Why YSK: When you cook meat, any water on the surface must first evaporate before much browning can occur. You want to get as much of a Maillard reaction as possible in the limited cooking time you have before the meat reaches the correct internal temperature. Removing the moisture first means that the heat of the cooking surface isn’t wasted on evaporation and can instead interact with the meat to form the complex sugars and proteins of the Maillard reaction.
How do I know if the beef is dry?
How do I dry beef?
I tried googling, but I only get results about aged steak. Is that the same thing? I hope not
It’s not the same as aged steak. OP’s post is simply about patting your meat dry with a paper towel or similar prior to cooking.
To dry the beef you just use a paper towel to pat dry the beef.
I just grab some paper towels and start blotting the surface. The goal is to get as much of the liquid off the surface as possible.
Paper towels or constant air flow over a few minutes. Usually paper towels.