Air-drying involves letting the meat rest, uncovered, until all of the moisture on its surface evaporates. It's most helpful for steaks but can also work with pork and lamb chops.

For poultry, it works best with skin-on chicken and turkey. It may not work as well for skinless cuts, which are very prone to drying out when you cook them.

Air-drying is especially important for smoked meat (including fish) because the dryer the surface of the meat is, the better the smoke will cling to it and provide good flavor.