It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
involves "brining the meat".

Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?

Which meats react best to brining ?

What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )

( I'm ready to try it out...... )

On Sat, 08 May 2010 09:48:37 -0700, "<RJ>" > wrote:

>It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>involves "brining the meat".

That "latest fad" started at least five years ago on US tv ... 8

>Do you "brine" ?

Frequently.

> use "marinade" ?

Yes.

>Which meats react best to brining ?

Poultry, lean (light meat) pork.

>What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )

Kosher food (already salted), ground meat, beef in genera, seafoodl.

<RJ> wrote:
> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
> involves "brining the meat".
>
> Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>
> Which meats react best to brining ?
>
> What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>
> ( I'm ready to try it out...... )
>


I have trouble finding any meat that is not already pumped full of
brine. Walmart started that, I think in partnership with Hormel --
"Enhanced with 8% Solution!" -- and it spilled over to all the
wholesale meat producers. So the last thing I want is to add even
more salt (unless I'm making sausage, and even there the brine in
the meat throws off the recipes.)

I have no idea how people with hypertension eat any meat anymore.

Bob

"<RJ>" > wrote in message
...
>
> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
> involves "brining the meat".
>
> Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>
> Which meats react best to brining ?
>
> What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>
> ( I'm ready to try it out...... )

I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but it
sure does taste good. I have also brined chickens with great success and I
may brine some pork at some pointy. You just need plenty of aromatics in
the brine, it is not just salt and water. I use Alton Brown's brine recipe
for turkeys. For pork I will probably use more sage and for chicken I think
rosemary would be a nice touch. Also when you brine you also use sugar
which gives the result a nice rich brown and crisp skin.

Paul

<RJ> wrote:

>It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>involves "brining the meat".

It's a fad? Not sure about that. It's been done for eons.

>Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?

The two are not the same. Brine has to do with migrating salt
into the meat/fish. Marinade has to do with migrating flavors
(and maybe some lesser degee of salt) into the meat fish, and/or
breaking it down with something acidic.

>Which meats react best to brining ?

I've tried pork and that's good. I understand it's popular with
fowl. It's an essential part of making smoked fish if you want a
traditional result. It's an essential part of some (not all)
methods with beef brisket and hams.

Steve

On Sat, 08 May 2010 09:48:37 -0700, "<RJ>" > wrote:

>
>It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>involves "brining the meat".

No fad. I've been doing it for about 10 years.

>Do you "brine" ?

Yes.

> use "marinade" ?

Yes. But that's not a brine

>Which meats react best to brining ?

Chicken.

>What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )

Any kind of beef. Some people brine pork but I find it useless.

>( I'm ready to try it out...... )

Start simple. Get some chicken parts and look for a brine recipe. I
use about 2 cups water, 2 tb kosher salt, 2 t. brown sugar, 1/2 t MSG,
1/2 t granulated garlic, and about a 1/2 t. of whatever poultry
seasoning I have on hand. Put it in a zip-lock with the chicken
overnight. Bread it and fry it the next days and you'll most likely
never want it any other way. If you can't tell the difference then
don't bother the next time.

Lou

"Paul M. Cook" wrote:
>
> I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but it
> sure does taste good. I have also brined chickens with great success and I
> may brine some pork at some pointy. You just need plenty of aromatics in
> the brine, it is not just salt and water. I use Alton Brown's brine recipe
> for turkeys. For pork I will probably use more sage and for chicken I think
> rosemary would be a nice touch. Also when you brine you also use sugar
> which gives the result a nice rich brown and crisp skin.

After brining, you also have to dry poultry
if you want a crispy skin.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> "Paul M. Cook" wrote:
>>
>> I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but
>> it
>> sure does taste good. I have also brined chickens with great success and
>> I
>> may brine some pork at some pointy. You just need plenty of aromatics in
>> the brine, it is not just salt and water. I use Alton Brown's brine
>> recipe
>> for turkeys. For pork I will probably use more sage and for chicken I
>> think
>> rosemary would be a nice touch. Also when you brine you also use sugar
>> which gives the result a nice rich brown and crisp skin.
>
> After brining, you also have to dry poultry
> if you want a crispy skin.

Correct! 24 hours in the fridge uncovered in a well drained pan. I found
that drying them rear end down aids the process. Otherwise you get pools of
liquid that don't evaporate.

