Brining

[dragnlaw]

Couldn't find a thread on Brining so marinades and sauces seemed the closest line of thought...

I accidentally made way too much brine. Am only doing 1 Pork Chop. tomorrow I intended to brine 3 Chicken Thighs.

Question:-

Can I brine the Thighs now (I usually do about 20 or 30 min.) Take them out, rinse, pat dry, shrink wrap, and cook tomorrow?

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Why yes, yes you can Dragn!
In fact I did this yesterday.
I had one double cut pork loinchop and 2 chicken breasts.
I split the brining solution in half, and Bob' your uncle!

 

[jennyema]

Yes!

 

[dragnlaw]

Thank you guys... I had fully intended to do so anyhow

but just wanted to see if anyone chimed in with an "OMG - no you can't!"
and some sort of a reason I had never imagined...

Thank you both!

 

[Dawgluver]

OMG! No you can't!

How's that, dragn?

Sure you can!

 

[Kayelle]

You can also brine before you rinse wrap and freeze. I brine in separate containers for both thick pork chops and Dolly size chicken breasts, then label as brined.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

You can also brine before you rinse wrap and freeze. I brine in separate containers for both thick pork chops and Dolly size chicken breasts, then label as brined.

Excellent point K!
I think that I'll try this technique on my next Costco run.
Bring home my bounty, brine it all one crack, dry, package up in my FoodSaver, label and freeze!
That sounds like a much better idea than brining one portion at a time.

 

[dragnlaw]

OK Dawg... you win the prize!

Kay... what an excellent idea! you win a prize too!

and don't ask what the prize is.... I'm thinking on it... has to be a good one for such brilliant DC'ers

 

[Kayelle]

Glad I could help. By the way, I keep the brine basic (1/4 cup kosher salt to 4 cups water) because I don't know what I'll be doing with the frozen meat, and it can be seasoned when cooking. I generally brine it about 4 hrs or so. I've never brined thighs as they're usually super juicy on their own, but there's no reason not to. I do know I'll never eat another pork chop or breast that hasn't been brined.

 

[Addie]

So what would be a proper solution for just one item. I wrap all my meat for single servings. Pirate cooks and eats his meal, and if I think I might be hungry, he makes a small piece of meat for me. Most of the time not. Like today, Here it is approaching 10:30 p.m. and I still have not gotten any hunger pains or a yen for the need to chew. It is the act of chewing that makes me want to eat a meal.

I do buy family size packages of meats. That means ten to 12 pieces of meat in each package. And I buy chuck meat for grinding with extra suet. Then package and wrap in 1/2 pound packages. Half pounders is perfect for just one of use.

 

[Kayelle]

I'm not clear about what you are asking Addie.

We are talking about brine for both pork chops and chicken breast/and or thighs. The magic salt to water ratio is 1/4 cup kosher salt to 4 cups of water. The liquid must cover the pork chops/ chicken depending on how much meat you have, and naturally both meats need to be brined separately.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

So what would be a proper solution for just one item. I wrap all my meat for single servings...

If you buy your meat at once, and wrap your meat at once, why don't you brine all the items together at once? Then you can wrap individually.

If you want to wait until you take one chop or one piece of chicken from the freezer and then brine, I'll do the math for you. 4 cups of water to 1/4 cup of Kosher salt, right? If you are using only 1 cup of water (you need enough to immerse and cover the piece of meat), you need 1/4 of that 1/4 cup of salt. Since 1 cup equals 16 Tablespoons, 1/4 cup would be 4 Tablespoons. Since you are using only 1/4 of the water, per Kayelle's post, you need only 1/4 volume of salt in Kayelle's ration - or 1 Tablespoon of Kosher salt (1/4 of the 1/4). Are you thoroughly confused? If so:

For one cup water, use one Tablespoon Kosher salt.

 

[Addie]

I'm not clear about what you are asking Addie.

We are talking about brine for both pork chops and chicken breast/and or thighs. The magic salt to water ratio is 1/4 cup kosher salt to 4 cups of water. The liquid must cover the pork chops/ chicken depending on how much meat you have, and naturally both meats need to be brined separately.

I would like to brine one chop after thawing, and still be able to use the brine at a later date for another chop. Or maybe the idea of brining all of the chops would be the way to go prior to preparing to freeze? My concern was if I had a container big enough for the brine. Aha!

Come to think of it, I have the perfect bowl for brining. And that was my main concern. Did I have a container large enough for this procedure. I picked up a number of years ago at a yard sale, a mixing bowl from an old Sunbeam mixer. The mixer had died, but the bowl survived and is huge. Big enough to hold a complete package of chicken legs or thighs, or a packet of chops. This may turn out to be the best quarter I ever spent. Thanks for the measurements of the brine.

 

[Addie]

If you buy your meat at once, and wrap your meat at once, why don't you brine all the items together at once? Then you can wrap individually.

If you want to wait until you take one chop or one piece of chicken from the freezer and then brine, I'll do the math for you. 4 cups of water to 1/4 cup of Kosher salt, right? If you are using only 1 cup of water (you need enough to immerse and cover the piece of meat), you need 1/4 of that 1/4 cup of salt. Since 1 cup equals 16 Tablespoons, 1/4 cup would be 4 Tablespoons. Since you are using only 1/4 of the water, per Kayelle's post, you need only 1/4 volume of salt in Kayelle's ration - or 1 Tablespoon of Kosher salt (1/4 of the 1/4). Are you thoroughly confused? If so:

For one cup water, use one Tablespoon Kosher salt.

Thank you. Like I have stated many times, I am lucky to be able to do addition and subtraction.

 

[Kayelle]

No....dump the salt water, it's only salt water! Do not use it again!
I use a cooking pot in the fridge for brining and it works great.

 

[dragnlaw]

Addie if you want to do just one or two chops use the Cooks Illustrated or maybe it was their America's Test Kit... at any rate..

for 1 or 2 Pork Chops:-

dissolve 1 Tbsp kosher salt & a heaping tsp of sugar with enough water to cover the chop(s). Once the salt is dissolved (and it does take some time) add your meat and brine for approx. 15-20 minutes.

for 4 Chops:- double the ingredients...

short and simple!

I use the same recipe for chicken pieces.

and yes, Kayelle is more than correct... it is only salt and sugar! dump it!

There is frugal and then there is frugal but saving brine to use again is not one of them! I'll not go into details unless you ask but basically NO! anymore than you would use a marinade from meat without cooking/boiling it well first!

I am very 'laissez-faire' about a great many things that most others would not - but there are limitations even I do not fool around with. Dumping fresh meat into a saved and used brine is not one of them.

 

[jennyema]

I agree. Don't reuse brine!

Also it tastes more savory with a little sugar added. Taste the brine without and with sugar and see what you think.

Also a hit of soy sauce ups the umami factor.

 

[Addie]

I agree. Don't reuse brine!

Also it tastes more savory with a little sugar added. Taste the brine without and with sugar and see what you think.

Also a hit of soy sauce ups the umami factor.

One time I marinated overnight five pounds of chicken wings for my daughter's July 4th party. Those wings flew of the table. Every so often I would go in the fridge and give them all a toss and turn. Put them on a rack and baked them. I think it was all the salt in the soy sauce. Because that bottle was salty. And it was a big bottle.