Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Brine that piggy
It's been said before but it needs to be repeated: brining, or submerging in salty sweet water, pork and chicken before cooking makes it oh so delicious. Doing so will keep it from drying out, will enhance the flavor and in some instances eliminates the need to season it before you cook it.
I'm going to try to get technical here for a second so if you have any knowledge of science beyond high school, you might want to skip this paragraph for your own sake. Brining works through osmosis. You create a salty liquid environment (the brine) and put the meat in it. Somehow, the salt imbalance compels the liquids in the meat to leave until a new imbalance is created at which point the surounding liquid is drawn back into the meat. So plain ole meat juice leaves, and tastier brine liquid replaces it.
The trick is to give it enough time. After about an hour, the liquid is drawn out but it takes another hour or so to replace it. Take it out too soon and you'll get dry meat. I'll usually start a brine after work and cook it three hours later for dinner. Overnight brines work well for those with a tighter schedule. Whatever you do, it's important to dry the meat after brining to help it cook better.
The sort of brine you use depends on what you need out of it. For instance, I use a basic brine (salt and sugar) to prep ribs and chicken for slow cook bbq. The brine here is followed with a dry rub and dose of smoke so everything gets a nice and flavorful. When I'm having weeknight pork chops, I'll toss in dried herbs, bay leaves, maple syrup instead of sugar, soy sauce and whatever else gets in the way. This gives a more flavorful brine that seasons the meat so you don't have to later.
My basic brining technique for 2 or 3 pork chops is to put about three quarters cup of kosher salt and half a cup or so of sugar or brown sugar in a quart bucket. I fill the bottom quarter with hot tap water and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar and then fill the rest of the way with cold to balance the temp. Cover it and refridge for a few hours. This basic brine will enhance the natural flavors and is to be used when additional seasoning will occur later.
A more thorough brine uses the same formula but adds lots of good stuff to provide additional flavors for one step prep. Some ideas: Substitute regular sugar with brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses or honey. Add dried herbs; sage, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary work nicely. Reduce the salt and use soy sauce. Add a little hot sauce if you like. The variations are endless--have fun.
I'm going to try to get technical here for a second so if you have any knowledge of science beyond high school, you might want to skip this paragraph for your own sake. Brining works through osmosis. You create a salty liquid environment (the brine) and put the meat in it. Somehow, the salt imbalance compels the liquids in the meat to leave until a new imbalance is created at which point the surounding liquid is drawn back into the meat. So plain ole meat juice leaves, and tastier brine liquid replaces it.
The trick is to give it enough time. After about an hour, the liquid is drawn out but it takes another hour or so to replace it. Take it out too soon and you'll get dry meat. I'll usually start a brine after work and cook it three hours later for dinner. Overnight brines work well for those with a tighter schedule. Whatever you do, it's important to dry the meat after brining to help it cook better.
The sort of brine you use depends on what you need out of it. For instance, I use a basic brine (salt and sugar) to prep ribs and chicken for slow cook bbq. The brine here is followed with a dry rub and dose of smoke so everything gets a nice and flavorful. When I'm having weeknight pork chops, I'll toss in dried herbs, bay leaves, maple syrup instead of sugar, soy sauce and whatever else gets in the way. This gives a more flavorful brine that seasons the meat so you don't have to later.
My basic brining technique for 2 or 3 pork chops is to put about three quarters cup of kosher salt and half a cup or so of sugar or brown sugar in a quart bucket. I fill the bottom quarter with hot tap water and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar and then fill the rest of the way with cold to balance the temp. Cover it and refridge for a few hours. This basic brine will enhance the natural flavors and is to be used when additional seasoning will occur later.
A more thorough brine uses the same formula but adds lots of good stuff to provide additional flavors for one step prep. Some ideas: Substitute regular sugar with brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses or honey. Add dried herbs; sage, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary work nicely. Reduce the salt and use soy sauce. Add a little hot sauce if you like. The variations are endless--have fun.
# posted by Yossie @ 4:04 PM 
