining your chicken breast (soak in salt water for several hours) to help it retain some moisture while cooking.






          share|improve this answer























          • 2





            This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

            – dwizum
            May 24 at 14:50






          • 2





            Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

            – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
            May 24 at 17:23











          • Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

            – toolforger
            May 26 at 15:12














          Your Answer








          StackExchange.ready(function() {
          var channelOptions = {
          tags: "".split(" "),
          id: "49"
          };
          initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

          StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
          // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
          if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
          StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
          createEditor();
          });
          }
          else {
          createEditor();
          }
          });

          function createEditor() {
          StackExchange.prepareEditor({
          heartbeatType: 'answer',
          autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
          convertImagesToLinks: false,
          noModals: true,
          showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
          reputationToPostImages: null,
          bindNavPrevention: true,
          postfix: "",
          imageUploader: {
          brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
          contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
          allowUrls: true
          },
          noCode: true, onDemand: true,
          discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
          ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
          });


          }
          });














          draft saved

          draft discarded


















          StackExchange.ready(
          function () {
          StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fcooking.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f99130%2fin-general-would-i-need-to-season-a-meat-when-making-a-sauce%23new-answer', 'question_page');
          }
          );

          Post as a guest















          Required, but never shown

























          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes








          3 Answers
          3






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          18














          Learning how to season with salt (especially) when cooking is what separates good cooks from those who are not as accomplished. Yes, you should season the chicken, whether or not is has an accompanying sauce. With attention and experience you will learn how to adjust that seasoning depending on the seasoning of other ingredients in the final dish. However, you should season each component to some degree (again, salt specifically...other spices as needed).






          share|improve this answer





















          • 6





            Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

            – Wayfaring Stranger
            May 24 at 0:29






          • 5





            @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

            – nostalgk
            May 24 at 19:18
















          18














          Learning how to season with salt (especially) when cooking is what separates good cooks from those who are not as accomplished. Yes, you should season the chicken, whether or not is has an accompanying sauce. With attention and experience you will learn how to adjust that seasoning depending on the seasoning of other ingredients in the final dish. However, you should season each component to some degree (again, salt specifically...other spices as needed).






          share|improve this answer





















          • 6





            Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

            – Wayfaring Stranger
            May 24 at 0:29






          • 5





            @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

            – nostalgk
            May 24 at 19:18














          18












          18








          18







          Learning how to season with salt (especially) when cooking is what separates good cooks from those who are not as accomplished. Yes, you should season the chicken, whether or not is has an accompanying sauce. With attention and experience you will learn how to adjust that seasoning depending on the seasoning of other ingredients in the final dish. However, you should season each component to some degree (again, salt specifically...other spices as needed).






          share|improve this answer













          Learning how to season with salt (especially) when cooking is what separates good cooks from those who are not as accomplished. Yes, you should season the chicken, whether or not is has an accompanying sauce. With attention and experience you will learn how to adjust that seasoning depending on the seasoning of other ingredients in the final dish. However, you should season each component to some degree (again, salt specifically...other spices as needed).







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered May 23 at 17:20









          moscafjmoscafj

          32.8k1 gold badge51 silver badges95 bronze badges




          32.8k1 gold badge51 silver badges95 bronze badges











          • 6





            Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

            – Wayfaring Stranger
            May 24 at 0:29






          • 5





            @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

            – nostalgk
            May 24 at 19:18














          • 6





            Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

            – Wayfaring Stranger
            May 24 at 0:29






          • 5





            @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

            – nostalgk
            May 24 at 19:18








          6




          6





          Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

          – Wayfaring Stranger
          May 24 at 0:29





          Spaghetti and unseasoned meatballs, in the usual tomatoey sauce would be a disaster.

          – Wayfaring Stranger
          May 24 at 0:29




          5




          5





          @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

          – nostalgk
          May 24 at 19:18





          @WayfaringStranger From experience, it is a disaster... :(

          – nostalgk
          May 24 at 19:18













          14














          Moscafj explained that you should still season, but not why, and why salt is so important.



