A Guy's Guide to Brining

Posted in Wrestling Forums by pletcherflr at 03:50, Sep 07 2013

é??ç·¼ Guy's Guide to Brining

Brining may sound like some fancy culinary technique, but it's really the easiest way to keep what you cook moist and tender every time.

Guys love to grill or roast, <a href="http://www.barrioroma.it/pradaoutlet/">prada occhiali</a> or fry. Anything to put a hunk of meat over heat. But let's admit it: Too often, those chops, roasts, hams and even chicken breasts end up desiccated. The answer is to brine them before they hit the heat.

Here's the exact ratio: 1 gallon water to 1 cup kosher salt. (Or for smaller amounts, better for a couple boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 cup water to one tablespoon salt.)

Keep doubling or tripling the basic ratio until you've got enough brine to cover the meat in a big bowl.

What Can You Brine?

Not <a href="http://www.photo2video.co.uk/truereligion/">true religion outlet</a> fish or shellfish, that's for sure. They're salty enough.

And usually not beef which is not often cooked through but instead grilled or roasted to rare or mediumrare. These lower internal temperatures keep beef juicy and tender.

Instead, brining is meant for things that get cooked all the way through that is, all cuts of pork as well as chicken (whole or in pieces), turkey, game hens, pheasants and quail.

How Do You Do It?

Make your saltwater solution based on the given ratio, put the meat in a big bowl, pour the brine over it and leave it for between 1 hour and 1 day, depending on the size of the cut. When the meat comes out of the brine, rinse it off to remove excess salt from its surface.

Here are two tips:

1. Use a nonreactive container: plastic, stainless steel, glass, or ceramic. The salt will not react with these to form potentially harmful chemicals.

2. Set the bowl of brining meat in the fridge to avoid any contamination issues.

What Do You Do with a Brined Piece of Meat?

Brining first is the best option when you're grilling, roasting, panfrying, or broiling. In other words, whenever a piece of pork or poultry abercrombie italia is subjected to some sort of dry (or dryish) heat.

Brining is not recommended when you're stewing, braising, or poaching. In all these cases, too much added salt will leach out into the soupy dish, turning it inedible.

By contrast, on a grill grate true religion outlet or in a roasting pan, a piece of meat will lose much of that salt as it leaches out in released juices, popping over the fire or evaporating in the pan.

How Does a Brine Work?

In a nutshell, the whole thing is about osmosis: The salt solution is denser than the water packed into the meat's cells. Based on that pressure difference, the saltwater floods into those cells, plumping them up with even more juice. bottega veneta outlet on line Now they can't be overcooked!

Does brining add more sodium? Yes, a little. <a href="http://www.biennalecarrara.it/borsebottegaveneta/">bottega veneta outlet on line</a> But not as much as you might think. The salt itself actually can't permeate <a href="http://www.madeelodesign.de/canadagoose/">canada goose herren</a> the cell walls very well, so much of it stays behind as the surrounding water slips inside.

Is That It?

Actually, there's more. You can change the flavor of <a href="http://www.barrioroma.it/abercrombieandfitch/">abercrombie italia</a> the brine to change the flavor of the meat.

The easiest way is to add some herbs or spices to the brine: bay leaves, whole cloves, crushed allspice prada occhiali berries, crushed juniper berries, citrus zest (lemon, lime, or orange) and/or sprigs of fresh herbs (rosemary is particularly delicious in a salty brine).

Or you can alter the liquid in the brine. Kosher salt plus unsweetened apple juice (along with bay leaves and cinnamon sticks) is a common base for a brine for pork. Keep the liquidtosalt ratio the same no matter what.

You can also add a little brandy for a canada goose herren subtle if sensational kick. Or try wine, port, Madeira or even whiskey. Any of these will bring big flavors to the brine.

However, with the exception of apple juice, none should be used exclusively. Basically, the rest are just flavor additives use only 1/4 to 1/2 cup of them.