Editor's note: If you haven't already encountered Sarasota's Jaden Hair, we'd be surprised — her blog steamykitchen.com has become one of the most popular food sites on the Web. Jaden will be writing a weekly recipe column for CL; Brian Ries' restaurant reviews will return next week.
I've been dancing back and forth on how to start this new column. It's been totally consuming me, as if my small brain had nothing else in the world to obsess over. I really want to just jump right in with the food, seducing you into submission with a big, fat, juicy steak topped with garlic herb butter gently melting on the surface begging to be spread. I could dangle the key to steak that has both the full-beefy flavor of a T-bone and the tenderness of filet mignon without spending a small fortune. And I'm not exaggerating.
But then I'd risk sounding like an infomercial interrupting your leisurely reading of CL. Instead, I really should start off by telling you who I am and earn at least a modicum of credibility before tossing a recipe on your lap. Because, really, any moron can come up with a recipe. Even Cher has her own cookbook, for God's sake.
My name is Jaden. I'm a cooking instructor, and I also run an award-winning food pornography blog called Steamy Kitchen (steamykitchen.com) that has been featured on countless food websites, The Tampa Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and ABC 7.
Of course, I am absolutely thrilled to contribute to CL — but I never considered the real consequence of transitioning to newsprint with DEADLINES! Writing my personal blog is a leisurely, stress-free activity. I can say silly things like "hairy twat" when describing a coconut and not twist an editor into a tizzy, causing uncontrollable convulsions. (Editor's Note: We were only in a half-tizzy, thank you very much.) Will the world of DEADLINES! turn me into a lifeless bag of dehydrated blueberries? Will I nervously position myself in front of my computer with clammy palms and all of a sudden be paralyzed with performance anxiety? Do they make Viagra for writer's block, and is that part of the free program at Publix? I can just hear my mother now, 
which loosely translates to "Get off your lazy ass and stop whining, you drooling fool."
So here's the deal: Each week, I'll share a recipe with you. Don't be intimidated by the luscious photography. While it may seem like my pictures leap from the pages of Gourmet, the recipes are fast, fresh and simple enough for tonight's supper. Seriously, 93 percent of the recipes I do are created in my home kitchen and eaten for supper after a quick two-minute photo shoot. The other 7 percent are still made in my home kitchen, but late at night after the kids go to bed so that I don't have to share any of it. The common denominators in that category are usually chocolate or bourbon.
So, my friends, I am offering you a very juicy secret, one that will turn a choice cut of steak into a prime cut. Do you know the joy of buying choice and eating prime? It's like buying a Hyundai and getting a free mail-in rebate for a BMW upgrade. Here's the secret:
Massively salt your steak 1 hour before grilling.
Notice that I didn't say, "sprinkle liberally" or even "season generously." I'm talking about taking a small handful of kosher salt and coating your meat until you can't see the red anymore. It should resemble a salt lick. Let that meat be totally overwhelmed with the salt for one hour. Rinse, pat dry and you're ready to grill.
Before y'all throw a hissy fit, just hear me out. I first learned of this technique from Judi Rodgers of San Francisco's famous Zuni Café. Judi massively salts her chicken before roasting, and I've adapted the practice to steaks. I'll take a stab at explaining why this works — but just so you know, I slept through high-school biology, especially during the chapter on osmosis.
When you initially salt the meat, it draws moisture to the surface. But give it a little more time, the moisture will dissolve the salt and be reabsorbed back into the meat through osmosis. The salt breaks down the protein — which makes the steak very, very tender. The moisture that gets sucked back containss a nice, happy saltiness that permeates throughout the entire steak, not just the surface.
Slap it on the grill and you'll end up with a full-flavored, juicy steak that is butter-knife tender. Even if you suck at grilling, this salting technique gives you extra insurance. If you were awake during bio class and can explain this better, write to me. All I know is that as a cook — and a professional carnivore — this practice works damn well every single time. I promise you won't be disappointed.
I understand that this method will cause chaos and confusion in your household, and possibly controversy in the food world. But I encourage you to experiment — try adding spices, crushed garlic and rosemary sprigs to the salt, which will then act like a superstar dragging its entourage of flavors with it into the meat. E-mail or comment at tampa.creativeloafing.com or steamykitchen.com to let me know your twist. I've posted additional step-by-step photos on both sites.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 4, 2007.