For most parts of the country, grilling season is fleeting, so it's important to make every burger and brat count. There's no time for disappointing results as the days get shorter, and nobody likes dry pork and overcooked chicken breast. Thankfully there's a simple step you can use to make sure meats like pork tenderloin always come out perfectly juicy and tender: Sprinkle some coarse salt all around the outside of the meat about an hour before you plan to grill.
Coating pork tenderloin with salt and then letting it rest for at least 45 minutes is a process known as "dry brining," and it's the secret to getting super juicy results when you're cooking delicate cuts. Ina Garten uses this method to make the perfect roast chicken , and it works just as well for grilling pork. Just make sure to give the pork enough time for the salt to work its magic and grill the meat over high heat to get a hard sear that seals in the juices.
How dry brining works If you've never done any brining, the process is very simple. Basically you submerge food in a salty solution and let it sit for a period of time so the food absorbs the liquid. The salt traps moisture inside the cells of the meat, which is how you get a juicy brined and roasted Thanksgiving turkey , for example.
Dry brining does the same thing, only you coat the outside of the meat all over with salt, which draws out the moisture. If you let it sit there for a while, the liquid from the meat will create a thin coating, which is the s.