Brine

[fisherhall]

I was just wondering how you make brine for meats and some fish?

[Fisherman_max]

depending apon the meat of choice. a universal brine consists of salt, sugar, vinegar, and some aromatics, by that i mean onions, and peppers. a brine also can include your choice of addition such as a meat stock or a hot sauce, or honey. the whole point of a brine is to incorporate a flavorfull juice of choice into your meats. most brines are specific to type of meat, but some can be used on multiple meats. nothing is better than a thanksgiving turkey that has been brined before cooking. you could try googling "you choice of meat" brines and see what you get


good luck!

[A9]

I use brown sugar, rock salt, johnny's seasoning salt....That's about it...

Where you thinking about a dry or wet brine?

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

For fish I like the smokey smelt and the deluxe salmon brine recipes on the Luhr Jensen website. They are similar with the addition of soy sauce in the smokey smelt recipe.

[fisherhall]

Where you thinking about a dry or wet brine?

I don't know, what's the difference?

[A9]

Dry brine is just rubbing the ingredients of the brine into the meat. Wet brine is making a liquid and soaking the meat in it for a period of time..

[MikeFishes]

I tried to Brine my turkey this thanksgiving. It was really good. The turkey meat turned out really flavorful and jucy. Here's the recipie that I used. I'll be using it again next year. FoodTV does have some recipes on Brining, but I havent tried any yet so I don't know if they are good. I have some LingCod in the freezer and I might have to try some brine on that.

[Drewp]

I'm pretty sure (not 100%) that there is no such thing as a dry brine. Brining infuses flavors into meat by means of soaking - much like marinating only with a higher salt content.

Sam, you might be thinking of a "rub." Dry rubs are spices that get "rubbed" directly into the meat.

[A9]

Nope you can do dry and wet brines...

Dry brining is basically the brine without the liquid incase you couldn't tell from the title of "dry brine..."

[Drewp]

Yeah, I'm dumb. :albino:

[lskiles]

Nope you can do dry and wet brines...

Dry brining is basically the brine without the liquid incase you couldn't tell from the title of "dry brine..."

Dry brine is like...desert fishing. I my not be an expert on fishing, but cooking is something I do alot and do well. If you are rubbing the spices on dry you are not brining. Here is an excerpt from an article from America's Test Kitchen.

HOW IT WORKS
Brining works in accordance with two principles, called diffusion and osmosis, that like things to be kept in equilibrium. When brining a turkey, there is a greater concentration of salt and sugar outside of the turkey (in the brine) than inside the turkey (in the cells that make up its flesh). The law of diffusion states that the salt and sugar will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration
(the cells). There is also a greater concentration of water, so to speak, outside of the turkey than inside. Here, too, the water will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration (the cells). When water moves in this fashion, the process is called osmosis. Once inside the cells, the salt and, to a lesser extent, the sugar cause the cell proteins to unravel, or denature. As the individual proteins unravel, they become more likely to interact with one another. This interaction results in the formation of a sticky matrix that captures and holds moisture. Once exposed to heat, the matrix gels and forms a barrier that keeps much of the water from leaking out as the meat cooks. Thus you have a turkey that is both better seasoned and much more moist than when you started.

You can open and view the full article in pdf format at the link below.

[A9]

Yeah, I'm dumb. :albino:

nope not at all. It's a pretty new twist to the standard brining in a liquid. I've yet to try it, might have to do so next time I got a batch to smoke...I've had some dry brined and it's good....

[Toni]

Dry brining is basically the brine without the liquid incase you couldn't tell from the title of "dry brine..."[/quote]

HOW IT WORKS
Brining works in accordance with two principles, called diffusion and osmosis, that like things to be kept in equilibrium. When brining a turkey, there is a greater concentration of salt and sugar outside of the turkey (in the brine) than inside the turkey (in the cells that make up its flesh). The law of diffusion states that the salt and sugar will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration
(the cells). There is also a greater concentration of water, so to speak, outside of the turkey than inside. Here, too, the water will naturally flow from the area of greater concentration (the brine) to lesser concentration (the cells). When water moves in this fashion, the process is called osmosis. Once inside the cells, the salt and, to a lesser extent, the sugar cause the cell proteins to unravel, or denature. As the individual proteins unravel, they become more likely to interact with one another. This interaction results in the formation of a sticky matrix that captures and holds moisture. Once exposed to heat, the matrix gels and forms a barrier that keeps much of the water from leaking out as the meat cooks. Thus you have a turkey that is both better seasoned and much more moist than when you started.

Really to "brine" simply means to soak something in a salt solution]

[cavdad45]

I use the recipes that came with my Little Chief smoker and add a few other spices that suit whatever mood I may be in. Don't over smoke the poultry!!! It gets dry and turns into a cigarette tasting piece of jerky.

Good info on the dry brining. Never heard of it before. At first I thought Sam was talking about dry rubs for BBQ. Learned something new.

[A9]

They consider it a "brine" for smoking because you leave the fish in the brine, but instead of water being in the brine its just the dry ingredients and you cover the meat and let them sit in the dry brine and absorb the ingredients...

I didn't name it so there's no reason to try to prove to me that it's not "really" a brine...

[Fish Antics]

Isn't it nice that there are so many choices about what to do with fish after you catch one?

[fisherhall]

Isn't it nice that there are so many choices about what to do with fish after you catch one?

It sure is.

[Toni]

I found a book at the library called "The Smoked-Foods Cookbook". It uses the word cure- which fits well with the dry method.

[trout slayer]

if you put fish in a dry brine it will pull moisture out of the fish hence the name dry brine have used for years

[gpc]

I also started trying the dry brine this year. It works just fine and its cheap and easy. Like was mentioned just a mix of salt and sugar. The recipe I heard was 1 cup rock salt to 3 cups brown sugar. I use 1 cup regular salt to 4 cups brown sugar and some garlic salt. They also say to rinse off the brine after 10 hours and let the fish air dry for another 10 hours. I have rushed the proces and threw them right on the smoker w/o washing off the pieces and letting them air dry. Big mistake, dont rush it. I start the brine at about noon. Just get a few larger bowls, put a layer of fish then cover the entire fish with the brine, then another layer of fish on top of that and another layer of brine and so on, throw the whole thing in the fridge and your good. At about 10pm I rinse the fish and put them in the oven on the oven racks over night to air dry. Then start smoking them the next morning. I actually have a chum air drying in the oven right now.