Make a Basic Brine
Cooking dries meat by about 30 percent. You can make moist, flavorful meats that lose as little 15 percent of their water if you refrigerate meats in basic saltwater brine before cooking. The salt in the water changes the meat so it draws in brine and retains moisture while cooking. Brining works best on low-fat meats like chicken, turkey and lean pork, as most cuts of red meat are fatty and don't need brining.
Contents
Steps
Basic Brine
- Make 1 gallon (3.78 liters) of brine for 6 lbs. (2.72 kg) of meat.
- Mix 1 cup (227 grams) of salt for each gallon (3.78 liters) of water you use in your brine.
- If you make sweet brine, mix 1 cup (227 grams) of brown sugar plus 1 cup of salt per gallon.
- Cut the salt and sugar by half if you need just a half gallon (1.89 liters), or by 3/4 if you need just 1 quart (.946 liter).
Flavored Brine
- Make a flavored brine with garlic powder and ground black pepper or other seasonings.
- Add 1 cup (227 grams) of salt, 1 cup of white sugar, 4 tablespoons (60 grams) of garlic powder and 3 tablespoons (45 grams) of ground black pepper to 1/2 gallon (1.89 liters) of hot water. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve.
- Add crushed ice until you have about 1 gallon (3.78 liters) of brine.
- Experiment with flavorings in your brine. Add to the brine water apple juice, wine, lemon, thyme, maple syrup, soy sauce, chili powder or onions. You may also add cumin or coriander seeds, jalapeno peppers, fresh herbs, honey or rosemary. Amounts of seasonings vary depending on how much water you use. Do not over-season brine because you could ruin the meat. Add seasonings to your taste.
Brining the Meat
- Submerge the meat in the brine and refrigerate.
- If you can't fit the container in the refrigerator, place ice cubes in the brine as needed to keep the water cold. Put the ice in a sealable plastic bag and place the bag in the brine if you are brining a thick piece of meat or a turkey in a large amount of brine liquid.
- Keep the piece of meat submerged, if possible. If not, turn the meat occasionally and lengthen the time you brine.
- Brining time depends on the thickness of the meat and the intensity of the brine. It takes more time to thoroughly brine a thicker piece of meat.
- Brine a 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) thick piece of meat in the refrigerator for a half hour; 1 inch (25.4 mm) for 1 hour; 2 inch (50.8 mm) for 3 hours; and 3 inch (76.2 mm) for 8 hours.
Tips
- Use a pot made of non-reactive metal such as steel. Do not use copper or aluminum because these will react with the salt and may damage the pot and release metals into the brine.
- When you are done brining, rinse the meat off under cold water and pat it dry. Refrigerate for an hour to give the brine time to equalize through the meat.
- If not rinsing:
- 40 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 14 hours
- To help dissolve the salt, add the salt to 1/2 the amount of warm water and stir until dissolved. Then add the warm water to cold water.
- 30 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 48 hours
- 30 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 32 hours
- 45 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 9 hours
- These are brine proportions that have worked. Remember that brines do not penetrate well no matter how much time you leave cuts in them. Leaving a cut for too much time in too salty water will actually make it tougher.
- In case you need to rinse (e.g. brining with yogurt instead of water):
- 35 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 21 hours
- 45 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 14 hours
- You could make a "voodoo doll" out of your cuts, sticking a fork all the way everywhere psycho style. Be careful if you go above 20% sugar. If using 60 g salt for example, keep sugar below 12 g. 10% is nice (i.e. 6 g sugar for 60 g salt) and anything beyond 20% will taste hammy.
- 50 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 9 hours
- 50 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 6 hours
- 35 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 32 hours
- 55 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 6 hours
- 55 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 4 hours
- 40 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 21 hours
- 60 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 5 hours
- 60 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 3 hours
Warnings
- Don't brine meats that say "self-basting," "flavor-enhanced" or "enhanced" on the package. Salty fluids are already injected into these meats.
