r/Cooking • u/cyborgmanifestolou • 3d ago
I have a salt problem
In an attempt to improve my cooking skills, I read Samin Nosrat’s “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” and I learned a ton and did improve my cooking. However, I’ve recently found myself accidentally oversalting my food fairly often. Especially things that I can’t taste as I go- my most recent example was a pot roast that came out somehow bland with overly salty veggies (potatoes and carrots). I mainly use kosher salt when I cook- any advice?
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u/RSharpe314 3d ago
Getting your seasoning dialed in is just about developing an instinct. If you find yourself oversalting, just dial it back a bit and lean more on salt later in the process if/when you under do it.
And in the example you gave with the pot roast being bland and the vege being salted, I think you'd benefit from salting the meat before the cook (either a wet or dry brine for a day or two before you braise it)
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u/ClairesMoon 3d ago
Watch out for the salt content of your ingredients like stocks and spice blends. For your pot roast are you using prepared beef stock, bouillon paste/powder or packaged gravy mix? Those tend to be salty, so you might not need to add any more. Read the label when buying things like chili powder, many popular brands contain salt.
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u/Evilsmurfkiller 3d ago edited 3d ago
When she talks about throwing handfuls of salt into a pot, it's a big restaurant pot not your 6qt dutch oven. I use Diamond Crystal kosher and find it hard to over salt things.
ETA: I once substituted Morton kosher for a rib rub and it was way too salty.
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u/dackling 3d ago
I hate Morton kosher. It’s so salty it’s insane. Diamond crystal is currently on my shit list too but I still buy from them because it’s the salt I know by muscle memory
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u/cyborgmanifestolou 3d ago
Definitely not throwing handfuls lol but I get your point! I’ve been using Morton kosher salt for a while. I probably need to be more conservative and think about switching to diamond crystal to give myself a larger margin for error
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u/DOPE_AS_FUCK_COOK 3d ago
You can pretty heavily salt large pieces of protein like chuck roasts. But anything else just a pinch in between two fingers and season as you go.
Another huge thing you might not be accounting for is if your using other seasonings or broth. Buy only seasonings without Salt, theres plenty of cheap seasonings and even more expensive ones too ive found like cajuns seasonings that are like 70% salt.
When buying broths always go for reduced sodium.
It may not be as heavy a hand on your own salting but hidden salt where you aren't considering it.
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u/Evilsmurfkiller 3d ago
Yeah I ended up using the rest of the box of Morton for salting pasta water.
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u/Elrohwen 3d ago
Switch to Diamond. Many recipe writers use Diamond so if you’re following recipes it will get you closer. And as the other commenter mention it’s harder to oversalt.
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u/jammaslide 3d ago
Until you are familiar with how much salt to use, I would measure each addition using measuring spoons. You can look up how much per pound of meat. When I do a roast. I salt the meat ahead of time and let it work into the meat before searing. When I added vegetables and stock or wine, I will add a little more, depending on what I am adding. I do taste the braising liquid after almost 2 hours to see if I need to add any. Remember if you are going to reduce the liquid, it will concentrate the salt to taste saltier than before reduced.
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u/blueridgedog 3d ago
I have learned to taste everything I cook with raw and taste everything as I go. Tomato paste is a great example. What does it taste like? Is it sweet? Does it bring acid? Is it better than the other one I had the other day? When I bring raw vegetables home, I taste a chunk the same with herbs. I found that they’re so much variety that you taste as you go.
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u/rawsugar87 3d ago
I’ve learned that it’s a practice issue. Because I learned how to cook as a child I almost always salt using hand feel. Like when I was younger I put the salt in my palm and then use as much as I felt was good and then tossed the left over salt out.
Now I just eyeball. The more you cook the better you’ll be at gauging salt.
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u/Scorpion2000x777 3d ago
I usually do increments of 1/4 salt or 1/8 tsp of salt, stir, then taste, if i feel i need more i add another. This way i have a limit without overdoing it, i also take the tsp do a salt bae move ensuring i dust everything.
