How to Brine Meat

Brining meat before cooking yields a juicy and flavorful result. It's especially important for cooking white meats, which cannot be cooked to temperature (unlike red meats, which can be served rarer for a juicier result).

Steps

1. Prepare a mixture of three parts salt and one part sugar. The salt may be kosher or sea salt, and the sugar can be any white crystal sugar, but not 10X or confectioner's sugar.
2. Dissolve the sugar/salt mixture in four times the volume of water. The resulting liquid should be enough to comfortably cover the meat you wish to brine.
3. Add any flavorings you wish, especially sharp liquids (vinegars and citrus juices),whole seeds, or dried herbs and spices. Thicker liquids, such as honey, sauces, and oils, and fresh herbs will impart less flavor unless boiled (see Step 4).
4. If your brine is extensively flavored, or if you do not plan to brine the meat for long, consider bringing the mixture to a fast boil and cooling before starting the brine. Some meats, such as chicken and smaller poultry, cannot be brined long without breaking down. Boiling is especially effective for them.
5. Submerge the meat in brine and store it in a refrigerator or other cooler space. Cuts of pork, wild game, and larger poultry, such as turkey, can be brined anywhere from 4-12 hours; smaller cuts and birds should be brined for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Tips

• For small cuts, such as turkey or chicken breasts or pork tenderloins or chops, consider brining for as short as 45-90 minutes.
• Fatty meats like beef are generally not suitable for brining. Brining works best with pork, turkey and chicken.
• The best flavored brines are often the simplest. Citrus juice and dried mint will add a nice Mediterranean flavor to chicken, while cracked black pepper and red wine vinegar provide a rich French flair.
• The difference in tenderness of your meat will make even an unflavored brine well worth it.
• Keep a basic mixture of sugar and salt on hand in a resealable container.
• Adding liquid smoke to your brine mixture will give you a very nice faux barbecue flavor. This works great with chicken and pork.
• For an outstanding, flavored brine add a tablespoon each of cloves, star anise, mustard seed, coriander seed, peppercorns, as well as bay leaf and a cinnamon stick. Bring brine to boil and simmer for a half hour and let cool before adding meat.
• Replace all, or part of the sugar with honey or brown sugar.
• Always rinse your meat well and dry it well before cooking

Warnings

• Make sure to completely cool your heated brine before using.
• Watch your food closely while cooking it, especially if barbecuing or grilling it. Brining adds sugar to the meat and can cause it to burn prematurely.

Things You'll Need

• Meat
• Salt
• Sugar
• Water
• Optional flavorings: Citrus juice, dried herbs, spices, red wine vinegar, dried mint, cracked black pepper, cloves, star anise, bay leaf, mustard seed, coriander seed, Cajun seasoning. Whatever flavor you add to a brine will permeate the meat.
• Refrigerator

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