pork brine recipe

Salt is essential to the process because it changes the proteins so they hold more water.

I use a basic brine formula of 5% salt and 2.5% sugar (any type, can also play with the amount of sugar to taste) by weight.

I simmer half the liquid with the sugar and salt, and with any aromatics I'm using. The other half of the liquid I add as ice to cool it down to safe temp.

Acids slow down the brining process.

2 hours should be plenty for 1 to 1.5 inch thick. How thick are they? 8 to 24 hours is in the range of whole birds to large pieces of meat.

Some people swear by resting the meat outside of the brine for a while to let the brine evenly distribute in the meat. Sounds like it would work well for bigger pieces of meat.

Salt and sugar are not the only players, most good meat and poultry brines have some acid too.  Aromatics are a nice touch.

Buy some  "Orange, Peach, Mango" juice from the supermarket.  If they don't have it, you could use lemonade, limeade, a combination of apple and white grape juices, just plain orange juice, TJ's Pomegranite/Limeade, or what have.   The point is to find something fruity and "kid sweet."  Pour a pint into a pan.  In the meantime, dissolve ABOUT 1/4 cup plus 1 tbs of regular salt into a pint of hot water.  If you want to get fancy, slice a half onion and boil it in the water for a few minutes before adding   Mix the liquids (along with any aromatics you like) and taste.  If it tastes "way over salted" you're good to go.  If not, add more salt. 

You can certainly add white sugar, brown sugar or molasses to the brine.  Just remember to taste before using, and that a brine should taste very salty and NOT taste sweet or good.  While you can certainly use careful measurement and complicated brine recipes, your own taste is a far better guide.  Especially yours which are so highly developed. 

You'll want to brine thick pork chops for about four hours before grilling as you want the brine to penetrate all the way through the meat.

As alternatives to the lighter, water and juice brines, try heavily salted yogurt or buttermilk.  In addition to protecting "juiciness," they bring a fair bit of tenderizing, is to use heavily salted yogurt or buttermilk. 

People who do a lot of brining choose uniodized salt, because iodizine can leave a sort of purplish cast.  But your half-day brine shouldn't be a problem.

When you season your chops with rub, you'll want to be very conservative with the salt.

BDL

I always brine my chickens before grilling and they come out wonderful. Also I add some canola oil and it makes the chicken even more juicy. Reading this thread makes me wonder if the brining will make my pork ribs more plump and juicy too?

Do you mean to let the meat rest outside the brine a while after it had brined and you take it out of the brine?

thanks

My usual brine    water, brown sugar, white sugar, salt. garlic, oregano , thyme.     I use this for smoking fish(overnight)  chicken, pork, beef.  Only I do not leave overnight.  .If it is for pork or pork ribs pork marinade I add soy or terriaki sauce and ginger. I have been using this for.20 years and never had problem or complaint that I know of.  Simple, easy uncomplicated  the same all the time.

WELCOME BACK COUNSELOR,  Hope your well.  EDB

I see lots advice better than any I can offer, but you asked for recipes too, and he're mine.

I don't have the proportions, I kinda of wing it.

Salt, Brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, 1 roasted red apple, 1 roasted red onion, ginger, rosemary, sage, whole allspice... god i feel like i'm forgetting something...

Cinnamon! and stock!

Good for turkey or pork

I will also make a dry rub out of most of those ingredients for the meat too. Done right, it will be on the fine line between bold and too spicy.

Add red wine, beet, or simple food coloring to a brine  to add a ring of red around the outside of your cuts of meet.  However, I see that at Chinese restaurants more than anything.

Why meats especially pork gets tough after cooking?

For a kilo of slice pork, what should be your brine formula?

Thanks you.

With brines, quantities and times are very flexible and contingent.  There should be enough liquid to cover the meat, much more is a waste.  The amount of salt and the type of meat determine how long the meat spends in brine.  You want the meat to absorb the maximum amount of fluid without becoming too salty.

If we're talking a kilo of pork chops, cut around 25cm thick, two liters of water, 125g of table salt, 75g white sugar, and 60ml of cider vinegar 4 hours would be fair.

The sugar and vinegar play a variety of roles in this brine.  Not the least important is to balance the taste of the salt.

When you're ready to cook, wipe the meat off but do not rinse.  Season as usual, omitting or severely limiting salt.  Better to under salt and correct at the table, as it's not easy to come back if you over salt.  Don't expect to get your levels and times exactly right the first time, that takes practice and experience.  On the other hand, your meat should be much juicier than what you're used to.  But brining adds some margin with meats which tend to cook dry -- like most modern pork.  However, there are limits.  If you severely over cook, use too high or too low a fire, or do other things which dry and toughen, you'll end up with a dry, tough product.  Brining helps, but it's not a miracle.

Good luck

BDL

I've come across some references to an equilibrium brine lately. No clue what the concentrations are, but it's appearently much less time sensitive.

All brines are "time sensitive."  Weak brines take a long time, strong brines work quickly.  It's the nature of diffusion, the chemical process which "powers" brines.   I think what you're getting at is that if you use a weak brine, one made at the same concentration you eventually want for the meat, you won't "over-brine" by leaving the meat in solution for a long time.  There's some truth to that, but not all of the harm of a liquid solution lies in the electrolytes.  If you've got to leave the meat in the bucket over the weekend for whatever reason, you might be better off cooking something else.

