A Simple Brine Food

HOW TO MAKE A BASIC BRINE

Steps:

• Brining is a process similar to marinating in that both expose food to a flavored liquid, but they actually work in significantly different ways. Marinating is usually a relatively short process (3 - 5 hours) that primarily uses acid to break down meat fibers, resulting in greater tenderness. The flavors involved are often strong and leave a big impact on the food. Brining on the other hand, uses osmosis (via a combination of salt and water), to develop flavor and moisture. How does brining work? Salt draws moisture out of food; which doesn't sounds like a good thing. As an experiment, take two slices of eggplant, and liberally salt one but not the other. Let them sit on separate plates for 10 minutes. When you come back, you'll find that the salted slice has exuded a significant amount of water to the surface, while the other still looks relatively dry. That water is drawn out by the salt. So you may ask, if salt pulls water out of food, wouldn't brining a piece of meat pull all of the moisture out of it? Well, the answer is it does, but that ok because of....Osmosis. Osmosis, is a process where water moves and out of cells. And because salt draws water, we can use it to actually move water in and out of food. Without getting into the gory details, the salt in a brine, given enough time, will carry moisture (and potentially flavor) into whatever is being brined. Most brines also contain sugar, to balance out the salt, and bring some additional flavor the party. You can also add many other flavors, like peppercorn, or other spices, herbs, or other flavoring liquids. Unlike marinades, you need to brine for a long time (I never do less than 8 hours). Short periods will draw moisture out of food, without giving time for it to be pulled back in. Applications - what should I brine? I generally use brines for low fat cuts of meat. Brines are great for chicken, pork, and turkeys. In fact, I don't think I've cooked an unbrined pork chop in years. Depending on the meat, and what your mood is, you can vary up the brine's flavors but they should always have salt, sugar and water. Some Brine Recipes: Chicken or Turkey Brine Pork Brine Flavored Brines How to make a brine The basic brine consists of three elements - salt, sugar, and water (technically just water and salt, but I never make one without sugar). I use about ½ cup of both sugar and salt to one quart of water. To ensure that the salt and sugar dissolve in the water, I'll mix the salt/sugar in boiling water, using ½ the amount of total water, and then cool the mixture by added the other ½ quart's worth of water in ice cubes. While water is water, and salt, salt (actually there's many different types of salt, but for a brine I'd just use regular kosher salt), you can definitely have some fun with the sugar. White table sugar is just fine to use, but brown sugar carries a different flavor, as does honey, molasses, and maple syrup. By swapping any of these with white sugar you can modify the flavor of the finished product. You can also add other flavor components to the dish - peppercorns at a minimum, but any other spices or herbs you'd like, or aromatic vegetables like onion, carrot and celery. With each, the flavor will get carried into the meat as it brines. Preparation & Cooking I like to take the meat out of the brine for 15 - 20 minutes before I'm ready to cook it, so that it comes back up to room temperature (always keep your brining foods in the fridge) and to release some of the excess moisture. Then I season them as normal. One thing to note, is that the meat's taken on a lot more sugar than its natural state, and sugar burns more quickly than protein. So be a bit more diligent than normal and check the sear a little sooner than you might otherwise to prevent burning.

A SIMPLE BRINE

Steps:

• Bring salt, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil in a very large (16-quart) pot, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved.
• Turn off heat. Add remaining ingredients to brine base. Refrigerate, uncovered, until cold.
• Add 6 quarts cold water to pot. Add turkey. Place a plate on top of turkey to keep submerged. Cover; chill for up to 72 hours. (The turkey will be moister and more flavorful if allowed to brine the full 72 hours.)

BASIC BRINE FOR SMOKING MEAT

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine the salt, sugar and water. Whisk vigorously until all the salt and sugar is dissolved. Then pour this mixture over the meat, poultry, or fish that you are preparing. Soak for several hours, or overnight. (Note: Make certain the meat is fully submerged in the brine, and make more brine as needed to fully cover the meat.)

SIMPLE CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• Pour the warm water into a container that is twice the volume of the water. Pour in the salt, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then allow the brine to cool to room temperature.
• To use, place chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate two hours for skinless breasts, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 4 hours to overnight for whole chickens. Drain and pat the chicken dry before cooking. One gallon of brine is enough for 6 pounds of whole chicken or bone-in chicken pieces, and up to 10 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

BASIC ALL PURPOSE BRINE FOR MEATS, CHICKEN, AND TURKEY

Steps:

• Makes 1 quart- make up additional amounts of brine if needed until meat is submerged.
• Stir ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Continue stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Allow to cool.
• Place meat or poultry in a food safe plastic bag inside another container for support and leakage control (oven roasting bags are a fine choice- NOT garbage bags).
• Pour cooled brine into bag, and squeeze out as much air as possible and seal with a twistie tie.
• Refrigerate for 3-4 hours for 3 pounds meat (such as pork ribs), 5-6 hours for a nice roasting hen, or 12-24 hours for a turkey, 12 hours being for a small one and the longer time for those turkeys around 20+ pounds.
• Discard brine before using and pat meat dry.
• If using poultry, you may want to add citrus fruit such as oranges or lemons, additional fresh herbs, or cloves of garlic into the cavity.
• Prepare meat as desired- roast, bbq, etc.

TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• In a large stock pot, combine the vegetable broth, sea salt, rosemary, sage, thyme, and savory. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to be sure salt is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.
• When the broth mixture is cool, pour it into a clean 5 gallon bucket. Stir in the ice water.
• Wash and dry your turkey. Make sure you have removed the innards. Place the turkey, breast down, into the brine. Make sure that the cavity gets filled. Place the bucket in the refrigerator overnight.
• Remove the turkey carefully draining off the excess brine and pat dry. Discard excess brine.
• Cook the turkey as desired reserving the drippings for gravy. Keep in mind that brined turkeys cook 20 to 30 minutes faster so watch the temperature gauge.