          Salt is not considered a spice in the kitchen, but rather a "flavor enhancer". It doesn't add all that much flavor itself when used properly, but rather enhances the texture and flavor profiles of whatever food is seasoned. It increases the intensity of sweet flavors and reduces the intensity of bitter flavors. It also helps release certain flavor molecules, again changing the flavor profile.



          Using the right amount of salt in your dishes can completely change the flavor pallette of food, and unless you need to eat a low salt diet, it shouldn't be skipped.






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

            – PLL
            May 26 at 10:11


















          14














          Moscafj explained that you should still season, but not why, and why salt is so important.



          Salt is not considered a spice in the kitchen, but rather a "flavor enhancer". It doesn't add all that much flavor itself when used properly, but rather enhances the texture and flavor profiles of whatever food is seasoned. It increases the intensity of sweet flavors and reduces the intensity of bitter flavors. It also helps release certain flavor molecules, again changing the flavor profile.



          Using the right amount of salt in your dishes can completely change the flavor pallette of food, and unless you need to eat a low salt diet, it shouldn't be skipped.






          share|improve this answer





















          • 1





            Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

            – PLL
            May 26 at 10:11
















          14












          14








          14







          Moscafj explained that you should still season, but not why, and why salt is so important.



          Salt is not considered a spice in the kitchen, but rather a "flavor enhancer". It doesn't add all that much flavor itself when used properly, but rather enhances the texture and flavor profiles of whatever food is seasoned. It increases the intensity of sweet flavors and reduces the intensity of bitter flavors. It also helps release certain flavor molecules, again changing the flavor profile.



          Using the right amount of salt in your dishes can completely change the flavor pallette of food, and unless you need to eat a low salt diet, it shouldn't be skipped.






          share|improve this answer













          Moscafj explained that you should still season, but not why, and why salt is so important.



          Salt is not considered a spice in the kitchen, but rather a "flavor enhancer". It doesn't add all that much flavor itself when used properly, but rather enhances the texture and flavor profiles of whatever food is seasoned. It increases the intensity of sweet flavors and reduces the intensity of bitter flavors. It also helps release certain flavor molecules, again changing the flavor profile.



          Using the right amount of salt in your dishes can completely change the flavor pallette of food, and unless you need to eat a low salt diet, it shouldn't be skipped.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered May 24 at 7:47









          NzallNzall

          8148 silver badges22 bronze badges




          8148 silver badges22 bronze badges











          • 1





            Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

            – PLL
            May 26 at 10:11
















          • 1





            Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

            – PLL
            May 26 at 10:11










          1




          1





          Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

          – PLL
          May 26 at 10:11







          Salt also affects cooking in many other significant ways: e.g. it can draw water out of foods, making them brown more when grilling or sautéeing, among many other effects.

          – PLL
          May 26 at 10:11













          9














          Is the seasoning on the inside or the outside?



          If the seasoning is on the outside, then there is little point to seasoning and then adding another sauce. For example, you won't use a dry rub (seasoning) on BBQ ribs and then put a wet sauce on top of that. Not only would the angry gods of BBQ smite you, but also you are just mixing two flavors on the outside of a food object (with the meat flavor on the inside). You could just put the dry rub in the wet rub, put it all on together, and mostly get the same effect.



          On the other hand, there are cases where you would want to have different flavors on the outside and the inside of a food item. As pointed out in comments, meatballs are a great example of this. You don't mix spaghetti sauce into the meatball mix as you are forming them, but you also don't want to use just plain meat. You would add some salt and pepper, or herbs or parmesan cheese or something, even though you intend to put a flavorful tomato sauce on the outside. The reason for this is that a meatball, especially a large one, would end up rather dry and bland in the middle if made from plain ol' ground beef. A nice salty, herby interior would contrast nicely with the beef flavor and the tomato sauce (and, a nice Chianti).



          In addition to meatballs, other ways to get different meat flavors on the outside and inside include things like stuffed chicken breasts, or meats that have been pierced with a knife and have seasonings pushed into the holes; a lamb roast with garlic and rosemary, for example. Finally, anything marinated long enough (like a sauerbraten) will pick up the flavors of what it is soaked in, even deep into a thick cut of meat.