Paul

On 2010-05-08 10:22:13 -0700, pltrgyst said:

>> Which meats react best to brining ?
>
> Poultry, lean (light meat) pork.

And fish. It's the only thing I've brined so far. Then I dry the fish
on a cooling rack with a fan on it for an hour or two.
--
If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly
find fault with, you will not do much. -- Lewis Carroll

On Sat, 8 May 2010 13:34:36 -0700, gtr > wrote:

>On 2010-05-08 10:22:13 -0700, pltrgyst said:
>
>>> Which meats react best to brining ?
>>
>> Poultry, lean (light meat) pork.
>
>And fish. It's the only thing I've brined so far. Then I dry the fish
>on a cooling rack with a fan on it for an hour or two.

Schmaltz herring.

In article >,
zxcvbob > wrote:

> I have no idea how people with hypertension eat any meat anymore.
>
> Bob

They take medication... ;-)
I'm surprised the drug companies are not lobbying to block that
anti-salt bill.
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
*Only Irish *coffee provides in a single glass all four *essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar *and fat. --Alex Levine

On 5/8/2010 2:15 PM, Paul M. Cook wrote:
> > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>> involves "brining the meat".
>>
>> Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>>
>> Which meats react best to brining ?
>>
>> What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>>
>> ( I'm ready to try it out...... )
>
> I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but it
> sure does taste good. I have also brined chickens with great success and I
> may brine some pork at some pointy. You just need plenty of aromatics in
> the brine, it is not just salt and water. I use Alton Brown's brine recipe
> for turkeys. For pork I will probably use more sage and for chicken I think
> rosemary would be a nice touch. Also when you brine you also use sugar
> which gives the result a nice rich brown and crisp skin.
>
> Paul
>
>
I would be one of the naysayers. I tried brining turkeys when the fad
was at its peak maybe 5 years ago (along with some friends) and just
don't care for the result. I could just buy some cheepo walmart turkey
lunch meat to get the same taste.

I roast the turkey breast side down which keeps the breast meat moist
and then flip it which gives a brown crispy skin.

On Sat, 08 May 2010 09:48:37 -0700, <RJ> wrote:

> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
> involves "brining the meat".

They must be repeats. Brining was sooo.... 2003.

Pork and fish is the only thing you want to brine, IMO.

-sw

On Sat, 08 May 2010 12:37:50 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:

> "Enhanced with 8% Solution!"

You haven't read the labels lately. It's 12% last I looked (6
months ago).

And I forgot to mention chicken breasts and whole chickens. Dark
meat doesn't really benefit from brining.

-sw

On Sat, 8 May 2010 11:15:45 -0700, Paul M. Cook wrote:

> I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but it
> sure does taste good.

Who here said that? It's not worth brining a Butterball (they're
pre-brined). And many turkeys are at least slightly enhanced. But
anything under 5% is worth brining.

-sw

On Sat, 08 May 2010 20:12:21 -0400, George wrote:

> I would be one of the naysayers. I tried brining turkeys when the fad
> was at its peak maybe 5 years ago (along with some friends) and just
> don't care for the result. I could just buy some cheepo walmart turkey
> lunch meat to get the same taste.
>
> I roast the turkey breast side down which keeps the breast meat moist
> and then flip it which gives a brown crispy skin.

I don't agree about the brining (it shouldn't taste like lunchmeat -
you need to try it more than once using less salt this time).

But I'm a huge proponent of the breast side down. Nobody agreed
with me on that point when I started that crusade here 4-5 years ago
for Thanksgiving, and several times since.

So wave your flag next time I mention it :-) Eventually we'll have
enough people to make a Tiger Woods harem the more people speak up.

-sw

pltrgyst wrote:

>>What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>
> Kosher food (already salted), ground meat, beef in genera, seafoodl.

Some seafood benefits from being brined. Tiger shrimp, for example, can
sometimes have a muddy flavor which brining can alleviate.

