Brine It

[benos]

I can't believe I've lived this long and never heard of brining meat before cooking it.

The other day I was telling a friend how yummy the pork chop was that I grilled for dinner. I said I had 3 more, so that's what I'll be having for dinner for the rest of the week. She said to brine the next one. I knew that meant to soak it in salt water, but that's about it. She wasn't sure on the water to salt ratio, but she was pretty sure it needed to soak about 15 to 20 minutes tops.

So I did some googling, and found a wide discrepancy in ratios and soak time. Some said to soak it for 10 or more hours, and some even said overnight. So I just tried my own idea. Put 2 cups of water in a bowl, and stirred in 2 Tablespoons of Sea Salt, and dropped in the boneless, center cut Chop. Took it out in 30 minutes and washed it off real good and slapped it on the grill for about 5 minutes on each side, at about degrees. It was close to being the best chop I ever ate. It was super juicy (almost impossible to do with a chop on the grill) and it was a bit too tender for my taste. So tonight I'm going to do the same thing but just soak for 20 minutes.

Apparently brining almost any kind of meat is a good thing. I mentioned it to a couple (food freak) friends and they said they'd both brined Turkeys. And they both said it was the best turkey ever.

be

[Matt Cheely]

Google for Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe. Good stuff.

[kevinj308]

My wife and I had the same feeling when we discovered brining. The first time we tried it was on the Thanksgiving turkey, best bird we ever had. One of our favorite things to brine are whole chickens. Usually can find them at the store for $5-$10, brine them and then we like to grill them. No a/c in our place so we cook outside most of the time. Great meal and always have leftovers.

This is the first recipe I tried, http://www.melindalee.com/index.php?option=com_garyscookbook&Itemid=6&func=detail&id=871, scroll down through the turkey stuff for the brine recipe. After that just try whatever you like, seems like as long as there's salt and water you can throw anything you want in there. It's a pretty good site for cooking in general, she hosts a radio show here in L.A.

Happy Brining

Kevin

[Chris Keen]

I just made some pork chops tonight Brian, so I think I'll try this tomorrow and see how it turns out!

Thanks for the excellent idea!

[s_gorilla45]

Google for Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe. Good stuff.

Listen to this man. I made the mistake of making a turkey this way about 5 years ago. I've been stuck making the trukeys ever since.

[Graham Smith]

I've never brined beef but I've been brining pork and poultry for several years now. You can even experiment will adding herbs and seasonings to the brine. Pork is usually brined for a fairly short time, but you can brine poultry overnight.

And if you've never brined shrimp..... uuummmm

Edited October 1, 2010 by Graham Smith

[SLM]

If Alton knew you were cooking pork without brining it first he'd probably get on his bike (BMW if I remember) ride to AZ and smack you with it! Yes, he's that passionate about it. He used words to effect of mortal sin when describing cooking pork without brining it first!

[High Lord Gomer]

I have never heard of this.

I honestly expected to find that Brian meant to type "Bring it" as the title and got an Alpha-Delta.

[ima45dv8]

Google for Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe. Good stuff.

+1!

[Mbauer67]

One of my favorite brine's is to brine a ham over night then oven roast it with a brown sugar glaze on top, very good. A friend of mine from Finland did this a few years ago and it was very good.

Has anyone seen the Foster Farms commercial where they are talking about plumping, where you inject salt water into the meat to increase its weight. Well the suits a while back tried to spin this as a brine, but it never even got off the ground.

[Graham Smith]

If you have a market that has Kosher chicken, (In this area, I can get Empire Poultry), give it a try. Kosher chicken is brined as part of the preparation.

[larry cazes]

I brine pork loin roasts overnight in a mix to taste of water, lime juice and zest, garlic, salt of course, honey, and chilis. This can go 10-12 hours no problem. I like them best seared on a very hot grill and finished indirect. I sometime add mesquite to the grill if I have time to mess with it.

[Shadowrider]

Go here:

http://forum.cookshack.com/groupee

There are recipes galore over there. It's pretty much for smoking meats

but there are alot of brining recipes there. And plenty of other ideas as well.

I brine all poultry now. It's just too cool when you slice off a piece of

leftover turkey breast, slap it in the microwave, and it still comes out

juicy just like you just pulled it out of the smoker or oven and sliced it.

Haven't tried pork yet but it will work well I'm sure.

Another reason to brine turkey is you can buy the lower cost fresh turkeys.

They inject a brine solution into Honeysuckle Whites, Butterballs, etc.

If you brine, the cheapo birds are every bit as good if not better.

[Intel6]

Brining a briskit and tossing it on a smoker is very tasty also, discovered that a few months ago.

Neal in AZ

[markcic]

Brining shrimp/prawns before grilling or broiling is great too. Good Eats Shrimp Cocktail

[Fireant]

Google for Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe. Good stuff.

Listen to this man. I made the mistake of making a turkey this way about 5 years ago. I've been stuck making the trukeys ever since.

Same here, turkey and chickens all the time.

[murkish]

Y'all are making me hungry and I do not have a smoker in my office.

Jack

[eerw]

Brisket, ribs, turkeys, chicken..

[Flexmoney]

My next meal on my Weber Smokey Mountain cooker is set to be brine chicken.

[benos]

Thanks for all the additional info everyone. I had a feeling this topic would generate some interest and more info from those already in the know on the brine.

Last night - 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sea salt, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, for 20 minutes (instead of 30). It was killer. But maybe a bit too "overbrined" - I'd like the meat's texture to be not quite so soft and ultra juicy. So tonight it will be 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt (will try that instead of powder) for 15 minutes.

be

[ima45dv8]

Thanks for all the additional info everyone. I had a feeling this topic would generate some interest and more info from those already in the know on the brine.

Last night - 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sea salt, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, for 20 minutes (instead of 30). It was killer. But maybe a bit too "overbrined" - I'd like the meat's texture to be not quite so soft and ultra juicy. So tonight it will be 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt (will try that instead of powder) for 15 minutes.

be

"Freestyle!"

I've taken those "Hormel"-type wrapped pork loins available at the grocery store and brined them. I felt a bit silly the first time since it was packed in some sort of juice, but the results were very good. Options abound. Sear it on each side and then finish cooking on the indirect side of the grill (an instant-read thermometer is very handy for this), or slice thinly into medallions and pan-sear briefly on the stove. Both are yummy.

[markcic]

Thanks for all the additional info everyone. I had a feeling this topic would generate some interest and more info from those already in the know on the brine.

Last night - 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sea salt, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, for 20 minutes (instead of 30). It was killer. But maybe a bit too "overbrined" - I'd like the meat's texture to be not quite so soft and ultra juicy. So tonight it will be 2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt (will try that instead of powder) for 15 minutes.

be

Go the other way with the salt and keep the time shorter. you should end up with the same flavor but not too moist. Osmosisforces the salt into the cells of the meat and adds flavor but also allows the meat to hold more water.

Good article on wikipedida about briningand osmosis and a good book about food science and its sequel.

[benos]

For one center cut chop, I settled on: 2 cups water, 1 heaping tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic salt, and soak for 15 minutes. The chop was just right for my salt/garlic factor, and was also not too tender, like it was when I soaked it for 30 minutes.

be

[Joe4d]

Did that with squirrels and groundhogs all the time, usually soaked em over night in the fridge.