3 Ways to Make a Basic Brine - wikiHow 1 Submerge the meat in the brine and refrigerate. If you can't fit the container in the refrigerator, place ice cubes in the brine as needed to keep the water cold. Put the ice in a sealable plastic bag and place the bag in the brine if you are brining a thick piece of meat or a turkey in a large amount of brine liquid. Keep the piece of meat submerged, if possible. If not, turn the meat occasionally and lengthen the time you brine. 2 Brining time depends on the thickness of the meat and the intensity of the brine. It takes more time to thoroughly brine a thicker piece of meat. Brine a 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) thick piece of meat in the refrigerator for a half hour; 1 inch (25.4 mm) for 1 hour; 2 inch (50.8 mm) for 3 hours; and 3 inch (76.2 mm) for 8 hours. Community Q&A If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know.

Video Tips Use a pot made of non-reactive metal such as steel. Do not use copper or aluminum because these will react with the salt and may damage the pot and release metals into the brine. When you are done brining, rinse the meat off under cold water and pat it dry. Refrigerate for an hour to give the brine time to equalize through the meat. If not rinsing: 40 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 14 hours To help dissolve the salt, add the salt to 1/2 the amount of warm water and stir until dissolved. Then add the warm water to cold water. 30 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 48 hours 30 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 32 hours 45 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 9 hours These are brine proportions that have worked. Remember that brines do not penetrate well no matter how much time you leave cuts in them. Leaving a cut for too much time in too salty water will actually make it tougher. In case you need to rinse (e.g.

brining with yogurt instead of water): 35 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 21 hours 45 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 14 hours You could make a "voodoo doll" out of your cuts, sticking a fork all the way everywhere psycho style. Be careful if you go above 20% sugar. If using 60 g salt for example, keep sugar below 12 g. 10% is nice (i.e. 6 g sugar for 60 g salt) and anything beyond 20% will taste hammy.

50 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 9 hours 50 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 6 hours 35 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 32 hours 55 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 6 hours 55 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 4 hours 40 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 21 hours 60 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 5 hours 60 g salt for each 4 cups water - brine for 3 hours Warnings Don't brine meats that say "self-basting," "flavor-enhanced" or "enhanced" on the package. Salty fluids are already injected into these meats. Making brine Making Brine Curing Meats Making Brine There isn’t a universal brine and every book and recipe provides customized instructions.

Salt of different density and weight (table salt, Morton® Kosher, Diamond® Kosher) is measured with different instruments such as spoons, cups, ounces, pounds, kilograms - water measured by cups, quarts, gallons, liters… a total mess and chaos. The main advantage of making your own brine is that you have total control over it and there is no guessing involved. Firstly, it makes no sense at all to talk about curing time if we don’t specify the strength of a brine. We can mix ½ cup salt with one quart of water or we can add 5 cups salt into one gallon of water and it is obvious that curing times will be different though both brines will do the job. To prepare your own brine in a professional way and not to depend blindly on thousands of recipes you need two things: 1. Buy a brine tester. They are so cheap that there is no excuse for not having one. The salinometer or salometer (brinometer) consists of a float with a stem attached, marked in degrees. The instrument will float at its highest level in a saturated brine, and will read 100 degrees (26.4 % salt solution).

This is known as a fully saturated brine at 60° F. In weaker brines the stem will float at lower levels and the reading will be lower. With no salt present the reading will be 0. To make brine put some water one into a suitable container, add some salt, insert a brine tester and read the scale. Want a stronger solution: add more salt. Need weaker brine: add more water, it is that simple. Keep in mind that a salinometer’s scale measures the density of a solution containing salt and water. Once you add other ingredients the salinometer will measure the density of a solution and not the salinity of the brine. Brine testers 2. Learn how to use brine tables. The advantages of using tables are many: you can calculate the strength of any recipe you come across you can find out how much salt to add to 1 gallon of water to create a particular brine strength you don’t have to worry whether you use table salt, Morton® kosher salt or Diamond® kosher salt. Brine Tables are especially useful when making a large volume of brine.

Sodium Chloride (Salt) Brine Tables for Brine at 60 F (15° C) in US Gallons Salometer Degrees 7.380 Seawater contains approximately 3.695 % of salt which corresponds to 14 degrees salometer. At 100 degrees brine is fully saturated and contains 26.395 % of salt.

1 US gallon of water weighs 8.33 lbs 1 US gallon = 3.8 liters = 3.8 kilograms If you come across a recipe and you would like to determine what is the strength of the brine, just follow two steps: Find percent of salt by weight in the solution: weight of salt/(weight of salt plus weight of water), then multiply the result by 100% Look up the tables and find the corresponding salometer degree For example, let’s find the strength of the brine that is mentioned in many recipes and calls for adding 1 pound of salt to 1 gallon of water (8.33 pounds) % salt by weight = 1lb of salt/1 lb of salt + 8.33 lbs (1 gallon) of water = 1/9.33 = 0.1071 0.1071 x 100 % = 10.71 % of salt Looking in the table at Column 2 (percent sodium chloride by weight) we can see that 10.71 % corresponds to 40 ½ degrees.

