Reddit made me do it: brining steak with milk

Does brining steak in cow’s milk as a brine improve the taste and feel of your steak? We find out.

In our Reddit Roulette category, whenever we stumble across an interesting, clever, or frankly bizarre tip for improving our smoking and searing, we will give it a go. In this article, we are brining steak in cow’s milk.

Our instructions are above, as found in a Reddit post in January 2025. In this article, we are trying out this brining method outside of what we’d typically use: cow milk. I queried what kind of milk is best, and apparently, full or skimmed doesn’t make a difference. I can’t say whether raw would change the composition of the meat more, though.

It felt so wrong dunking a beautiful, prime cut of steak in a bowl of milk, but will it taste right?

We are following the instructions as shown in the Reddit post screenshot to the letter:

  • Brine your steak in cow’s milk for 12 – 24 hours
  • Pat your steak dry and salt it
  • Refrigerate for a further 4 – 12 hours
  • Smoke at 225f until preferred internal temperature, or around 110 – 115f
  • Sear, and enjoy

When I removed the brined steak from its overnight dairy bath, I began to regret my actions. It looked grim and chalky gray in places. However, as per the social media method, I patted it dry, liberally applied salt, and returned it to the refrigerator for four more hours.

The difference is apparent. The meat felt softer and something akin to a normal color had returned. Let the smoking and searing begin!

I was in the mood for a very rare steak. Cooking after the brine was no different to smoking and searing off a standard steak, but I found the meat was definitely richer. It also didn’t need any extra rubs as the salt was more than enough.

But would I do it again? Probably not. It was enjoyable, but I don’t think the trade-off was enough for the extra steps.

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