Brining ? What's the minimum amount of salt?

Sledneck said:

A great read on brining http://www.cookshack.com/brining-101

Click to expand...

Thanks for the "great" comment, I actually made that about 10 years ago, long before Brining was popular.

Thirdeye, you've posted some good stuff, we'll have to talk some on brining.

Osmosis, is how brines work. Reduce the salt and it will take longer. Is there a minimum? Probably not.

What will change is "time".

The standard brine is 1 cup salt, 1 cup suger to 1 gallon. I think most times reference that formula.

When people change the salt, they don't realize the ratio changes and because of how it works, it WILL take longer to achieve penetration. How much. Just too many variables to try to give you an answer.

My best suggestion is to test it for yourself. If you reduce the salt, keep the time the same and see if you think it's what you want. If not, brine it longer.

Larger cuts take longer, that's why I do my Turkey's 2 days, because of the mass.

TQ is a cure, first and foremost so it will "cure" the meat and change the color. A lot of the original brines had TQ in there for food safety, (I even mention that in 101) but I take it out if you keep the brine cold.

Russ
Author Brining 101

sfbbqguy said:

Thanks 3rd! Great info.

Another question...how much do you reduce the salt when you add TQ?

Click to expand...

If you look at TQ you will see that it's a very fine texture. Now taste some on the end of your finger, notice it tastes similar to table or canning salt, just not quite as crisp. Because of the grain size, 1 teaspoon of TQ is heavier than 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.

The correct answer would be to replace the same amount (in weight) of the salt you leave out with the same weight of TQ. This would keep the salt concentration of both brines about the same. But you also have to consider the nitrites and nitrates. You don't need to get excessive with them because we're talking about brining things like chicken breasts or pork chops, or maybe a loin roast which will be grilled. We don't need the nitrates for food safety (like we would if we were cold smoking sausages), we are just taking advantage of the fact they will produce a nice pink color and change the texture of the meat.

So, lets say you are making two gallons of brine and you usually add 16 ounces of salt to that amount of water. Try making the same brine with 13 ounces of salt and 3 ounces of TQ. Or 12 ounces and 4 ounces of TQ.

Russ, Your Brining 101 is a fantastic resource and I often provide a link to it to folks that are just starting out with brines. It reinforces the fact that brining is a technique, not just one recipe they read in a cooking magazine.

I notice you give a lot of credit to Shakes Honey Brine...... A couple of years ago I was stuck on my turkey pastrami, I just couldn't get it where I thought it should be. (I was using a traditional brine, and not injecting). Dave Stamper turned me on to Shakes and with the addition of white pepper, that's what I use.

Um...it's really just a matter of time vs. salt concentration. If you want a 4% absorption into the meat than you need to brine with X% salt for X time to achieve that. So the question should be, "in how little time do you wish to brine your bird and at what salt concentration will you achieve this?" The higher concentration of salt in the brine the shorter the time need for the soak and viceversa. OK, I'll add another tid bit. Once the meat comes out of the brine it needs to sit for several hours for maximum and even despersion of salt into the meat. Remember that there is no one brine recipe. It all depends on the type of meat you want to brine and for what % salt absorption and for how long you have before you want to cook the meat.

What the fark is TQ???

TQ=Morton brand "Tender Quick" used for curing meats, in sausage making, etc.

Get one of these and never guess again>>> http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27
there are to many variables when dealing with a substances like salt. brand differences and so on.

We use Mortons Canning and Pickling salt for brines, it dissolves easier than kosher in cold water.

Well, i was going to answer, but its well covered.. I start with 1:1 and adjust based on meat thickness and time in brine.


great thread... roadmapping it.

http://bbq.about.com/od/spicesseasonings/a/aa102007a.htm

I do go by weight at 284 grams per gallon. This goes back to normal salt at 10 ounces per cup. I just have to think metric

My 2cents the ratios suggested here are good and I am a fan of the Mortons for the same reason, I also use soy sauce you getthe sodium and flavor I find I can reduce the salt I use

For those that brine chicken thighs for competitions:
1. what ratio do you use?

2. How long do you brine?

3. Do you marinate after brining?

4. How far ahead do you brine?

Sledneck said:

For those that brine chicken thighs for competitions:
1. what ratio do you use?

2. How long do you brine?

3. Do you marinate after brining?

4. How far ahead do you brine?

Click to expand...

Sled, this thigh was de-boned, and the skin was removed and scraped of fat. I also removed most of the big pieces of fat on the meat itself. I brined it using a ratio of 6 ounces of salt/gallon for 2-1/2 hours. (The brine did have some brown sugar added). Then I rinsed it, lightly seasoned it, put the skin back on, and let them rest in the fridge for 3 hours. This one was one of my cupcake pan test thighs, so in addition to the brining, that may have contributed to the moistness. These were 175° when removed from the cooker.

got14u said:

Get one of these and never guess again>>> http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27
there are to many variables when dealing with a substances like salt. brand differences and so on.

Click to expand...

I had one and it broke, thanks for the link, I'll order a new one and add some of 3rd eye's stuff into it when I update it.

Like I do with pizza, I weigh the ingredients instead of just broad cup sizes. Cups sizes are only go for TWO things :becky:

One more think. Brining and Marinading are not the same. they way I've always been told is that Brines are based on Salinity and Marinades are based on Acidity. Because it's Acid, it won't penetrate like a brine does (which can go all the way, marinades only the first 1/2 to 1/4 inch or so)

Salt = Brine
Acid = Marinade