Brining pork chops before frying?

[lisaluvstocook]

Hi all! I have recently discovered the benefits of brining pork chops before grilling or broiling, the difference in texture and flavor is amazing. However, tonight I am going to bread them in panko and fry them. Will brining work with a fried pork chop? Or would it be better to soak them in seasoned buttermilk for a few hours?

 

[Andy M.]

Brining will work for frying pork chops. You can season the brine as you sould the buttermilk as long as you have the salt needed.

 

[CharlieD]

Actually I hear this more and more. As pork is much leaner today and thus not as flavorful as in the days past, it is a good idea to brine it or even marinad it especialy for grilling.

 

[lisaluvstocook]

Thanks guys, brined them and fried them, they were fantastic, juicy and flavorful.

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

But doesn't brining (salt and water) just obliterate any natural proteins in the meat?

 

[Andy M.]

But doesn't brining (salt and water) just obliterate any natural proteins in the meat?

Not sure what you mean by 'obliterate any natural proteins'. I'm not aware anything like that happens. You can still brown the meat as part of the cooking process and it tastes great.

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

I mean by injecting salt water into the meat you are instantly changing the composition of the cells and hence the minerals and nutrients in the meat. Salt breaks down proteins, which is basically why cured meats have ZERO health benefits.

Hey I am all for trying this out for a tasty tactic, but my hunch is that a brine kills a lot of the hidden goods in the protein, while also risking sending Grandma to emerg cause you forgot about her low sodium diet.

 

[buckytom]

lol, yeah, brining isn't good for low sodium diets.

exercise, get your (or grannies) bp under 140/80, and brine away.

 

[Andy M.]

I mean by injecting salt water into the meat you are instantly changing the composition of the cells and hence the minerals and nutrients in the meat. Salt breaks down proteins, which is basically why cured meats have ZERO health benefits.

Hey I am all for trying this out for a tasty tactic, but my hunch is that a brine kills a lot of the hidden goods in the protein, while also risking sending Grandma to emerg cause you forgot about her low sodium diet.

You are the only person to mention this possible side effect of brining so I'm at a loss. Do you have any sources you can link so I can read up on it?

Small point, brine isn't injected. The meat is soaked in a salt water solution and is drawn into the meat through osmosis.

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

Small point, brine isn't injected. The meat is soaked in a salt water solution and is drawn into the meat through osmosis.

Symantecs. Still eating a chemical composition of salt.

Here is a good place to start your research:

YouTube - ‪Tony Soprano Uncle Bens induced anxiety attack‬‏

 

[Andy M.]

Symantecs. Still eating a chemical composition of salt.

Here is a good place to start your research:

Should I assume from this silly post that you have no real evidence for your claim?

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

Should I assume from this silly post that you have no real evidence for your claim?

Ha.. Sorry for my sense of humour.... Shall I assume from your post you think salt filled meats are good you?

Hey like I said, I might very well give this technique a try, but from my experience and education as a trained and licensed chef, this process can only be cutting into natural meat proteins.... but just like other high salt items moderation is the key, especially when the process wipes out natural nutrients.

 

[Andy M.]

I was just wondering about your claim that brining destroyed proteins. Can you provide me with a source on the subject?

I never said it was good or bad for you. In fact, only a small percentage of the population has a negative effect on their BP due to salt consumption. The difficulty is in knowing if you're one of that percentage.

Brining makes a significant difference in the dryness of certain meats. Chicken and pork benefit a lot from brining before cooking. It's worth a try to see for yourself.

 

[vitauta]

i must have been out sick for the lessons on brining. is it only, or mostly, being recommended for excessively lean meats so they'll cook up more moist? i noticed they were brining a chicken on america's test kitchen. surely it can't be a problem of too little fat in the case of chickens can it? can we hear from goodweed on this?

 

[Andy M.]

Brining is for lean meats. This includes chicken. Not the juicy dark meat, you can skip brining thighs and legs, but the super lean breasts. Also effective for other poultry and pork. No need to bring beef or lamb.

The best Thanksgiving turkeys I have ever eaten were brined.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Here are some links about the effects of salt on protein (from a chemistry/physics perspective).

Denaturation Protein
How Does Salt Affect Protein? | LIVESTRONG.COM
Denaturation

The basics of it though are that salt draws out the water in muscle cells so it's possible that some water soluble nutrients might be lost during a salting process, however water is lost during the cooking process also (incidentally, this is why raw veggies contain more nutrients than cooked) so the same can be said of cooking meat. In the case of brining meat, the salt is already bonded with water at a higher concentration than is contained in the meat. The water in the meat will try to balance itself with the water outside the meat and therefore draw the salt into it. This also means it may lose some water soluble nutrients as the concentration of nutrients dissolved in the water in the muscle tissue tries to balance with the concentration of those nutrients outside the muscle tissue. However the increased salt in the muscle tissue will help hold in extra water during the cooking process (extra heat is required to cause the water to turn to steam since the bond between it and the salt must first be broken) thus helping preserve any remaining water soluble nutrients during the cooking process (although some may still be lost).

As for the proteins themselves, they are denatured, not destroyed. Denaturation is when the tertiary and possibly secondary structure of the protein is destroyed. However, this only affects the shape of the protein molecule. The primary structure, created by petide bonds, remains in tact, so the particular amino acid composition remains in tact. In order to actually destroy the protein and lose part of the protein nutrients (amino acids), you'd have to break the peptide bonds, and salt doesn't create a strong enough chemical reaction to do that.

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.

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks for that, PAG. You're clearly a COTOB.

 

[Oldvine]

I don't brine chops. Go with the seasoned Panko, dab on a few peas sized dabs of butter on each chop and then bake the chops at 350-375 until done.

 

[Carlos75]

I like to coat in some olive oil dried stuffing mix, fry, grill or bake for a crispy and tasty chop!

 

[vitauta]

I like to coat in some olive oil dried stuffing mix, fry, grill or bake for a crispy and tasty chop!

tasty-sounding idea. olive oil stuffing mix - what brand is that? it's not a kraft stovetop product is it?