Couple of brining questions?

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g23

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i recently discovered the world of brining and absolutely loved it.

i brined my first pork chops last night and it came out so juicy that i actually liked eating pork chops but found it just a bit too salty.

i use the regular brine of 1 cup salt, 1 cup browm sugar to a gallon of water and brined for 7 hours ( jim tarantino recommended time)

next time i would like to half the salt and sugar but read somewhere that anything under 3/4 cup is not exactly a brine as it's not a 20% salt solution something like that. so do i

1. half the brinning time to say mabe 4 hours

2. or go ahead and half the salt and sugar anyway and brine for same time of 7 hours?

any input from experienced briners? thanks.
 
7 hours seems like a very long time for chops IMO, but if you liked the results then that is all that matters. Personally I would go for 2-3 hours max. I am not sure about that 20% thing either. If it is salt water, as long as there is more salt in the water than in the meat then the brine will have an effect. I also think that is a lot of sugar. I would cut the sugar in half at the minimum. These are just my personal tastes though and yours may be different so try a bunch of different ways and see what you like the best.
 
GB said:
7 hours seems like a very long time for chops IMO, but if you liked the results then that is all that matters. Personally I would go for 2-3 hours max. I am not sure about that 20% thing either. If it is salt water, as long as there is more salt in the water than in the meat then the brine will have an effect. I also think that is a lot of sugar. I would cut the sugar in half at the minimum. These are just my personal tastes though and yours may be different so try a bunch of different ways and see what you like the best.


aparently pork takes 4 times longer to brine than chicken ( so i've read in a few sites). chicken breast is usually 1-2 hours so 6-8 hrs for pork seem to tally up. although if you've brined your pork for 2-3 hours and still have it juicy i might try that time. hopefully that will also cut back on the saltiness a bit.
 
Yeah I have found that brining times depend on the size of the meat, not the type of animal. I breast or chop will take a lot less time then a roast or whole bird.

If your chops were too salty then you have 3 options.

1. cut back on the brining time.
2. cut back on the amount of salt in the brine.
3. both of the above.
 
GB said:
Yeah I have found that brining times depend on the size of the meat, not the type of animal. I breast or chop will take a lot less time then a roast or whole bird.

If your chops were too salty then you have 3 options.

1. cut back on the brining time.
2. cut back on the amount of salt in the brine.
3. both of the above.

would cutting back on my time affect the juiciness of the pork or is that just something i would have to do to decide. i think i would probably have to experiment right? thanks for your help gb
 
Both time and the salt content will affect the juiciness. It will also affect the texture of the meat. Many people find that meat that is brined too long has a very unpleasant texture. But yes, experimentation will be key for you. It is a fun thing to experiment with though. Try using soy sauce as part of the salt. You can also try adding other flavors like herbs as well.
 
GB said:
Both time and the salt content will affect the juiciness. It will also affect the texture of the meat. Many people find that meat that is brined too long has a very unpleasant texture. But yes, experimentation will be key for you. It is a fun thing to experiment with though. Try using soy sauce as part of the salt. You can also try adding other flavors like herbs as well.

yes i would like to add herbs to it as well but i think i better get this salt sugar and time right first before experimenting further:)
 
Yep. Better to start with the basics first.

I actually omit the sugar from my brine. I do not find it adds anything that I enjoy. There are others who agree with me and also others who would not dream of making a brine without some sort of sugar. That is the great thing about cooking. We can all do what we enjoy and there is no right or wrong answer.

Now that you have discovered brining you will use this technique a lot I am sure. Those that love it really love it!
 
Did you rinse before cooking?
I am not a fan of brining except for shrimp--30 minutes for previously frozen shrimp really makes them succulent and "fresh".
 
I never rinse, but again that is just personal preference. I have tried rinsing and have not noticed any difference. Neither did the people I was feeding.
 
Isn't brining awesome!! I do it all the time for pork chops and chicken breasts. What a difference! No more dried out meat!

For pork chops and pieces of chicken I brine for 1 to 2 hours (usually closer to 1 hour). I usually only use a quart of H20 for small pieces of meat. To the quart I add 1/4 cup kosher salt and 2 tablespoons sugar - brown or white. Sometimes I add seasonings to the brine but more often I do not as I like to add seasonings or rubs before I bake or grill the meat.

BTW, I rinse and pat dry the meat after brining.
 
GB said:
Yep. Better to start with the basics first.

I actually omit the sugar from my brine. I do not find it adds anything that I enjoy. There are others who agree with me and also others who would not dream of making a brine without some sort of sugar. That is the great thing about cooking. We can all do what we enjoy and there is no right or wrong answer.

Now that you have discovered brining you will use this technique a lot I am sure. Those that love it really love it!

now that you metioned sugar i actually think that i will omit it in the future as well. i don't like sugar much on my food and i could just get a taste of it on my pork chops making it a bit hammy. i only included it cos recipe said it would balance the salt and bring out the savory part of the meat instead of just the saltiness. nest time i would half the sugar and if i still don't like it omit it altogether.


i would be brining chicken breasts today. my brine would be 1 Tbsp of table salt ( don't have kosher) to a liter of water. i work this out roughly using the 1/2 cup salt to 1 gallon water. i plan to brine for 2 hours. hope this turn out nice and less salty than my pork. wish me luck
 
Candocook said:
Did you rinse before cooking?
I am not a fan of brining except for shrimp--30 minutes for previously frozen shrimp really makes them succulent and "fresh".


yes rinse and pat dry
 
In my opinion there is a definite answer to this question.

You brined the chops for far too long. I looked up a number of recipes, including this one, by Alton Brown which is foolproof and almost all of them called for brining pork chops for 2 hours. I found a few 4 hours and one 6 hours but the standard seems to be 2 hours.

Cooks Illustrated (? I am pretty sure) ran some experiments and determined that using less salt renders poor results. They actually tell you to use twice as much salt and brine for half as much time, if a "quick" brine is necessary.

I suggest you leave the salt amount alone, half the sugar (IMO it's really a detectable flavor enhancer) and brine for 2 hours.
 
jennyema said:
In my opinion there is a definite answer to this question.

You brined the chops for far too long. I looked up a number of recipes, including this one, by Alton Brown which is foolproof and almost all of them called for brining pork chops for 2 hours. I found a few 4 hours and one 6 hours but the standard seems to be 2 hours.

Cooks Illustrated (? I am pretty sure) ran some experiments and determined that using less salt renders poor results. They actually tell you to use twice as much salt and brine for half as much time, if a "quick" brine is necessary.

I suggest you leave the salt amount alone, half the sugar (IMO it's really a detectable flavor enhancer) and brine for 2 hours.

i would have to agree with you on the less salt renders poor results!. read something similar somewhere but couldn't be sure but i just finished my experiment with my chicken breasts last night by halving my salt and brined for 2 hours, no difference. from now on i will stick to the 1 cup to 1 gallon rule or more and adjust the time instead.
 
I do not know why whould anybody brine pork chops. Pork is such a tender meat. All it needs proper time for cooking.
 
CharlieD said:
I do not know why whould anybody brine pork chops. Pork is such a tender meat. All it needs proper time for cooking.


not the pork chops i have. i know it's also partly cos i overcook them as dh won't eat them otherwise but when i brined them i can over cook them so it looks right for dh but still remains moist and juicy for me. i used to dislike making pork chops but now i'm actually enjoying it :ROFLMAO:


and there is a big difference between brined and unbrined pork chops whether it's overcooked or not.
 
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