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When I make veal vs. beef steak from kosher meat, it consistently seems to me that the veal is significantly more salty.

The steak isn't salted by me at all (aside from whatever saltiness remains from koshering process).

The difference persists between different methods (grilling in a stove pan vs. in convection oven).

The steaks (shoulder) are sourced from the same supermarket and to the best of my knowledge are sourced from the same producer by them.

Is this difference in saltiness something expected (or just in my head) and if so, why?

The steaks aren't rinsed (either one).

DVK
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  • Is the veal saltier than you would like? – Jolenealaska Jun 26 '16 at 03:44
  • @Jolenealaska - not really. The question is more driven by curiousity about encountering something I didn't expect at all. – DVK Jun 26 '16 at 03:47
  • I don't know how much you know about the process, but I learned quite a bit from this: https://oukosher.org/the-kosher-primer/. I found several recipes that specifically call for kosher veal to be rinsed by the cook, even though kosher meat is always rinsed as a part of the process. Also, are the beef steaks bigger than the veal? – Jolenealaska Jun 26 '16 at 03:50
  • @Jolenealaska - same size – DVK Jun 26 '16 at 13:01

1 Answers1

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As a calf ages and matures into a cow, the structure, texture, and taste of the meat changes. Veal will naturally have a milder flavor and finer texture than beef.

The younger the calf, the less developed and dense the muscle structure will be. The less dense the muscle structure is, the more the flavor will penetrate the meat.

So, even in the same process, veal should pick up more of the flavor than beef would.

Also, because the flavor of veal is much milder, it would stand to reason that salt (or any other flavors) would stand out more prominently.

Cindy
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