AB explains the brining process very scientifically in his book I'm Just Here For the Food. It has something to do with cells trying to equal salt levels by bringing the outside water in and sending the inside water out. Or something. It was really over my head. All I know is....it rocks. Every time. For two reasons:
1. It flavors the inside of the meat. You know how salting food while you cook it makes it takes more like itself, but salting food after it's done just makes it taste salty? Same principle. You get all this salt flavor inside the meat, but it doesn't taste salty. It just tastes awesome.
2. For those of us who like our meat more on the done side, brining allows you to cook the meat longer without drying it out. It takes in so much water, that you could cook it for days and it would still be juicy.
So here's AB's basic brine:
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
- Once boiling, dissolve 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar in the water.
- Once dissolved, pour into two cups of ice (this increases the water by 2 cups, and cools down the boiling water so you can put the meat in it without cooking it).
- Put the brining solution into a big ziplock bag and add the meat.
- Squeeze out all the excess air before zipping closed.
- Refrigerate for eight hours or overnight. If you don't have eight hours, or didn't plan ahead, you can still brine for a shorter period of time, but more is better.
It's that easy. Once you get used to this brine, you can change it up some by adding other flavors, but I love this one so much that I haven't changed it. I use this amount of brining solution for a whole chicken, pork tenderloin, or eye of round roast. If I'm brining something thinner, like a flank steak, I usually reduce the salt and sugar by half; otherwise, it can get salty. If I'm brining something bigger, like two chickens or a turkey, I increase the salt and sugar by a quarter or so and double the water (you'll get the hang of it after a while).
I don't know what this solution does to the nutritional value of the meat, and I don't want to know. I can't go back now so why bother with all that bad news.
So next time you're having the in-laws over and you really want to wow them with your meat skills, throw your main course through a brine before cooking. You'll be glad you did.
4 comments:
I've been meaning to try AB's brining method on something, and now I think you've inspired me. Trouble is, I mostly cook just a couple of chicken breasts rather than a whole chicken. Think it could still work...?
Absolutely - just cut it way back. I would probably use 1/4 to a 1/3 cup salt/sugar for four medium breasts. You could probably try something shy of 1/4 cup for two breasts.
If you're a multi-tasker - brine four, eat two and save two for chicken salad. That way, you get the most bang for your brine.
Guess I should pull my copy of AB's book off the ol' shelf.
You read his baking book? I've got it but haven't looked though it much yet.
I love his blackened tuna seasoning from the first book. I've taken to using it just as a sprinkled seasoning on our tuna steaks rather than actually going through the whole blackening thing.
Jennifer's dad followed AB's advice to build a smoker out of flower pots and a hot plate. He's since modified it to utilize cardboard boxes instead...
I do have the baking book - try the meringue pie crust - you don't really even need to put a filling in it - it's the bomb-diggity.
Glad to hear the smoker works - Mark was saying not two day ago that he wanted to try that...Go George!
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