          Salt is not like most other seasonings



          So far, we discussed general seasonings, that is, dry rubs of spices and herbs. Salt is a component of many dry rubs, but has some properties that set it apart. Spices rubbed on the surface of a meat do not penetrate, nearly at all. But salt does. Salt moves through meat by diffusion; when the dissolved salt concentration inside and outside a cell is different, salt will pass through the cell's membrane. This is a physio-chemical property of cell walls, not biological, so it works even when the meat has been butchered.



          Therefore, there is the entire art and science of brining meat. Soaking meats in salt water or crusting them entirely in salt, salt penetrates deep into the meat by osmosis and subtly changes the flavor.



          What to do for your chicken? (i.e. Conclusion)



          Every recipe has its own requirements and its own individual interpretations. Many people believe strongly in brining pork ribs or a pork butt (thereby seasoning it) even if they put a wet sauce on after, but I'm not really a fan and think that if you leave enough fat on the pork stands on its own.



          To address the specific chicken that you have above, I would try to recreate that by grilling on BBQ at medium-high heat (400 F/ 200 C) without any seasoning, just rinsed well in cold water. At higher heats, seasonings will burn given a cook time of 15 mins (half on each side), so to get the chicken to look like it does in the picture, you can't put anything else on it. If I was doing it, I would not even use salt.



          Chicken breasts can be pretty thick, so the combination of a plain breast and a strongly flavored sauce can be unsuccessful if there is too much dry meat in the middle of the breast, so consider getting breasts on the thinner side. Given enough time, though, an alternative is brining your chicken breast (soak in salt water for several hours) to help it retain some moisture while cooking.






          share|improve this answer























          • 2





            This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

            – dwizum
            May 24 at 14:50






          • 2





            Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

            – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
            May 24 at 17:23











          • Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

            – toolforger
            May 26 at 15:12
















          9














          Is the seasoning on the inside or the outside?



          If the seasoning is on the outside, then there is little point to seasoning and then adding another sauce. For example, you won't use a dry rub (seasoning) on BBQ ribs and then put a wet sauce on top of that. Not only would the angry gods of BBQ smite you, but also you are just mixing two flavors on the outside of a food object (with the meat flavor on the inside). You could just put the dry rub in the wet rub, put it all on together, and mostly get the same effect.



          On the other hand, there are cases where you would want to have different flavors on the outside and the inside of a food item. As pointed out in comments, meatballs are a great example of this. You don't mix spaghetti sauce into the meatball mix as you are forming them, but you also don't want to use just plain meat. You would add some salt and pepper, or herbs or parmesan cheese or something, even though you intend to put a flavorful tomato sauce on the outside. The reason for this is that a meatball, especially a large one, would end up rather dry and bland in the middle if made from plain ol' ground beef. A nice salty, herby interior would contrast nicely with the beef flavor and the tomato sauce (and, a nice Chianti).



          In addition to meatballs, other ways to get different meat flavors on the outside and inside include things like stuffed chicken breasts, or meats that have been pierced with a knife and have seasonings pushed into the holes; a lamb roast with garlic and rosemary, for example. Finally, anything marinated long enough (like a sauerbraten) will pick up the flavors of what it is soaked in, even deep into a thick cut of meat.



          Salt is not like most other seasonings



          So far, we discussed general seasonings, that is, dry rubs of spices and herbs. Salt is a component of many dry rubs, but has some properties that set it apart. Spices rubbed on the surface of a meat do not penetrate, nearly at all. But salt does. Salt moves through meat by diffusion; when the dissolved salt concentration inside and outside a cell is different, salt will pass through the cell's membrane. This is a physio-chemical property of cell walls, not biological, so it works even when the meat has been butchered.



          Therefore, there is the entire art and science of brining meat. Soaking meats in salt water or crusting them entirely in salt, salt penetrates deep into the meat by osmosis and subtly changes the flavor.



          What to do for your chicken? (i.e. Conclusion)



          Every recipe has its own requirements and its own individual interpretations. Many people believe strongly in brining pork ribs or a pork butt (thereby seasoning it) even if they put a wet sauce on after, but I'm not really a fan and think that if you leave enough fat on the pork stands on its own.



