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Welcome SmokinOkie! :welcm: Do they still have that screwed up drinking age there where the girls can drink at 18 but the guys have to be 21? (Was stationed at Tinker)
I agree but would add a fine point to the marinade definition. ("Brining 101" is great, btw.) Marinades are thought to tenderize or aid in the tenderizing of the meats being marinated. ("Marinades" are also used to add flavors to foods--specifically vegetables--without tenderizing.) That marinades often fail to actually tenderize is outside the scope of this post but I could go on and on about why and how they fail. There are two types of marinades when tenderizing is the point (or one of the points) to marinating: acidic, as noted often in this thread, and enzymatic. Mixtures that include citrus juice(s), vinegar and/or wine are examples of acidic marinades; those that contain fresh pineapple, papaya, papain or bromelain (in dried form) are examples of enzymatic marinades. Proteases (protein enzymes) are also found in ginger, kiwis, figs, and honeydews.A Brine is defined as Water and Salt solution (source, Google Define search)
A Marinade is usually defined as a Acidic solution for soaking (source, Google Define search)
Nor do I. Most of us who cook in a professional arena consider a brine to be water mixed with a sufficient salt quantity so that both will actually get into the meat--the point of brining in the first place. Any flavor additions (be it juices, herbs, aromatics or otherwise) are personal prefernce additions to the brine. Neither I nor anyone I know would call a brine a marinade simply because of the addition of some acidic (orange juice, e..g.) or enzymatic ingredients to the brine. Most of us consider anything that is not a brine a marinade, irrespective of acid or enzyme content, because we marinate primarily to add flavor, not to tenderize. A marinade, to us, can be an herb-infused oil alone, or a paste made of garlic pureed with herbs and lemon zest--it does not need to contain additional liquid.I certainly don't see how applying a brine such as the WSM sites' Apple Brine gets to be defined as Marinading
I agree utterly. I air-dry because I think evaporation (and separating the skin from the meat) is important for better skin texture. [ In addition to fish, pellicle formation is important before smoking bacon.]Actually this is true for fish, but not for Poultry. In my opinion, I've never found any scientific reason providing that you have to let a pellicle form on poultry
No, not completely. In addition to osmosis we know that salt contains two oppositely charged ions and that the protein molecules of meat (which contain many charges, negative and positive) move around in reaction to the salt. The re-organization of the protein molecules weakens its original structure which we perceive as tenderization. This re-organization also creates little gaps which fill with water. The added salt makes this water less likely to evaporate during cooking so the end result is juicier.How brining actually works from a physics/chemisty perspective is not completely understood.
Absolutely. And note that since many of the items we use to flavor brines contain flavor elements that are oil soluble and not water soluble heat is an important tool to get the flavors out and working. Additionally, if you're not tasting enough of an item's flavor it may be that that item contains virtually no water soluble components (peppercorns come to mind); use heat and/or use more.Another reason to heat a brine is to release oils in the herbs and spice in the brine.