I thought that they pulled salt into the meat and reversed the osmotic pressure so that liquid flows back into it and that's why putting aromatics in the brine pulls flavors into the meat. And I thought they were specifically used on lean cuts of meat to help keep them moist. And I read that they're not typically used for beef because beef usually has enough intramuscular fat to keep itself moist while cooking.
But we've been cooking top round beef and every time the sous chef complains about how dry it is and how it's the cut of the meat and how it lacks intramuscular fat etc etc. So i mention brining the meat first today, but he says it'd make it more dry, because "the salt breaks down cells and once that fluid is released it doesn't go back in"
So what's up with that who do i believe, this guy who is generally knowledgeable or a bunch of internet sources
I par cooked some angel hair pasta, like 4 minutes, drained it, tossed it with a bit of oil to keep it from sticking, then I pulverized the shit out of some peanuts in a food processor, fried those in some oil with garlic and gochujang and tomato paste for like 30 seconds, added some thai garlic chili sauce, threw in maybe 1/3rd of a cup of pasta water w/ the starch in it, added a SMALL bit of ponzu and sesame oil, then threw the pasta in and cooked it ~2 minutes or until the liquid was absorbed/reduced
by god it was good, I wish you could taste what I'm tasting. I made it the perfect amount of white people spicy. I feel the heat permeate my mouth but it isn't overwhelming, I tasted it while eating it but I could taste all the other flavors too, so good