BDL

Thanks BDL for  sharing your experiences, could you tell the differences between weak and strong brines?

Any protein that is OVERCOOKED will get tough.

Just for a different viewpoint....

Why is it that when processors pump up their proteins with liquid we call it evil, wicked, sinful, and money grubbing, but then talk about methods of achieving the same thing ourselves?

More to the point, I don't brine. When the idea was first picking up steam I tried it. And have eaten brined foods that others have prepared. Have never had a dish made that way that didn't taste overly salty to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

Just for a different viewpoint....

 

Why is it that when processors pump up their proteins with liquid we call it evil, wicked, sinful, and money grubbing...

Because they charge the price of protein for salt water?
 

Besides being charged for the salt water as Pete mentions, it's about the cook being in control of the result, not the vendor. I'm on a sodium restriction so I don't want meat pre-salted by the butcher/meat packer.

Brining has it's place, but it's not something I do much of any more. For poultry, I've taken to a form of home koshering and been quite pleased with the results.

A "strong" brine is one with one cup of table salt per gallon of liquid, or more.  A "weak" brine is one with 1/2 cup of table salt per gallon of liquid, or more.

Brines may contain sugar(s), acid(s) and aromatics, or they may not.  Like salt, sugars and acids both help "power" brines because of their tendencies to equilibrate through diffusion.   They also help balance the salt, which may otherwise become overwhelming.  Brining proteins confers the benefit of extra moisture, however they are very salty so care and imagination must be used to balance their inherent saltiness and minimize salt in other places.  For instance, if I brine and rub, I'll make a rub with little or no salt. 

You'll notice that the brines I suggested were based on fruit juice and aromatics.  This was not only for their chemical properties and the way "sweet" and "acid" tend to minimize and/or compliment salt, but to add some character and complexity.  Properly brined meats and fish should not taste too salty.  But you have to do it right and doing it right is sometimes more than following a formula with the "right" concentration of salt. 

A product of the birth of California Cuisine, my cooking "philosophy" and goal is to bring out, enhance and compliment the natural flavors in the "star" of the dish, not to mask them.  Brining is simply a tool in that arsenal and like any tool it needs to be used skillfully and judiciously.

Brining is a fact of life in smoking fish, pretty much all smoked fish is well brined.  And I know the man likes his corned-beef and pastrami. Consequently, I have to take KY's statement that all brined dishes are too salty... well... with a grain of salt.

Toughness is not an inevitable result from cooking things well done, or even beyond well done.  There are methods -- usually one form of low and slow or another -- which make for a very tender product.  However, some proteins and methods respond very well to brining.  Most of today's "modern" pork loin is very lean and tends to dry out and become tough at a fairly low temperature.  But, a great many people like their pork well done -- either for the flavor and texture profiles or because they mistakenly believe pork in the medium/medium rare range isn't safe.  In any case they prefer it, and our goal is to make them happy.  Brining gives you some leeway in that you can cook loin to the 160-165 range and keep it juicy and tender.

BDL

Consequently, I have to take KY's statement that all brined dishes are too salty... well... with a grain of salt.

Never, ever, said that, BDL. What I said is those that I've brined, and those that I've tasted that others have brined, were too salty. We're talking things like pork and chicken here, and that should have been inferred.

Sure, pastrami and corned-beef are brined. And the fact is, they are, almost by definition, too salty. I just happen to like those products salty. But I don't like it when it dominates a grilled chicken or pork loin.

I also don't like any food technique that reaches the "this is the only way to do it" stage. And if brining hasn't reached that point in many quarters it's certainly right on the edge of it.

The simple fact is, I don't brine pork or poultry. And when I cook it it remains juicy and tender nonetheless.

Lets say if we get everythings right, now comes to the frying part of  pcs of pork, and i am going to cook it just right, what you think should be the idea read temperature? 

What's the cut of pork? Target temperatures will vary with the cut.

1cm and 1.5 cm thick

Don't bother brining at 1cm thick, that's way too thin . Just cook it high and fast.  Even 1.5cm (6/10") is marginal.  I wouldn't brine it at all, but you can certainly try.  An hour in a weak brine should be sufficient for anything positive.  After that, your meat will certainly be watery -- the other major pitfall (besides over-salting) of brining.

Think of 2cm as a practical lower limit for brining pork loin chops.

BDL

Hi Chefedb, fortunate to know you here and certainly hope you guide us and share your rich experiences as and when the need arises.

Take care and wish you good health.

Thought you might like to see a pic of brined pork chops in action. 

These were cut from a whole loin, about an inch (~2.5cm) thick, brined in orange / peach / mango juice plus salt and my basic "pork rub;" after removal from the brine they were seasoned with a salt-free but otherwise identical rub; grilled over an oak fire to a ",medium-well" internal of about 155F (how my wife likes it).  They were tender enough (if not remarkable on that front) and quite juicy.  While you could taste salt in the juices, they were not overly salty.  Yes, at 145F they would have been even better, but brining provided the leeway to overcook and still produce more than acceptable meat. 

BDL

Great picture BDL, thanks for sharing.I am salivating!!!