Seasoning meat, what are the effects of salt and seasoning.

Mini-Experiment 3: Seasoning meat, what are the effects of salt and seasoning.

Harold McGee, Author of “On Food and Cooking the Science and Lore of the Kitchen”, addresses the effects of salt on meat. He notes, “High salt concentration cause the normally tightly bunched protein filaments in the muscle cells to separate into individual filaments, which are too small to scatter light: so the normally opaque muscle tissue becomes translucent. The same unbunching also weakens the muscle fibers, while at the same time dehydration makes the tissue denser and more concentrated: hence the close but tender texture.   - McGee (1984)

Why do we season our meats? Most dry-rub seasonings that are used on beef, pork, poultry, and even some fish, have salt at their base. Does the salt indeed influence the juiciness of a particular meat?
Today's experiment will take a closer look at the effects of salt on pork meat. I decided to do some work with a the loin area which is supposed to be the most tender part of the animal. I got myself a cut Pork Loin Rib eye chops. Cook's Illustrates, The Science of Good cooking, explains the different types of pork cuts and comments that " Rib and loin chops are cut from this area, as are pork loin roasts and tenderloin roasts. These cuts will be dry if overcooked  (149)". Juiciness, tenderness, structure are key elements to a well prepared meat dish.  My experiment might provide some more thought on seasoning meat prior to cooking it.   

The Experiment

To test the juiciness of the pork chops i decided to apply a seasoning on one of the pork chops and cook it simultaneously next to a pork chop with no added spices to it. My hypothesis that was based on some research and discussion online was that the Pork chop that was processed with a seasoning prior to cooking would be juicier than the pork chop that was not seasoned.The independent variable for this experiment is the seasoning and the dependent variable is the amount of liquid/juices that is produced by the pork chop after cooking. My standardized variables are the exposure to temperature as both chops are cooking in the same oven. The cut and thickness of  the meat is standardized because both meats were bought at the same meat department of a grocery store and showed similar thickness. Lastly, both pork chops will be cooked for the same amount of time.

Thyme, Ground Black Pepper,
Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, and Salt

For the seasoning I used some of the spices that I found in our cupboard. 

• 1 tsp of salt,
• 1 tsp of pepper, 
• 1 tsp of onion powder, 
• a pinch of thyme and 
• a pinch of chili powder.
  
  These ingredients are commonly found in several seasoning recipe's found online. I seasoned the meat by slowly rubbing in the spices. 

Pork Chop before seasoning and after seasoning.

I seasoned one of the pork chops 4 hours before I started cooking them and placed it in a Zip-Lock bag in the fridge. 

Pork chops as placed in the oven

The Pork Chops were prepared in a small oven that was preheated at 350 F. I decided on baking the chops so I am not adding any fats or liquids to the product during the cooking process. By baking the chops I applied more convective heat rather than conductive heat which allowed me to standardize the external environment of the pork chops during the cooking process. I placed the chops on some aluminum foil to catch juices from the meat. There are some do's and don't of cooking with aluminum foil that can be found at this helpful link. The pork chops were cooked for 10 minutes until I flipped them and then I cooked them for another 15 minutes. After 25 minutes of baking I took both pork chops and held them above a small bowl for 2 minutes. I counted the drops of fluid that would fall of the baked pork chops for a comparison of liquid dispersed from the meat between the seasoned chop and the unseasoned chop.

Pork chops 10 minutes in and after 25 minutes.
Left is unseasoned right is seasoned. The Maillard reaction is clearly visible.  

Results 
After 2 minutes of holding the chops above a bowl the unseasoned pork chop showed 41 drops of fluid while the seasoned pork chop only saw 24 drops of fluid. 

	Unseasoned Pork Chop	Seasoned Pork Chop
Amount of drops of liquid after baking (timed 2 minutes)	41	24

Holding both pork chops above the bowl for 2 minutes.
Left is unseasoned (41 drops of liquid). Right is seasoned (24 drops of liquid)

The Graph below visualizes the observations made after baking the Pork Chops for 25 minutes. 

Counted drops of liquid after 2 minutes. The unseasoned pork chop appeared to disperse more juices. 

With this data I disproved my hypothesis that a seasoning several hours before baking pork would make the meat more juicy. 

Discussion
Although the actual fluid count of the seasoned meat was lower than the unseasoned meat it did have a better taste and the meat appeared to be more tender. future experiments could compare a brine with a dry-rub seasoning to see the different effects of the seasoning methods. Also different cooking methods such as grilling or broiling could be used to perform similar experiments. Other experiments could focus on the exact diffusion and  osmosis processes that occur during brining. The

for more information on seasoning and meats visit these sources:

• http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-juicy-secret-to-seasoning-meat
• On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee, 1984.
• Cook's illustrated, The Science of Good Cooking
• http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-juicy-secret-to-seasoning-meat