Brining pork/chicken

[dmccarty]

I use a couple of analog thermometers that are cheap and reliable. I have had a couple digital thermometers with probes that were a waste of money. They eventually fail completely, but worse, give false readings before failing. The analog thermometers are simple, cheap and easy to test. I just look at them before use and verify that they are recording the air temperature correctly. From time to time, I might put them in boiling or cold water to check but I always just check the air temperature.

I don't cook chops often but I have noticed that pork loin is done when juice starts dripping from the meat. Usually I can hear the dripping in the fire but for sure it is done when I see a bit of juice on top of the meat. I cut up the pork loin so that it is 3-4 inches wide. This is to fit on our small grill/smoker, get more smoke on the meat, and make it easier to seal and freeze.

Brining needs to have the right ratio of salt/sugar and time. I think two parts sugar to one part salt is common, and has been said, too much time in the brine can turn the meat to mush. If in doubt I use less salt since too much salt will ruin the meat.

I highly recommend Cooks Illustrated/Country Cooking magazine/TV show on PBS. The shows and magazines cover how and why they came up with the recipe, not just mix A with B at time C.

The owner/editor/talking of Cooks Illustrate/Country Cooking magazines/TV shows is an interesting guy who would fit in on TBN. He has a column in the magazines that most often is about living in the country, farming, gardening, rural people, hunting, fishing or tractors.

Later,
Dan

 

[Car Doc]

Speaking about salt this is off topic sorry but couldn't resist. :licking:

We salt our beef steaks before cooking and by that I mean we set them out for an hour per inch of meat on the counter coated good on both sides with course sea salt. Rinse off salt pat dry and black pepper them and grill. I even put a little dry home grown tyme sprinkled on mine with the pepper and rub it in and wow just amazing how good a real tender 1 1/2" rib eye steak is with this prep.

 

[teejk]

J F (my initials, too, btw),

I brine quite a bit...mostly pork chops and chicken. Without repeating a lot of chemistry explanation that I barely understood when I read it, it works. Now, there are trade-offs, as usual. Brining will make meat moister, no matter what meat or how you cook it. The trade off is, if you leave it in the brine too long you end up with moist mush (the texture goes "off")


Chops are like T-bone beef steak. Cook it hot and fast, not low and slow. As a rule of thumb, the lean, tender cuts (loin and tenderloin) of any animal need hot/fast.

If you're into cooking (and from this thread it appears you are) check out a book called "Charcuterie" by Michael Ruhlman. It's not so much a recipe book as a project guide. Charcuterie is the art and science of curing meat. Brine is one technique that is covered extensively in the book. From it I've learned to make better chops and chicken, but even better, I've learned to cure ham and bacon and how to make fresh and smoked sausage.

Oh, and another vote for ThermaPen. You won't regret it. One of the best investments I've made in the kitchen.

I guess we will differ! I like to start with a hot grill, mostly to get my wood chips going and also to permit a wire brush cleaning from the last time. I start pork and beef on the hot part but shortly after I move the meat to a cooler spot on the grate ("indirect" heat that only works with a covered gas grill or Weber type kettle). And btw, a little brushing of canola oil on the surface of the meat does wonders to minimize sticking. As for wood chips, I do a lot of woodworking. The shavings that come off the planer when I work with cherry or apple are perfect for the grill (they hydrate quickly and produce smoke quickly).

I like the taste of meat to be primary and don't like that flavor to get lost with excessive use of rubs or brining (my wannabe smoke chef son tends to bury the flavor when he cooks). Just me.

As an aside, you remind me that I need to check for a Weber BIG grill that they used to make. My dad got a huge cast iron skillet when a culinary expert friend of his "passed". It's been moved 10 times and I think is currently resident under our bed (it weighs a ton...might need an engine hoist)