Cooking For Engineers

[Capt Buck]

Picked up this little trick from a TV show and tried it with some porkloins on the Barby. Find a large non-reactive pot and put in 1 gallon of water, 1/2 cup of salt(kosher works best) and 1 cup brown sugar. Put over burner and bring to the boil and disolve the above sugar and salt, add your desired spices. I use 4 crushed garlic cloves, a couple bay leaves,some whole pepper corns,1 1/2 tbsp corriander seeds and a good shot of cayenne pepper. When the salt and sugar have disolved, put the brine in the fridge until completely chilled. Brining must take place at +40*f and NO HIGHER!! Also do not use too much of any acidic friut juices,vinegars and the like,especially with poultry, as they will chemically cook the meat. When the brine is completely cooled, find another non-reactive container that will allow the meat the be COMPLETELY covered by the brine. If the meat trys to float, find something to weigh it down. A tip on the containers here,use stainless,plastic,glass or ceramics as the brine is highly reactive (DON"T use aluminium!!!) Brining will vary with the size of your piece of meat,but rule of thumbs are:

Meat Brine Blend Time
4-5 lb. Pork Loin 24 hrs.
4 to 6 Pork Chops 4–10 hrs.
Pork Tenderloin 4–12 hrs.
12–16 lb. Turkey 1–2 days
17+ lb. Turkey 1–2 days
Whole Turkey Breast 12–24 hrs.
Whole Chicken 18–24 hrs.
8 to 10 Chicken Pieces 45–90 mins.
4 to 6 Chicken Breasts 30–60 mins.
1-2 lbs. Shrimp 20–40 mins.
Fish Fillets 10–30 mins.

After the brining process is done,remove the meat,wash it really good and pat the outside dry. At this point if you want,do a dry rubs with some spices of your choice.Make sure you completely dry the outside of the meat,as too much moisture will steam it. This is especailly true with kettle type BBQ's. Lightly oil the grill surface and place the meat on the grill. Use tongs to turn the meat, don't use a fork that will pierce the surface and release the juices in the meat. Cook as you usually would on the grill, but keep a close watch on the meat, as the cooking time with brining will be about 3/4's the normal. Give a go gang! It sounds like a lot of prep work, but it's worth it. You'll never cook on the BBQ any other way after trying this. The meat is way moist,tender and full of flavour and completely changed the way I cook on the grill.

[nobin]

copyright 2006

[Howard]

Don't put the hot liquid inside your refrigerator. Let it cool at room temperature until it's at room temperature, THEN put it in.