First of all, a brine is a solution of salt and water. Simple. But what does it do, and WHY it does it is the most important question. Salt is important because of two things, it is absorbed in water, and it makes things taste darn good. The ONLY rock we eat is salt, and without it we'll die and if we did survive life would just SUCK-DE-POOPO. Salt does not make food salty, salt makes food taste more like themselves and that tastes good.
So why does putting meat into a solution of water and salt make meat better? It comes down to science of a balance of pressure. The idea is that forces wanted to be balanced, so when there is more salt and water on the outside of the meat then the inside causes an exchange of salt to the inside of the meat, but with it comes water. So now we have effectively seasoned and added extra moisture to the meat. The key here is to add flavors to the brine which than will carry deep into the meat. So EVERY BITE tastes like MMMM BOY flavor! And before we get to flavoring, let's go to...
SALT
Table salt is made in a process that produces even sized, even dense and added iodine. Table salt is so pure and so clean that it does only one good thing, it cleans up grease. Spill grease, pour table salt on it, sweep it up. So then the salt of choice is kosher. Which is jagged shapes of various sizes and densities, and has a texture almost like flaky rocks. This is PERFECT to stick to meats, absorb at different rates, and the taste is very pure neutral. Unfortunately with it's size and shape, doesn't dissolve too easily. And I like things easy.
Kosher Salt
I use in my brine a special salt, that has similar taste to kosher, but much more easily dissolved. I use canning or pickling salt. It's such a small and tiny salt crystal it almost dissolves instantly in cold water. Pickling salt is easy to obtain, too. The downside to pickling salt is that it needs to be in an air tight container and kept away from any moisture. It will CLUMP like a crazy.
Pickling or Canning Salt
Pickling Salt to Kosher Salt
Flavoring the Rock
For this particular post, I will make a general brine for both poultry and pork. I LOVE a traditional blend called "Herb de Provence" and you can buy a premixed blend, it's super simple to make your own. All you need is equal parts of...
- Dried Thyme (actually add a touch more thyme for a traditional blend)
- Dried Basil
- Fennel Seeds
- Dried Savory
- Dried Lavender
When I make my all purpose brine I make it very simple with the following blend
- 1 lbs of pickling salt
- 1 cup herb de provence
- 1 tbs garlic powder
- 1 tbs onion powder
- 2 gallons of hot, not boiling water
Now this part is simple...
Fine a container that will hold your meat, with room for the solution to go all around it. So no squeezing it into a tiny cooler! Also be sure you can FIT the container into your fridge! DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE DANGER ZONE BOO!
Take your hot water and the flavors of the brine into the container and whisk it until the salt is completely dissolves.
Place a big bowl of ice into the water to cool it off, and when it feels no longer hot, add your meat. And wait a good 24 hours. Keep it in your fridge and just wait... wait... wait...
Before you cook your meat, make sure you drain off all your meat, if it's poultry make sure the cavity is empty, and cook!
It's that simple. Salt and water, some seasoning, and the WHOLE meat is completely tasty!
That's a BRINE idea!
Brine is great poultry hands down, without a doubt, and bird game too! Duck, goose, quail, pheasant all perfect! Pork, my GOD! Any part of a pig can be brined! You can really change a pork chop to eh, to SHEET amazing~! Fish is great too! If you are using a white fish, try to brine the fish whole if size permits, red meat fish or white fish that can be cut into steaks can be brined with love! Beef doesn't do well to brining in my opinion. I feel the flavor of beef and the fat in it add enough to the inside flavor.
If you are making something small like a few thighs, you can easily adjust this recipe to what you need. I keep it at 2 gallons because this is the perfect size for big pieces of pork and whole chickens and turkey breasts.
If you have ANY questions I will answer them here or email me at dagucoon@gmail.com
Also send me your success! :D
You say in here to wait 24 hours does this apply to all meats or only to large joints or birds?
ReplyDeleteGreat description. Very clear and easy to follow. I'll even forgive you the title of this post. ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Yelleena! If you are brining say a SINGLE breast, a good 12 hours is good. But really anything larger or with more pieces like say mutliple chicken pieces or a couple of chops, that should get a good 24 hours.
ReplyDelete