          To address the specific chicken that you have above, I would try to recreate that by grilling on BBQ at medium-high heat (400 F/ 200 C) without any seasoning, just rinsed well in cold water. At higher heats, seasonings will burn given a cook time of 15 mins (half on each side), so to get the chicken to look like it does in the picture, you can't put anything else on it. If I was doing it, I would not even use salt.



          Chicken breasts can be pretty thick, so the combination of a plain breast and a strongly flavored sauce can be unsuccessful if there is too much dry meat in the middle of the breast, so consider getting breasts on the thinner side. Given enough time, though, an alternative is brining your chicken breast (soak in salt water for several hours) to help it retain some moisture while cooking.






          share|improve this answer























          • 2





            This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

            – dwizum
            May 24 at 14:50






          • 2





            Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

            – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
            May 24 at 17:23











          • Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

            – toolforger
            May 26 at 15:12














          9












          9








          9







          Is the seasoning on the inside or the outside?



          If the seasoning is on the outside, then there is little point to seasoning and then adding another sauce. For example, you won't use a dry rub (seasoning) on BBQ ribs and then put a wet sauce on top of that. Not only would the angry gods of BBQ smite you, but also you are just mixing two flavors on the outside of a food object (with the meat flavor on the inside). You could just put the dry rub in the wet rub, put it all on together, and mostly get the same effect.



          On the other hand, there are cases where you would want to have different flavors on the outside and the inside of a food item. As pointed out in comments, meatballs are a great example of this. You don't mix spaghetti sauce into the meatball mix as you are forming them, but you also don't want to use just plain meat. You would add some salt and pepper, or herbs or parmesan cheese or something, even though you intend to put a flavorful tomato sauce on the outside. The reason for this is that a meatball, especially a large one, would end up rather dry and bland in the middle if made from plain ol' ground beef. A nice salty, herby interior would contrast nicely with the beef flavor and the tomato sauce (and, a nice Chianti).



          In addition to meatballs, other ways to get different meat flavors on the outside and inside include things like stuffed chicken breasts, or meats that have been pierced with a knife and have seasonings pushed into the holes; a lamb roast with garlic and rosemary, for example. Finally, anything marinated long enough (like a sauerbraten) will pick up the flavors of what it is soaked in, even deep into a thick cut of meat.



          Salt is not like most other seasonings



          So far, we discussed general seasonings, that is, dry rubs of spices and herbs. Salt is a component of many dry rubs, but has some properties that set it apart. Spices rubbed on the surface of a meat do not penetrate, nearly at all. But salt does. Salt moves through meat by diffusion; when the dissolved salt concentration inside and outside a cell is different, salt will pass through the cell's membrane. This is a physio-chemical property of cell walls, not biological, so it works even when the meat has been butchered.



          Therefore, there is the entire art and science of brining meat. Soaking meats in salt water or crusting them entirely in salt, salt penetrates deep into the meat by osmosis and subtly changes the flavor.



          What to do for your chicken? (i.e. Conclusion)



          Every recipe has its own requirements and its own individual interpretations. Many people believe strongly in brining pork ribs or a pork butt (thereby seasoning it) even if they put a wet sauce on after, but I'm not really a fan and think that if you leave enough fat on the pork stands on its own.



          To address the specific chicken that you have above, I would try to recreate that by grilling on BBQ at medium-high heat (400 F/ 200 C) without any seasoning, just rinsed well in cold water. At higher heats, seasonings will burn given a cook time of 15 mins (half on each side), so to get the chicken to look like it does in the picture, you can't put anything else on it. If I was doing it, I would not even use salt.



          Chicken breasts can be pretty thick, so the combination of a plain breast and a strongly flavored sauce can be unsuccessful if there is too much dry meat in the middle of the breast, so consider getting breasts on the thinner side. Given enough time, though, an alternative is brining your chicken breast (soak in salt water for several hours) to help it retain some moisture while cooking.






          share|improve this answer















          Is the seasoning on the inside or the outside?



