Brine To The Rescue

I cannot….CAN NOT…..stand dry poultry. The possibility of dry poultry has turned me off of eating turkey in most cases, unless you smother it in something else (not that it needed to be said, but this is a great excuse for gravy). Rather than give up entirely on a whole class of meat, I knew there had to be a better way. The solution…Brine.

Brine is basically salt water. In the culinary world, it used as a type of marinade. Two things happen when something is brined: the salt allows the meat to hold more water and it also breaks down the proteins in the meat, which makes it more tender. When you cook, moisture is lost during the process. Brining allows you to basically increase the moisture before cooking so that the meat will remain moist once cooked. When you add herbs, fruits, sugars, etc. to that salt water mix, the meat also receives the flavor of the salt water mix.

I tend to look at brine as a formula. I use about 1/2-1 cup of salt per gallon of distilled water. You want to use good water for brine, as you will get flavor (good or bad) based on the quality of the ingredients you use for the mix. I normally just use regular inexpensive table salt. You can use any type of salt, but kosher salt is probably what is normally recommended. If you’re looking to keep it on the cheap though, table salt is just fine (and only costs about $0.50 for a large container).

There are a lot of different flavors you can go with for making a brine. When I make it, I tend to use my spice rub and an assortment of herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and bay leaves. Some grocery stores even sell a poultry herb mix that has some or all of these. I recommend these highly just because then you’re not left with herbs you may not use for anything else. You can throw fruit in there and I’ve also seen recipes that call for brown sugar. Lots of options and room to experiment with flavor.

To make the brine, you take the gallon of water and empty it into a large pan. Remember, you’re using a gallon of water, so use a large pot. Measure out the salt you want, and dump it into the pot also. Throw in your herbs, spices, and any other flavor enhancers into the pot. Mix until incorporated. The mix will be cloudy because of the salt. We want to cook the mix on a medium or medium low heat for however long it takes to dissolve the salt. You want to bring out the flavors of your mix without burning it or overcooking, so take that into account when adding items to your brine. I would say any longer than 30 minutes is probably overkill. Once done, turn off the heat and let it cool to room temp.

I usually make my brine in advance of a big meal, so I tend to want to bottle it and use it later. Once cooled, I just dump the mix, with all the herbs, back into the gallon jug. These are great for transporting also (get the screw cap jugs, though. Otherwise the jug will likely leak).

The rule I’ve seen used for timing the brine is 1 hour per pound of meat. Put the meat into some sort of container and cover it using the brine. Make sure its at least room temp when you start to brine, as you don’t want the temperature of the brine to start to cook the meat. Refrigerate so the meat doesn’t start to go bad.

Pro tip: if you’re brining a turkey, consider using a cooler. Cooler brining is super convenient in that it doesn’t take up space in your fridge. Just make sure the cooler is clean before putting food in it. All you need to do here is put the turkey in the cooler and then cover with brine. Add enough ice to the mix to keep the temp cool (somewhere around the same temperature as the refrigerator would. I usually babysit this a little. The rule I use is if I cant see ice, then the water isn’t cold enough. I try to get it to the point where its not full of ice, but the ice just floats in the mix. Also, this will dilute the brine a little bit but not so much that it detracts from the flavor. You can get super scientific about it if you want, but I don’t think its necessary. Just keep the brine cold.

Once the time is up, you can pull the meat and proceed with cooking. Since you had raw meat soaking in it, you cant really reuse it. Or at least, I wouldn’t. After cooked, enjoy the experience of delicious moist and tender meat.

Brining changed the poultry game for me. I rarely make chicken or turkey without brining. It just adds so much flavor and makes the meat enjoyable to eat again. I hope you have a similar experience. In fact, let us know in the comments.