Dry brine

A dry brine is a simple technique where salt, sometimes with sugar or other seasoning mixed in, is applied directly to the surface of meat well before cooking, often anywhere from an hour up to a couple of days, and then left uncovered in the refrigerator rather than sitting in a liquid solution the way a traditional wet brine does. The meat is not rinsed off afterward, just cooked as is.

Salt initially draws moisture out of the meat to the surface, but given enough time that salty liquid dissolves the salt and gets reabsorbed back into the meat, seasoning it more deeply than a rub applied right before cooking ever could. The uncovered rest in the fridge also dries the surface slightly, which helps skin crisp on poultry and helps a rub or crust form better once the meat hits the grill.

Timing depends heavily on the cut. A steak might only need forty minutes to overnight, while a whole turkey benefits from a full day or two. A common mistake is using the same amount of salt as a wet brine recipe, which can oversalt a dry brine since none of it gets diluted or rinsed away, and skipping the uncovered fridge time, which is what actually dries and seasons the surface properly.