Another popular brine is made by adding 3/4 cup of salt (219 g) to 1 gallon (3.8 liters)of water 219g / 219 + 3800 g = 0.05 0.05 x 100 = 5 % of salt Looking in the table at Column 2 (percent sodium chloride by weight) we can see that 5 % corresponds to 19 degrees. Basic brine has always been salt and water and all other ingredients are extras. You can prepare your basic brine using the brine tester then adding all other remaining ingredients, mix them well and check your reading again to have a reference for the future. Salinometer readings are calibrated to give a correct indication when the brine is at 60° F temperature. Each brine tester will have its own instructions for temperature compensation but the basic rule of thumb says that for every 10° F the brine is above 60° F, one degree should be added to the reading before using table.

If the brine is below 60° F subtract 1 degree for each 10° F from the observed salinometer reading before using table. For example, if a salinometer indicates 70 degrees brine and the brine’s temperature is 40° F, the corrected salinometer reading would be 68 degrees (for each 10 F below 60 F, one salinometer degree is substracted). If the brine temperature is 80° F and the salinometer indicates 40 degrees, the corrected reading would be 82 degrees SAL (for each 10° F above 60° F, one salinometer degree is added)These are very small differences which are of bigger importance for a meat plant curing huge amounts of meat at one time. Needless to say a thermometer is needed too.

The Easiest Way to Make Brine Basically you have to answer yourself a few questions: How much brine - depends on the weight of your meat How strong brine - depends on a kind of meat and the curing time you wish to employ Do you need nitrate/nitrite (Cure1/Cure2) Do you need sugar Let's look at these one at a time: How Much Brine The easiest way is to estimate the needed amount of brine. You have to cover the meats and a lot of brine will be wasted if you cure 1 chicken in a filled to the top 55 gallon drum. A basic rule of thumb dictates that the amount of brine should come to 50 % in relation to the weight of the meat. For 2 lbs of meat use 1 pound of brine. Try to use a container whose size and shape will accomodate best the meat piece to use as little brine as possible. In Poland where people have smoked meats for hundreds of years, almost everybody (meats plants included) uses the following weight ratio: from 30 % to 40 % of water to 100 % of meat.

That means that for 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of meat we add 0.4 liters (400 mg) of water. Keep in mind that 1 liter of water weighs exactly 1 kg. Then you choose the strength of the brine and keep on adding salt checking the reading with a salometer. This is a rather time consumming method and you can make brine much faster by using tables, the way professionals do. To make brine we need to use only three columns of the table and they are shaded in yellow color. For example we want 22 degrees brine to cure chicken. If you follow the 22 degree row to the right you will see in Column 3 that 0.513 lb of salt has to be added to 1 gallon of water to make 22 degree brine. Or to make 80 degree brine we need to mix 2.229 lbs of salt with 1 gallon of water. Then check it with your salinometer and you can add a cup of water or a tablespoon of salt to get a perfect reading. If you end up with not enough brine, make some more.

If you think you may need just 1/2 gallon more of 80 degree brine, take 1/2 gallon of water and add 1/2 of salt that the table asks for. In this case looking at 80 degree brine (Column 1), going to the right you can see that in Column 3 the amount of the needed salt is 2.229 lbs. Yes, but this amount is added to 1 gallon of water to create 80 degree brine. Because we use only 1/2 gallon now, this amount of salt nedds to be halved: 2.229lbs/2 = 1.11 lbs. In other words if we add 1.11 lbs of salt to 1/2 gallon of water we will also create 80 degree brine. Let’s say you need about 10 gallons of 60 degrees SAL brine (15.8% salt) to cure ham. Locate 60 degrees SAL in Column 1 and then go across to Column 3 where it is stated that 1.567 pounds salt/gallon of water is needed.

Multiplying 1.567 (pounds salt/gallon of water x 10 gallons of water gives us 15.67 lbs of salt. This is how much salt needs to be added to 10 gallons of water to make 60 degrees SAL brine. Note that you have an increased volume of the solution and it will need a bigger tank than 10 gallons that will hold more than 10 gallons of brine. When making brine this way we end up with more brine that can be fitted inside of a 1 gallon container (1 gal of water + salt). There are instances that we may need to make a precised amount of brine that would exactly fit into a certain capacity container. To make excact amounts of brine use Columns 4 and 5 which are shaded pink in color. The two columns shaded in pink are used by commercial establishments to make up exact amounts of a particular brine. Let's say that we have a 10 gallon container and before we go fishing we would like to fill it up with 60 degree brine.