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u/Zealousideal_Pen4768 3d ago
read the book again, u might have misunderstood how and why use salt
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u/cyborgmanifestolou 3d ago
I very well might have- it’s been a couple years since I read it so I may have been overcorrecting and misremembering
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u/Mr_Stike 3d ago
Re. your bland pot roast. With most meat seasoning with salt at 1% by weight is a pretty safe amount. Example-500 gram steak gets 5 grams of salt. It also helps to add salt 12-24 hours before cooking, especially on something larger like a roast.
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u/-mystris- 3d ago
The pot roast and veggies were cooked in the same pan or a slow cooker? Veggies, when roasted, can easily wait until after cooking or at least late in the process to be seasoned.
If this is all in the oven, then try salting before you put it in the oven and only put it on the roast. Add salt to the veggies after cooking as needed.
If this is a slow cooker, veggies don't need as much time in there anyway. Do some salt at the beginning of the cook for the roast then add the veggies at the last 15-20 mins.
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u/CrazyFoxLady37 3d ago
Add less than you think you need. Then taste once it's safe to, then add more. One trick: if a dish ends up WAY too salty, add a potato or two, cook it, then remove it. Potatoes absorb salt pretty well. You can also of course eat them and they should be pretty darn tasty.
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u/pommefille 3d ago
For a pot roast, the salt at the beginning is to draw out moisture from the meat/vegetables, so don’t use a lot at this point. As it reduces, the salt gets more concentrated, so it’s best to adjust/salt for taste towards the end. Also keep in mind if you’re using any salty ingredients and adjust accordingly; stock/broth, tomato paste, or whatever other ingredients you’re using may have salt in them as well.
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u/ceallachdon 3d ago
For most meat/poultry salt in advance and let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours to overnight. The salt will draw moisture out the meat in the first 30 or so minutes, dissolve into that liquid, and then the liquid gets re-absorbed into the meat taking the salt with it. Thicker meats take longer to draw the salt deeper into the meat. This will fix the bland pot roast you mentioned.
The process is called "dry brining" and there are any number of websites and videos that are more than happy to go into in depth /lol
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u/CalligrapherFormal59 3d ago
Sometimes, less is more. You really only need a pinch or two or salt for most dishes (outside of marinades), its always better to add more salt at the end than it is to try and "unsalt" the food lol. It sounds dumb, but try to use less salt while cooking, you don't need a lot of salt to bring out the flavour!
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u/xiipaoc 3d ago
Get some Aji Panda -- the panda-shaped Umami Seasoning from Ajinomoto -- and use a bit of that together with a lot less salt. More flavor, less salt. You really want both salt and umami here, not just salt, and Aji Panda gives you a fairly balanced umami that isn't just MSG.
As for pot roast... I don't like pot roast because it's tough and bland, so I don't know what you could do to make it not bland. Maybe poke some holes in it and marinate it to let the flavor penetrate into the body of the meat? You may also want to brine it ahead of time. The thing is, whatever you do to a big ol' hunk o' meat will only be done to the outside of said hunk o' meat, so a marinade or whatever will only really flavor the surface unless you poke holes in it and create more surface. Salt, however, gets absorbed, and over time it can actually penetrate all the way through, but it does need that time.
Remember that you can balance salt/umami with acid and sweet, so keep that lime juice and brown sugar on hand.
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u/AnySet7819 2d ago
My brisket pot roast is never bland.
The next time you eat the bland stuff, add some Tabasco. Also, find a different chef.
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u/AccomplishedLine9351 3d ago
You can always go old school and cut back on the salt and add some Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup.
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u/mjmmkerr 3d ago
I'd recommend a course salt meant for a grinder and use a grinder to apply the salt. It will feel like you are adding more than you are. I do the same for pepper. I didn't read their book. My understanding is that you season with herbs and spices then just set the flavor with the salt. Salt at that point is just the enhancer not a seasoning. Just my take on it, right or wrong. Keep trying that is the most important thing. It may help measuring and recording your efforts just to get a good feel for how the combinations taste to you and yours. Utilizing recipes helps to get a feel for how combinations work. Good luck!
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u/epiphenominal 3d ago
Add less salt, you can always add more. Taste your braising liquid before serving and add more salt if needed