Wednesday, May 28, 2008 8:09 AM
How (and why) should I brine meat?
If you’ve never brined a chicken breast, you won’t really believe the
impact brining has on meat until you actually taste it. Brining makes meat very tender and juicy. The meat
does not dry out the way un-brined meat can when it’s overcooked. If
you’re prone to overcooking meat, brining is the answer to your
culinary shortcomings.
Brines are like marinades, but instead of using an acid like vinegar or citrus to flavor and tenderize meat, you use a strong saltwater solution. Meat absorbs the brine, the salt in the brine untangles the proteins in meat, and water gets trapped inside the cell structure. The water inside the meat “plumps” the cell structure, and the meat stays juicy and tender.
The cool thing about brining is that the saltwater solution actually penetrates the meat. If you flavor the brine with seasonings, like herbs or spices, those flavors will also be absorbed into the meat. (A marinade, on the other hand, impacts the surface flavor and texture of the meat—it doesn’t actually get inside.)
After brining, cook the meat as you normally would--whether you're grilling, baking, frying or sauteeing. Don’t worry about brined meat tasting too salty. The sugar in a brine balances the flavor of the salt, and the cooked meat won’t taste salty. (You can also use honey, white sugar, or even a very sweet juice as the sweetener.)
Basic Brine
Brines 3 to 4 pounds of meat
Try this basic brine on chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, wings), shrimp or pork.
3/4 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 gallon water
Seasoning Ideas (optional)
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
4 smashed garlic cloves
1 jalapeno, sliced into rings
1 onion, quartered
1 tablespoon citrus zest
1/4 cup vodka or bourbon
1 1-inch piece ginger, sliced
In a large pot, heat the salt, sugar and water until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. (The brine does not need to come to a full boil.) Remove the brine solution from the heat and allow it to cool completely in the refrigerator.
When the brine is fully cooled, put the meat you’re brining in two gallon-size zip-top bags, and pour half of the cold brine in each bag. Place the bags in a large bowl or on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch drips) and brine the meat for 1 to 2 hours. (The length of the brining time depends on the size of the meat. Shrimp takes less than an hour, chicken pieces brine in about 11/2 hours. Thick pork chops or tenderloin can take as much as 8 hours of brining time.
Brining Tips
* Always start with a cold brine. This is vital for food safety—throwing cold chicken into a hot brine is a recipe for a food safety disaster. If you’re in a hurry, decrease the amount of water in the solution by 1 or 2 cups, and add ice cubes to quick-cool the brine after dissolving the salt.
* Always use kosher salt.
* Never—ever—reuse a brine.
* Zip-top bags work best because you can fully immerse the meat in the brine and flip the bags to distribute the marinade. Large buckets also work, but be sure it fits inside your refrigerator.
The food science of brining
Brined meat undergoes
osmosis. All meat contains saltwater, but the salt in the meat is not
as strong as the salt content of the brine. When meat is soaked in a
heavily salted liquid, the meat absorbs the brine until the
concentration of salt inside the meat is the same as the concentration
of the salt in the brine—in effect, the meat tries to “correct” the
salt imbalance by absorbing more salt.)