Brining pork chops before frying?

[tinlizzie]

I brined six beautiful pork chops in what was apparently a solution gone really wrong. After dredging and frying they were almost too salty to eat. Well, they actually were too salty to eat, but too expensive to throw out. I ended up slicing each chop into little slivers and using their saltiness to flavor a whole bowl of unsalted pasta, etc., until I had them all used up. I've been reluctant to try again, but I do love pork chops.

 

[Andy M.]

I brined six beautiful pork chops in what was apparently a solution gone really wrong. After dredging and frying they were almost too salty to eat. Well, they actually were too salty to eat, but too expensive to throw out. I ended up slicing each chop into little slivers and using their saltiness to flavor a whole bowl of unsalted pasta, etc., until I had them all used up. I've been reluctant to try again, but I do love pork chops.

I could just be the fault of that one brine solution. What proportions did you use and how long did you brine for?

 

[tinlizzie]

I think it was the time -- I got otherwise involved and they brined for about 4 hrs. Would that be enough to kill them? I used a brine recipe off the net (that'll teach me to stray from DC, won't it?).

 

[Andy M.]

Pork chops have a lot of surface for that much meat so you could probably get away with an hour or two. You could also reduce the salt.

Do you rinse the chops with fresh water after brining?

Here's a tutorial on brining that's pretty good.

 

[buckytom]

just to be more accurate, you can certainly brine any type of meat, fatty or not, to help infuse flavour.

garlic, bay, rum, and sherry brined pork fat is amazing!!!

 

[PeachOnEarth]

I thought that brining actually allowed the meat to change molecular struction so that it actually HELD IN the juices instead of allwoing them to run out? not sure tho.... the reason we brine turkey... makes it more moist .. oui?

 

[GB]

Oui

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Its all osmosis !

 

[tinlizzie]

Pork chops have a lot of surface for that much meat so you could probably get away with an hour or two. You could also reduce the salt.

Do you rinse the chops with fresh water after brining?

Here's a tutorial on brining that's pretty good.

Thank you very much for the site, Andy. Clear and concise.

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

So, bottom line, brining:

Some water soluble nutrients (minerals such as iron, magnesium) might be lost during the process.
Meat will have a higher salt content (obviously).
Meat will have a higher water content (makes it juicier).
Protein nutrients will remain in tact.

Agreed. What I said - but you said it like a true scientist!! Although I feel the "might" should be replaced with "will". ;-)