"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>
>>"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
>
>>> Brining is used to help tenderize a tough, but flavorful
>>> piece of meat. It's not a flavoring technique, at least
>>> in its basic form.
>
>>I've never heard that. It does add moisture through osmosis and adding
>>moisture may make what would otherwise have been a dried out chicken
>>breast
>>or pork chop seem more tender. I've brined many a corned beef and until
>>properly cooked like any other brisket, it is still tough.
>
> Okay, thanks for this datapoint. So your thinking is it
> will make like a pork chop seem more tender, because it
> makes it moister, but it doesn't really tenderize the connective
> tissue in any real way?
>
> I'll believe this however the results can be pretty good,
> in terms of faux-tenderizing.
>
> Steve

Correct. Those meats are easily overcooked and dried to be tough. The
added moisture prevents it. Connective tissue can probably be broken down
if you add some pineapple juice or similar to the brine but I've never tried
it.