FLAVOR brines .... rinse or not ??

[Q_Egg]

... so many good posts on brining, but I need to separate techniques for curing brines and flavor brines. Main focus is pork chops and turkey. Using a typical 50/50 salt/sugar mix, plus some aromatics, after brining for anywhere from 2 hours to overnight, do most Brethren rinse, OR rinse thoroughly, OR let drain and cook, OR ... ??? May seem a trivial question, but this is one area where I don't want to experiment.

In my recent thick pork chop process, I didn't know so just let the 'flavor' brine drain, sprinkled with rub, and cooked. Seemed to taste great .... meat was moist and fairly tender.

 

[SP]

I will give a quick rince since there are usually herbs, seed in the brines. Then pat dry.

 

[PimpSmoke]

I just wrap with cheesecloth and away we go. Never received anything but rave reviews on the chicken and turkey.

Sometimes I soak the cheescloth in butter depending on whether or not I feel like it. IMO the skin after smoking a bird is pretty much useless anyway. We usually throw it out, so I don't bother with rub unless I put it under the skin. Likewise anything in the brine that sticks get tossed with the skin anyway.

Just for kicks one time I made a garlic herb butter and stuffed it under the skin of the breast on a turkey. That turned out pretty good, but the skin was still tough and rubbery.

BTW I use a 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar to a gallon of water brine (basic) and usually let a turkey go overnight. Chickies maybe 5-6 hours.
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[thirdeye]

Tom,

I am on the rinsing side of the fence. Just as important is resting time in the refrigerator. Think about it this way, when meat comes out of a brine the surface has a higher concentration of salt. You need some time for the salt to migrate and equalize within the meat. If you cook it too soon, your first bite may be too salty. Your brain and your tongue never re-adjust and you think that the entire item is too salty. A chop or chicken breast needs just a short resting time, usually the hour or two it takes for the surface to dry. Salmon takes several hours to overnight as you are waiting for a pelicle to form also. I rest a turkey breast overnight at least. This also allows the salt impregnated skin to dry, making is crisp up real nice.

I somtimes forget to mention the rest time when talking about brining. I looked back on your thread about the thick chops and realized I did not mention it in my post there either. Sorry man.

 

[Q_Egg]

... thanks gentlemen. Just trying to avoid losing much of the benefit of the flavor brining by rinsing too much. The resting issue is a great help that I need to adopt.

 

[Trout_man22]

If it's a short brine under 2 hours then I don't rise, over that I might it will depind on the meat and the brine. I might just pat dry or give it a full rise, longer then 6 hours then a full rinse for sure.

 

[PimpSmoke]

Correct me if I'm wrong on this thirdeye but I'm pretty sure that the herbs and flavors in the brine should be "drawn" into the cellular structure of the meat with the water. The salt will only absorb so much as the cellular fluids inside the meat attempt to equal the sodium content in the surrounding brine. Thats why the cells plump up with moisture.

So I don't think you would lose much by rinsing the surface.

I understood it to be an osmosis thing.


This is interesting though. I'd like the experts to chime in on this. When you salt cure pork and fish you have to soak to get some of the salt out, right? or is that just on the surface of the meat? Does that mean my above theory is shot?

Good thread.
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[thirdeye]

Correct me if I'm wrong on this thirdeye but I'm pretty sure that the herbs and flavors in the brine should be "drawn" into the cellular structure of the meat with the water. The salt will only absorb so much as the cellular fluids inside the meat attempt to equal the sodium content in the surrounding brine. Thats why the cells plump up with moisture.​

So I don't think you would lose much by rinsing the surface.​

I understood it to be an osmosis thing.​

This is interesting though. I'd like the experts to chime in on this. When you salt cure pork and fish you have to soak to get some of the salt out, right? or is that just on the surface of the meat? Does that mean my above theory is shot?​

Good thread.​

I think I'm rinsing because over time the brining liquid now has the original salts, seasonings etc., along with the exchange fluids (blood and whatever) mixed in.

Brining is an osmosis thing. The salt in the brine allows the protein molecules to expand and hold more water within each cell. Any seasonings in the brine migrate along with the water adding some flavor as well. Even with a weak brine like a flavor brine you can still get your product too salty.

The salt curing of pork and fish starts with a dry salt cure. The moisture that is extracted and mixed with the cure does form a brine of sorts. This is a much heavier cure than a flavor brine and the times are way longer. In the case of country hams, they can cure for a year or longer. Some salted fish is packed in cure until it is to be eaten. That is why soaking is necessary for those products.

 

[kcpellethead]

Most flavor brining recipes call to rinse. We usually don't. I'd say that about 1 in 20 times we get a final result that is a little saltier than we expected. Probably will continue not to rinse.

Rod