FOOD NEWS
Why You Should Skip Seasoning Pork Ahead
Of Time
By Chase Shustack
Although pork is incredibly versatile — capable of being grilled, baked, roasted, slow-cooked, and fried — it’s also easy to make, but hard to master. Whether you want something smoky or spicy, pork is a good canvas to work on as long as you don’t season it too far in advance.
Seasoning beforehand will leave any cut of pork much tougher and drier than you’d expect. Oliver Schwaner-Albright of Food & Wine conducted an experiment with two pork roasts, each cooked for the same amount of time and at the same temperature, with one salted and seasoned the day before and the other salted and seasoned immediately before putting it in the oven.
While the pork roast that was seasoned right before roasting was described as being moist and delicious, the roast seasoned the day before was noted as being incredibly dry. To add flavor to your pork chops, soak them in a marinade overnight until you’re ready to cook them, allowing the meat to absorb the marinade and prevent it from drying out, removing the pork 30 minutes before cooking.