Brining....

[Mongo]

Howdy all,

I have a bunch of at least 3" thick pork chops. Grilled the first batch of them. Tasted great, but were dried out by the time they were cooked properly. I have heard of brining, but know next to nothing about it other than it can make a very thick pork chop cook up nice and juicy.

So... how do I go about brining the remaining half dozen or so chops that I have left? How much salt to how much water, and how long to soak?

Thanks in advance,

Mongo

[hung-solo]

we do not eat pork chops at our house bc my wife doesnt eat it.. however growing up my dad was a huge fan of thick porkchops. the way he kept them moist was slow cooking and putting slices of bacon on the meat the last half of the cooking. also a good marinade and do NOT add salt until the meat is off the grill. salt will force water out of the meat. at least thats what he told me.. sometimes with thick bacon, he would wrap the meat. perhaps 3 inches is too thick. maybe 2-2.5 would have been perfect for your cooking style.

i am interested in basting as well. hopefully someone will chime in

[Morrow]

Check out this link. The brine recipe is at the bottom. I brine pork chops for about an hour or so depending on how thick they are.

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_...of_brines.html

[72jroberts]

Mongo,
cooking is one of my favorite hobbies. Keep in mind that brining is not some magical fix it to make things more moist. Chemically, if you soak meat with salt water, you will pull moisture out of the meat. Why brine, then? Good question. I think that it is a great way to concentrate flavor by decreasing the natural amount of water in the meat ( or blood, or impurities, whatever) I do it on pretty much all the game birds that I kill and grill.
My advice regarding specifically your question is to consider a 3 inch piece of meat that you are cooking on a grill, the reason that the meat is dried out is that you cooked all the moisture out ( no duh )on perhaps too high of a temperature. So try to perhaps brine the pork chops with a 1/2 cup salt and one gallon of water, soak for about an hour or so, pat dry and rub on spices of your choice. And then grill on a high temp to get some carmelizing and grill marks on both sides, and then turn the heat way down and cook for 20 min or so, maybe giving one a stab and looking inside to ensure that you are cooking it to your satisfaction. There are possibly "hot spots" on your grill and cooler spots, so move the meat around as needed. Hope this helps.

[jstrykr74]

A simple brine that works well for both chicken and pork is 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar and the juice of a lemon for a gallon of water. Pork chops or cut up chicken should take an hour or two. A whole chicken about 4 hours. I always take the meat out of the brine and let it dry off covered in the fridge for an hour or so. When you add the lemon you don't want to brine the meat too long as the lemon, or any acid you add will start to 'cook' the meat.

[hung-solo]

cool stuff thanks guys

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

I just dissolve a bunch of salt and maybe a little sugar into some water and brine overnight.

I haven't tried it on pork but it makes chicken way more moist. It is easy to do and would make a big difference on those thick pork chops.

Lawry's seasoning alone works well as a brining salt.

[willseeyalater]

If we are doing pork chops, country style pork ribs or chicken quarters we take a gallon plastic bag about 3/4 full of meat and add a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of brown sugar and two tablespoons of lime juice. As the juice of the meat works out it dilutes and spreads the salt/sugar/juice mix over in into the meat. Leave it on the counter for an hour to do the magic and grill it or cook it in a smoker. Add hot pepper and bbq sauce later at the table if that is what you need.

[Brad "the butcher"]

I cook thick chops at 300 F on indirect heat with a slice of pork fat on top, self basting. Cut the fat off the sides as it is lost on the grill and top. That and a big smoke pouch on the hot side.

Never tried to brine but maybe I will try it.....with a proper recipe.

Kind of scarred by my parents horrible attempt at brining a turkey for thanksgiving 4 years ago. Worst bird I have ever tried to eat, like drinking soy sauce. They got some half-assed advice from a friend and soaked it in brine for a couple days in the fridge with no ice. I could have chipped that bird and used it for ice-melt on the front step. Thank god they made a ham too.

[gregorio]

I will only cook a turkey that is brined for thanksgiving. Look at Alton Brown's turkey brining recipe, if done right it is the best turkey you'll ever have. Note though that you cannot stuff a brined turkey, comes out all wet and horrible. The recipe calls for boiling the brine the day before using salt, sugar, cinnamon, apple, clove and candied ginger.

[hung-solo]

I will only cook a turkey that is brined for thanksgiving. Look at Alton Brown's turkey brining recipe, if done right it is the best turkey you'll ever have. Note though that you cannot stuff a brined turkey, comes out all wet and horrible. The recipe calls for boiling the brine the day before using salt, sugar, cinnamon, apple, clove and candied ginger.

dude deep fryin that bird in peanut oil is the very best turkey you will ever eat.

[jstrykr74]

I cook thick chops at 300 F on indirect heat with a slice of pork fat on top, self basting. Cut the fat off the sides as it is lost on the grill and top. That and a big smoke pouch on the hot side.

Never tried to brine but maybe I will try it.....with a proper recipe.

Kind of scarred by my parents horrible attempt at brining a turkey for thanksgiving 4 years ago. Worst bird I have ever tried to eat, like drinking soy sauce. They got some half-assed advice from a friend and soaked it in brine for a couple days in the fridge with no ice. I could have chipped that bird and used it for ice-melt on the front step. Thank god they made a ham too.

Yeah, you can 'over-brine' a bird. Overnight for a turkey I think would be about max (whole chickens only take 4 hours or so). Otherwise the meat is going to get real salty, not mention a little mushy if there's any acid in the brine. Done right it works very well, but just like any other cooking technique, if you don't get it right things can go very wrong.
And thumbs up on the deep fried turkey.

[Blais]

I go with a standard 1 cup of salt, 1/2 cup sugar to a gallon of water, brining pork for 2 hours or so depending on the thickness.
I've heard a lot of arguments for and against brining but it's working for me and I can finally enjoy pork chops.
Substituting Lawry's seasoned salt for 1/2 the total salt in the brine adds a nice flavor to chops.

[Shann]

Obviously doesn't apply to pork, but if you buy kosher poultry, don't brine it as it has already been salted as part of the process.