Salt the meat, yes or no?

Watching a cooking show. Chef has two slabs of meat on the table and is artistically sprinkling on salt and pepper with a flourish.

My mother salted and peppered the meat prior to cooking.

I do not. Here's why.

You can kill a slug or bloodsucker by pouring salt on it. Salt SUCKS OUT the moisture, rendering the moist critter, dead. You can clean a raw egg off the floor by sprinkling a liberal amount of salt on it and letting the white solid up a bit, because the salt SUCKS OUT some of the moisture in the white.

So. If I want my meat moist, do I want to add something that we know DRAWS MOISTURE OUT of whatever it touches? Knowing the action of salt, it has always seemed insane to me that we add it to raw meat. Salt adds nothing to any dish in the raw state, in my opinion. Salt is a fine addition for seasoning after a dish is cooked. But before? When I saw a slug shrivel and die under the onslaught of salt, that was the LAST time I added it to any raw meat I cook.

Besides, adding it after, or at table, allows this particular element to be controlled by the individual diner. Husband salts everything before he even tastes it :habit. I taste first and salt gingerly :high blood pressure. I suggest that salting raw meat is a habit and belief we have, but is not based in very good observation of the realities of salt and moisture.

Here is a Good page on it
I always salt before it is put in the Pan in fact I always season before and then after it is cooked some
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

? Never thought about it that way ?  do use a seasoning salt for flavour  so  guess it contains a certain amount of salt in it along with the spices/peppers  ? In my wild meat I use less salt ,more pepper ? seems to draw out that flavour that only wild meat has in it . I would question though if the small amount of salt put onto a slab of meat would have the effect that you mention ? It is after all just salted , not pickled in salt ,mummified is excessive , a sprinkle is just that

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If the meat is not home-grown, I usually do, since grocery store meat lacks flavour.

How is brining a turkey rationalized, then?

I would never rationalize braining a turkey.

Wait.

You said brining.

Never mind.

I only salt after I turn my steaks and hamburgers once so that side is already seared. And I do do it to avoid drawing out the juices. I put peppet and other spiced right away though. Roasts and such I salt first although probably it would be better to sear the roast first and then salt.

Thank you Miry! Another who feels that drawing out juices, no matter how slight, is a risk one takes when salting the meat before cooking.

Now, let's talk about the risks of running with scissors, while NOT wearing a helmet!

I used to think the same thing. I was told it is only true if the salt is not added immediately before cooking. If salted and then it sits, bad, salted and cooked right away, good.

I always season my steak then leave it out for a couple hours on the counter. Here is an explanation of the reasoning...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I don't salt or pepper anything I'm cooking for anyone else.
For myself, I rarely use salt. I put it on corn. Yep, just corn.

For those that dont like using salt here is a recipe for a salt substitute

1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground oregano
2 tsp black pepper
1 T Garlic powder
2 T Dry Mustard
6 T Onion Powder
3 T Paprika
1 T Rubbed Sage
Mix well together and put in shaker and use
store in a Dry place I also put a few rice kernels in shaker
I use salt but I also use this as a seasoning

I suppose I should say I don't use salt per say, but Montreal Steak Spice and I am sure there is salt in there.