Bob

"George" > wrote in message
...
> On 5/8/2010 2:15 PM, Paul M. Cook wrote:
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>>> involves "brining the meat".
>>>
>>> Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>>>
>>> Which meats react best to brining ?
>>>
>>> What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>>>
>>> ( I'm ready to try it out...... )
>>
>> I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but
>> it
>> sure does taste good. I have also brined chickens with great success and
>> I
>> may brine some pork at some pointy. You just need plenty of aromatics in
>> the brine, it is not just salt and water. I use Alton Brown's brine
>> recipe
>> for turkeys. For pork I will probably use more sage and for chicken I
>> think
>> rosemary would be a nice touch. Also when you brine you also use sugar
>> which gives the result a nice rich brown and crisp skin.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
> I would be one of the naysayers. I tried brining turkeys when the fad was
> at its peak maybe 5 years ago (along with some friends) and just don't
> care for the result. I could just buy some cheepo walmart turkey lunch
> meat to get the same taste.

I am sure you just had a bad recipe. The results I get are nothing like
what you describe. I wold say the flavor is not ven salty because the salt
dos not get into the bird as it would when needle injected like I am sure
lunch meat is.

> I roast the turkey breast side down which keeps the breast meat moist and
> then flip it which gives a brown crispy skin.

I like it that way, too. Life changed for me when I learned that tukeys do
not have to be cooked for 12 or more hours like I was taught as a kid.

Paul

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 8 May 2010 11:15:45 -0700, Paul M. Cook wrote:
>
>> I have had huge success brining turkeys. Some here say it's useless but
>> it
>> sure does taste good.
>
> Who here said that? It's not worth brining a Butterball (they're
> pre-brined). And many turkeys are at least slightly enhanced. But
> anything under 5% is worth brining.
>

Who would BUY a Butterball? They have had a ton of basting fluid pumped
into the flesh and then sold at a premium price. I only ate one once and it
was pretty terrible. Tasted like it had been boiled in salty chicken stock.

Paul

"<RJ>" > wrote in message
...
>
> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
> involves "brining the meat".
>
> Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>
> Which meats react best to brining ?
>
> What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>
> ( I'm ready to try it out...... )
>

RJ

I compliled posts from Alt.food.barbecue all on brining in a book form which
you can download for free off my website, there are two downloads if you
want the entire book. One is table of contents and second is the bulk of the
book or it can be downloaded and read directly from your PC as a PDF. Hope
it helps as there are also articles about brining too as well as recipes for
all lot of good cooks!

http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/downloads

http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/downloads

--
regards, piedmont (michael)
The Practical BBQ'r - http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/
(mawil55) Hardiness Zone 7-8

On 2010-05-10 06:05:58 -0700, piedmont said:

> I compliled posts from Alt.food.barbecue all on brining in a book form
> which you can download for free off my website, there are two downloads
> if you want the entire book. One is table of contents and second is the
> bulk of the book or it can be downloaded and read directly from your PC
> as a PDF. Hope it helps as there are also articles about brining too as
> well as recipes for all lot of good cooks!
>
> http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/downloads
>
> http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/downloads

Cool! Many thanks!
--
If you limit your actions in life to things that nobody can possibly
find fault with, you will not do much. -- Lewis Carroll

On Sat, 08 May 2010 09:48:37 -0700, "<RJ>" > wrote:

>
>It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>involves "brining the meat".
>
>Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>
>Which meats react best to brining ?
>
>What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>
>( I'm ready to try it out...... )

I've only been brining myself few a few months, and I'm now sold on
it. I've done a leg of hogget and Venison, and quite a few chooks.

That, combined with slow cooking has resulted in fantastically tender
and flavoursome meat, so I have no plans anytime soon to stop doing
it. Well worth the extra time and effort, IMO.

Typically for a chook, I add about a third of a cup of salt tothree
litres of water, plus whatever herbs and spices take my fancy at the
time. Juniper is almost always involved.

On Sat, 08 May 2010 12:37:50 -0500, zxcvbob >
wrote:

><RJ> wrote:
>> It seems the latest fad in cooking shows
>> involves "brining the meat".
>>
>> Do you "brine" ? use "marinade" ?
>>
>> Which meats react best to brining ?
>>
>> What wouldn't you brine ? ( besides hamburger )
>>
>> ( I'm ready to try it out...... )
>>
>
>
>I have trouble finding any meat that is not already pumped full of
>brine. Walmart started that, I think in partnership with Hormel --
>"Enhanced with 8% Solution!" -- and it spilled over to all the
>wholesale meat producers. So the last thing I want is to add even
>more salt (unless I'm making sausage, and even there the brine in
>the meat throws off the recipes.)
>
>I have no idea how people with hypertension eat any meat anymore.

That's really sad if you literally can't find any unadulterated meat
Bob