Share your brine!


 
Chris_Vagnozzi

Chris_Vagnozzi

TVWBB Member
I can't stress how much brining has changed the way I look at bbq'ing, I want to encourage any generous people to share their tasty brine recipes so we can all taste the spice of life! :)

Here's my easy, go-to non-heating/cooking brine:

(For small whole chicken or turkey)

  • 1 gallon warm water
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Overnight in a covered container, pat dry, oil + season your bird = delicious!

Let's hear some more! (Hopefully this is sticky-worthy for the forum!)
 
I don't usually add oil to my brines. Doesn't it just separate out? It also seems like it would leave a mess in the container.

Otherwise, looks yummy!

I usually add black peppercorns, bay leaf, rosemary and a head of garlic cut in half.
 
Pretty much like DBWallis does his...'cept I'll occasionally add in some Cider Vinegar.

Question though, hot vs. cold? Being that I usually try to brine for 12+ hours, I've always kept mine in the fridge or added ice along the way (if fridge is full). Any benefits to hot vs. cold?
 
For me (and I'm not super experienced), I've used warm water and fridge overnight. I've looked up many brines where you bring it to a rolling boil and yet most still suggest an overnight fridge. I'd like to know as well! :)
 
I boil my brine to help everything dissolve and for the flavors to incorporate, especially if using aromatics/herbs. After the boil, chill with ice if I'm in a hurry or let it cool then refrigerate.
 
DaveW said:
I boil my brine to help everything dissolve and for the flavors to incorporate, especially if using aromatics/herbs. After the boil, chill with ice if I'm in a hurry or let it cool then refrigerate.
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Likewise. I think using a hot brine is technically known as "poaching" :) :D
 
You don't want to put raw meat into hot brine. Brine is sometimes heated to dissolve solids and extract flavor from herbs/spices, but as DaveW says you need to then chill before adding meat. Some recipes create a concentrate of salt/sugar/herbs/spices/aromatics that is heated, then ice is added at the end to bring down the temp and arrive at the desired ratio of salt to water.
 
use half the water in the recipe to get hot/mix/dissolve the spices. Freeze the other half of required water as ice cubes and add the ice to make up the balance of water required.

If you heat all the water with the spices, it'll take forever (ie hours and hours) to get it down to the required 35-38o for doing the actual brining.
 
as mentioned above, you want the brine in the fridge overnight, otherwise you might end up with bacteria-broth.

you can also use a basic brine of 1 C. kosher salt, 1 C. brown sugar, dissolved in 1 gallon water.
 
Bill Klinke said:
as mentioned above, you want the brine in the fridge overnight, otherwise you might end up with bacteria-broth.

you can also use a basic brine of 1 C. kosher salt, 1 C. brown sugar, dissolved in 1 gallon water.
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When I do something like a whole turkey that won't fit in the fridge, I put it in a large cooler and add ice, then just leave it in the kitchen. My cooler is good enough that if I leave it closed, there will still be ice after 48 hours. The food is probably colder in there than in the fridge.
 
I brined a couple extra-thick pork loin chops for about 5 hours in a quart of apple cider with 1/4 cup kosher salt added. I had to heat the brine up to get all the salt to dissolve.

The chops were smoked over apple for about 90 minutes (see the photo gallery forum for pics) to about 135 internal temp, then brushed with butter and reverse-seared (see the grilling forum for my adventures with that!).

The chops were perfectly cooked, incredibly juicy, and well seasoned all the way through. The sweetness of the apple juice gave a nice mellow background flavor to the pork.
 
DBWallis said:
When I do something like a whole turkey that won't fit in the fridge, I put it in a large cooler and add ice, then just leave it in the kitchen. My cooler is good enough that if I leave it closed, there will still be ice after 48 hours. The food is probably colder in there than in the fridge.
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exactly right! I should have mentioned that's what we have done for thanksgiving turkeys for quite some time.
thanks for adding the clarification.
 
Salt n water. Enough salt to float a raw egg in the shell. To me brine is for infusing moisture in typically dry meats such as pork loin and chicken breast. I feel additional flavors get mostly lost. Now dry brines for smoked Salmon are a mix of brown sugar and pickling salt smothering the pieces. Makes for fantastic smoked salmon. KISS... Keep It Simple Stupid! No offense :)
 
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