          If the seasoning is on the outside, then there is little point to seasoning and then adding another sauce. For example, you won't use a dry rub (seasoning) on BBQ ribs and then put a wet sauce on top of that. Not only would the angry gods of BBQ smite you, but also you are just mixing two flavors on the outside of a food object (with the meat flavor on the inside). You could just put the dry rub in the wet rub, put it all on together, and mostly get the same effect.



          On the other hand, there are cases where you would want to have different flavors on the outside and the inside of a food item. As pointed out in comments, meatballs are a great example of this. You don't mix spaghetti sauce into the meatball mix as you are forming them, but you also don't want to use just plain meat. You would add some salt and pepper, or herbs or parmesan cheese or something, even though you intend to put a flavorful tomato sauce on the outside. The reason for this is that a meatball, especially a large one, would end up rather dry and bland in the middle if made from plain ol' ground beef. A nice salty, herby interior would contrast nicely with the beef flavor and the tomato sauce (and, a nice Chianti).



          In addition to meatballs, other ways to get different meat flavors on the outside and inside include things like stuffed chicken breasts, or meats that have been pierced with a knife and have seasonings pushed into the holes; a lamb roast with garlic and rosemary, for example. Finally, anything marinated long enough (like a sauerbraten) will pick up the flavors of what it is soaked in, even deep into a thick cut of meat.



          Salt is not like most other seasonings



          So far, we discussed general seasonings, that is, dry rubs of spices and herbs. Salt is a component of many dry rubs, but has some properties that set it apart. Spices rubbed on the surface of a meat do not penetrate, nearly at all. But salt does. Salt moves through meat by diffusion; when the dissolved salt concentration inside and outside a cell is different, salt will pass through the cell's membrane. This is a physio-chemical property of cell walls, not biological, so it works even when the meat has been butchered.



          Therefore, there is the entire art and science of brining meat. Soaking meats in salt water or crusting them entirely in salt, salt penetrates deep into the meat by osmosis and subtly changes the flavor.



          What to do for your chicken? (i.e. Conclusion)



          Every recipe has its own requirements and its own individual interpretations. Many people believe strongly in brining pork ribs or a pork butt (thereby seasoning it) even if they put a wet sauce on after, but I'm not really a fan and think that if you leave enough fat on the pork stands on its own.



          To address the specific chicken that you have above, I would try to recreate that by grilling on BBQ at medium-high heat (400 F/ 200 C) without any seasoning, just rinsed well in cold water. At higher heats, seasonings will burn given a cook time of 15 mins (half on each side), so to get the chicken to look like it does in the picture, you can't put anything else on it. If I was doing it, I would not even use salt.



          Chicken breasts can be pretty thick, so the combination of a plain breast and a strongly flavored sauce can be unsuccessful if there is too much dry meat in the middle of the breast, so consider getting breasts on the thinner side. Given enough time, though, an alternative is brining your chicken breast (soak in salt water for several hours) to help it retain some moisture while cooking.







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited May 24 at 18:50

























          answered May 24 at 11:40









          kingledionkingledion

          8293 silver badges11 bronze badges




          8293 silver badges11 bronze badges











          • 2





            This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

            – dwizum
            May 24 at 14:50






          • 2





            Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

            – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
            May 24 at 17:23











          • Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

            – toolforger
            May 26 at 15:12














          • 2





            This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

            – dwizum
            May 24 at 14:50






          • 2





            Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

            – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
            May 24 at 17:23











          • Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

            – toolforger
            May 26 at 15:12








          2




          2





          This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

          – dwizum
          May 24 at 14:50





          This is a great answer but I find your BBQ example in the first paragraph to be really odd and/or wrong in the sense of not being as broadly applicable as you're implying. It's very common in many styles of BBQ to use both a dry rub and a wet sauce, although they're usually applied at different points in time for different purposes.

          – dwizum
          May 24 at 14:50




          2




          2





          Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

          – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
          May 24 at 17:23





          Osmosis is water moving. Diffusion is other stuff moving. Salt diffuses. Common misconception.

