Basic Brine Recipes

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.

MASTER BRINE RECIPE FOR MEATS

Steps:

• Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely before using.
• Large heavy duty sealable plastic bags work the best.

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.

EASIEST TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse: When you're ready to begin roasting your turkey, remove it from the brine and rinse it with cool water. It's ok if the water is tinged pink. Pat dry.
• Roast the turkey as usual: There's no need to salt the turkey before roasting, but otherwise, roast the turkey as usual following your favorite recipe. If desired, stuff the cavity of the turkey with leftover sage and the peeled lemons and oranges from preparing the brine. Roasting time may be shortened; begin checking the temperature of the turkey halfway through roasting.

BASIC PORK BRINE

Steps:

• Mix water, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in garlic and ginger.

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.)

CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• If water is cold, heat it for about 90 - 120 seconds in the microwave (you want it very warm, but not hot). You can also do this on the stove top if you prefer.
• Stir salt and brown sugar into water. Stir until salt and sugar are completely dissolved and liquid is translucent.
• Add chicken to a watertight bowl or bag. Pour brining liquid over chicken and seal bag or cover bowl tightly. Make sure brine covers chicken completely; prepare additional brine if necessary.
• Allow chicken to brine in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Pat chicken dry with a clean towel or cloth before cooking.

SIMPLE BRINE RECIPE FOR PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• MAKE COLD BRINE SOLUTION: Add all brine solution ingredients to large food-grade bag (e.g. ziploc) or a glass or stainless steel large bowl. Stir or squish bag until salt and sugar are dissolved (30 seconds). Note 1.
• BRINE PORK CHOPS: Add pork chops to bag or bowl ensuring they are fully submerged in the brine solution. Place in fridge. For thinner pork chops (1/2 inch/0.27cm or less), brine for 30-60 minutes. For thicker chops, brine 1-2 hours.
• FINISH AND CONTINUE WITH PORK CHOP RECIPE: Remove from brining bag or bowl and discard brine. Rinse pork chops under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Continue with pork chop recipe.

HOME CANNING: MULTI PURPOSE PICKLING BRINE RECIPE

Steps:

• InstructionsMix vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a low boil until sugar and salt is dissolved. Keep hot but do not continue to boil. You can reheat the brine just prior to filling your jars if necessary. The brine must be hot before filling your jars.

QUICK CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• Combine water, salt, and aromatics (garlic, herbs, etc.) in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Place ice (or ice water) in a large bowl (or very large measuring cup) and pour brine over ice. Stir until ice is melted.
• Place chicken in a large plastic bag and pour brine over chicken. Seal and let sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Drain chicken and pat dry. Use in any recipe, but make sure to only lightly salt the chicken surface once you've brined it.