Guide Note

Brining is a cooking technique that tenderizes food by soaking it in a solution of salt and water before cooking. The meat must marinate in the brine for several hours, sometimes up to a day, before it is cooked, so in order to brine you must plan ahead. The brining process serves to make meat more tender by hydrating the meat. Brining foods also acts to preserve them.

Fast Facts

Frequently used to prepare Thanksgiving turkey
Sugar and seasonings often added
Beer or juice can be substituted for some of the water
Brining time can be from 6 to 36 hours
Make sure you have a large enough container to hold the brine and your meat
Meat must be refrigerated while being brined
Most brining recipes call for kosher salt, which has larger crystals than table salt

What Should I Brine?

Lean meats like chicken, pork and turkey are best for brining since you can avoid drying out their meat by using the process. Salmon and duck are also good candidates for brining.

Categories

Food | Food Trends | Cooking Methods | Meat | Holiday Recipes | Thanksgiving Food

View Note History

Brining

Also try: Thanksgiving Turkey | How to Brine a Turkey

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia: Brining
Cooks Illustrated: "The Basics of Brining (2001) (64KB)
Food Network: Maple Brined Turkey
Epicurious.com: Brined Pork Chops with Spicy Chutney Barbecue Sauce
All Recipes: Brine for Smoked Salmon
Recipezaar: Never- Fail Basic Brining Recipe
Slashfood: Some Turkey Brining Dos and Don'ts

Brining Recipes

Brined Turkey Recipes

Food Network: Brined Turkey Recipe Search
Epicurious.com: Brined and Barbecued Turkey
All Recipes: Out of this World Turkey Brine
Recipezaar: Brining a Young Turkey
Every Day with Rachael Ray: Adam's Bourbon-Glazed Barbecue Turkey
VideoJug: How To Make Turkey Pastrami (Time: 5:08)

Brined Chicken and Duck Recipes

Food Network: Michael's Brined and Spiced Chicken Cooked in Butter with Sherry Vinegar Sauce
Recipezaar: Brining a 3 1/2-4 # Chicken
Simply Recipes: Roasted Garlic Chicken | Rosemary Duck with Apricots
3 Men With Nothing Better to Do: Competition Chicken
American BBQ Society: Brined Chicken

Brined Meat Recipes

Food Network: Molasses Brined Pork Chops
Epicurious.com: Brined Pork Loin with Onion, Raisin, and Garlic Compote
All Recipes: Basic Brine for Smoking Meat
Simply Recipes: Grilled Spicy Citrus Ribs
Recipezaar: From Scratch Home Corned Beef Brisket

Brined Seafood Recipes

Food Network: Brined and Smoked Smelt
Epicurious.com: Grilled Brined Salmon and Eggplant with Fennel Cucumber Relish
AskaChef.com: Smoked Fish Brine Recipe
Recipezaar: Smoked Fish (Brine Recipe and Smoking Directions)

Brining Blogs and Forums

Recipezaar Community Forums: Brining a Turkey
Coconut & Lime: How to Brine a Turkey
Cooking For Engineers: Kitchen Notes: Brining
Two Spoons Please: An Intro to Brining
Cooking up a Storm: Maple-Brined Pork Chops

Brining Articles, History, and Trivia

Food Network: Brining | Culinary Q&A with Alton Brown on Brining
San Francisco Chronicle: "Tips on brining meat, poultry, fish" (2005)
Foster Farms: Brining Turkey
Food & Wine: "More Perfect-Turkey Tips" (2007)
Google Video: Chef Rusty, A Bite With Belkys
Seafood Network Information Center: Smoking Fish

Related Searches

Thanksgiving Turkey | Thanksgiving Recipes | Turkey | Turkey Brining Videos | Pork | Chicken | Duck | Salmon | Corned Beef | Pastrami