          – MarsJarsGuitars-n-Chars
          May 24 at 17:23













          Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

          – toolforger
          May 26 at 15:12





          Does the salt really wander into the cells? It could well be wandering between cells. (I do not know what ion channels through the cell membrane are open if the cell has no energy.)

          – toolforger
          May 26 at 15:12


















          draft saved

          draft discarded




















































          Thanks for contributing an answer to Seasoned Advice!


          • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

          But avoid



          • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

          • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


          To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




          draft saved


          draft discarded














          StackExchange.ready(
          function () {
          StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fcooking.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f99130%2fin-general-would-i-need-to-season-a-meat-when-making-a-sauce%23new-answer', 'question_page');
          }
          );

          Post as a guest















          Required, but never shown





















































          Required, but never shown














          Required, but never shown












          Required, but never shown







          Required, but never shown

































          Required, but never shown














          Required, but never shown












          Required, but never shown







          Required, but never shown







          Popular posts from this blog

          Færeyskur hestur Heimild | Tengill | Tilvísanir | LeiðsagnarvalRossið - síða um færeyska hrossið á færeyskuGott ár hjá færeyska hestinum

          He _____ here since 1970 . Answer needed [closed]What does “since he was so high” mean?Meaning of “catch birds for”?How do I ensure “since” takes the meaning I want?“Who cares here” meaningWhat does “right round toward” mean?the time tense (had now been detected)What does the phrase “ring around the roses” mean here?Correct usage of “visited upon”Meaning of “foiled rail sabotage bid”It was the third time I had gone to Rome or It is the third time I had been to Rome

          Slayer Innehåll Historia | Stil, komposition och lyrik | Bandets betydelse och framgångar | Sidoprojekt och samarbeten | Kontroverser | Medlemmar | Utmärkelser och nomineringar | Turnéer och festivaler | Diskografi | Referenser | Externa länkar | Navigeringsmenywww.slayer.net”Metal Massacre vol. 1””Metal Massacre vol. 3””Metal Massacre Volume III””Show No Mercy””Haunting the Chapel””Live Undead””Hell Awaits””Reign in Blood””Reign in Blood””Gold & Platinum – Reign in Blood””Golden Gods Awards Winners”originalet”Kerrang! Hall Of Fame””Slayer Looks Back On 37-Year Career In New Video Series: Part Two””South of Heaven””Gold & Platinum – South of Heaven””Seasons in the Abyss””Gold & Platinum - Seasons in the Abyss””Divine Intervention””Divine Intervention - Release group by Slayer””Gold & Platinum - Divine Intervention””Live Intrusion””Undisputed Attitude””Abolish Government/Superficial Love””Release “Slatanic Slaughter: A Tribute to Slayer” by Various Artists””Diabolus in Musica””Soundtrack to the Apocalypse””God Hates Us All””Systematic - Relationships””War at the Warfield””Gold & Platinum - War at the Warfield””Soundtrack to the Apocalypse””Gold & Platinum - Still Reigning””Metallica, Slayer, Iron Mauden Among Winners At Metal Hammer Awards””Eternal Pyre””Eternal Pyre - Slayer release group””Eternal Pyre””Metal Storm Awards 2006””Kerrang! Hall Of Fame””Slayer Wins 'Best Metal' Grammy Award””Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dies””Bullet-For My Valentine booed at Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards””Unholy Aliance””The End Of Slayer?””Slayer: We Could Thrash Out Two More Albums If We're Fast Enough...””'The Unholy Alliance: Chapter III' UK Dates Added”originalet”Megadeth And Slayer To Co-Headline 'Canadian Carnage' Trek”originalet”World Painted Blood””Release “World Painted Blood” by Slayer””Metallica Heading To Cinemas””Slayer, Megadeth To Join Forces For 'European Carnage' Tour - Dec. 18, 2010”originalet”Slayer's Hanneman Contracts Acute Infection; Band To Bring In Guest Guitarist””Cannibal Corpse's Pat O'Brien Will Step In As Slayer's Guest Guitarist”originalet”Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman Dead at 49””Dave Lombardo Says He Made Only $67,000 In 2011 While Touring With Slayer””Slayer: We Do Not Agree With Dave Lombardo's Substance Or Timeline Of Events””Slayer Welcomes Drummer Paul Bostaph Back To The Fold””Slayer Hope to Unveil Never-Before-Heard Jeff Hanneman Material on Next Album””Slayer Debut New Song 'Implode' During Surprise Golden Gods Appearance””Release group Repentless by Slayer””Repentless - Slayer - Credits””Slayer””Metal Storm Awards 2015””Slayer - to release comic book "Repentless #1"””Slayer To Release 'Repentless' 6.66" Vinyl Box Set””BREAKING NEWS: Slayer Announce Farewell Tour””Slayer Recruit Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth + Testament for Final Tour””Slayer lägger ner efter 37 år””Slayer Announces Second North American Leg Of 'Final' Tour””Final World Tour””Slayer Announces Final European Tour With Lamb of God, Anthrax And Obituary””Slayer To Tour Europe With Lamb of God, Anthrax And Obituary””Slayer To Play 'Last French Show Ever' At Next Year's Hellfst””Slayer's Final World Tour Will Extend Into 2019””Death Angel's Rob Cavestany On Slayer's 'Farewell' Tour: 'Some Of Us Could See This Coming'””Testament Has No Plans To Retire Anytime Soon, Says Chuck Billy””Anthrax's Scott Ian On Slayer's 'Farewell' Tour Plans: 'I Was Surprised And I Wasn't Surprised'””Slayer””Slayer's Morbid Schlock””Review/Rock; For Slayer, the Mania Is the Message””Slayer - Biography””Slayer - Reign In Blood”originalet”Dave Lombardo””An exclusive oral history of Slayer”originalet”Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman”originalet”Thinking Out Loud: Slayer's Kerry King on hair metal, Satan and being polite””Slayer Lyrics””Slayer - Biography””Most influential artists for extreme metal music””Slayer - Reign in Blood””Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman dies aged 49””Slatanic Slaughter: A Tribute to Slayer””Gateway to Hell: A Tribute to Slayer””Covered In Blood””Slayer: The Origins of Thrash in San Francisco, CA.””Why They Rule - #6 Slayer”originalet”Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists Of All Time”originalet”The fans have spoken: Slayer comes out on top in readers' polls”originalet”Tribute to Jeff Hanneman (1964-2013)””Lamb Of God Frontman: We Sound Like A Slayer Rip-Off””BEHEMOTH Frontman Pays Tribute To SLAYER's JEFF HANNEMAN””Slayer, Hatebreed Doing Double Duty On This Year's Ozzfest””System of a Down””Lacuna Coil’s Andrea Ferro Talks Influences, Skateboarding, Band Origins + More””Slayer - Reign in Blood””Into The Lungs of Hell””Slayer rules - en utställning om fans””Slayer and Their Fans Slashed Through a No-Holds-Barred Night at Gas Monkey””Home””Slayer””Gold & Platinum - The Big 4 Live from Sofia, Bulgaria””Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Kerry King””2008-02-23: Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, USA””Slayer's Kerry King To Perform With Megadeth Tonight! - Oct. 21, 2010”originalet”Dave Lombardo - Biography”Slayer Case DismissedArkiveradUltimate Classic Rock: Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman dead at 49.”Slayer: "We could never do any thing like Some Kind Of Monster..."””Cannibal Corpse'S Pat O'Brien Will Step In As Slayer'S Guest Guitarist | The Official Slayer Site”originalet”Slayer Wins 'Best Metal' Grammy Award””Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dies””Kerrang! Awards 2006 Blog: Kerrang! Hall Of Fame””Kerrang! Awards 2013: Kerrang! Legend”originalet”Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maien Among Winners At Metal Hammer Awards””Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards””Bullet For My Valentine Booed At Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards””Metal Storm Awards 2006””Metal Storm Awards 2015””Slayer's Concert History””Slayer - Relationships””Slayer - Releases”Slayers officiella webbplatsSlayer på MusicBrainzOfficiell webbplatsSlayerSlayerr1373445760000 0001 1540 47353068615-5086262726cb13906545x(data)6033143kn20030215029