Go to the Column 5 (pounds per gallon of brine) which reads that 1.475 pounds of salt are needed to make exactly 1 gallon of brine at 60 degrees. Column 7 says that 0.941 gallon of water is needed.These readings now have to be multiplied by 10 gallons: 1.475 lbs salt x 10 = 14.75 lbs salt 0.941 gallon of water x 10 = 9.41 gallons If we add now 14.75 lbs of salt to 9.41 gallons of water we would obtain excactly 10 gallons of 60 degrees brine. Strength of the Brine There is no universal brine and its strength (amount of salt in water) will be up to you. Brine tester is a must and a notebook for future reference will be of invaluable help. You can use stronger brine and your curing time will be shorter or you can use a milder brine and the curing time can be longer.

Some typical brines are given below: Brine Strength 80 -100, brines seldom used Note: if you add sugar into your brine it will be heavier. For example if we add 8 lbs of salt to 5 gallons of water we obtain 61 degree brine but if we add 8 lbs of salt plus 3 lbs of sugar to 5 gallons of water, we get 75 degree brine. All our calculations are based on salt and water only. Curing method used, curing times and brine strength all depends on each other: The strength of the brine – the stronger the brine the faster curing action The size of the cured meat – a whole turkey requires more brining time than a shrimp The method used – pumping and brining or just brining. Pumping meat shortens curing time. Make sure you don't brine meats that have already been brined before you buy them, such as supermarket stocked pork, which has been treated with sodium phosphate and water to make it juicier. Notice that sugar, though added to brine after it is made, does not participate in calculation for making brine of particular strength.

That is due to the following reasons: A lot of brines do not call for sugar at all A lot of brines call for different amounts of sugar (more sugar for a bacon, less sugar for a ham) People use different sugars, dextrose, maple syrup or honey Most meats like 70 – 75 degrees brine, poultry likes weaker solution – 21 degrees and most fish are cured at 80 degrees brine. Of course there are small diameter meat cuts and big ones (loins, butts, hams), chicken breasts, whole chickens and turkeys, and fish fillets, small fish and big fish and all these different meats and cuts will have different curing times. Products like loins, hams, poultry, and spareribs taste good when more sugar is applied. Sugar is not a curing agent and it has very little effect on the curing process. Think of sugar more like a flavoring. A rule of thumb for curing times estimates for the traditional wet cure method (brine strength 50 – 65 degrees) 11 days per inch of thickness of the meat About 3 ½ to 4 days per pound for 20 lbs.

hams and picnics 3 days per pound for smaller cuts. The following brine strengths are for orientation purpose only and feel free to improvise your own brines. Meat Type The USA regulations permit the following amounts of nitrates/nitrites for wet cure: 7 lbs. of sodium or potassium nitrate (saltpeter) to 100 gallon pickle 2 lbs. of sodium or potassium nitrite to 100 gallon pickle @ 10 % pump level. To stay within established nitrite limits (200 ppm) our brine looks as follows: 1 gal of water, 5 oz Cure 1 (144 g = 0.31 lb) which corresponds to 1 gal of water and 8 flat Tablespoons of Cure 1. If we used only 5 oz of Cure 1 (there is 93.75 % salt in it) and 1 gal of water it will give us 14 degree brine which is an approximate strength of seawater. This is too weak a brine for any practical purpose and more salt has to be added. The first question to be answered is whether Cure 1 will be used.

If you are going to smoke or cook your meats at 190 F or higher you don’t need to worry about botulism (food poisoning). Remember that nitrates/nitrites (Cure 1 and Cure 2) besides preventing botulism impart a characteristic flavor and color associated with smoked meats. The amount of Cure 1 always stays the same (5 oz or 144 g or 8 Tbs) at different brine strengths as long as 1 gallon of water is used and conforms to the government established 200 ppm maximum limit. By using the above table you can not only control yourself making the brine but you can check whether other recipes conform to the government standards. You should be aware that the table is for maximum amount of nitrites (Cure 1) in the brine. The easiest way to make a curing solution (water, salt, nitrite) is to add 5 oz Cure 1 to one gallon of water and then add more salt until the desired salinometer reading (brine strength) is obtained.

Bear in mind that when you add Cure 1 to your solution (it contains 93.75 % salt) you will be changing the strength of the brine, especially at higher degrees. Simply subtract this amount from the salt given by the tables. The amount of Cure 1 that we add to 1 gal of water remains the same (144 g = 0.31 lb) regardless of the strength of the brine we are making. For example, to make 60 degree brine Column 3 asks for 1.567 lbs of salt to be added to 1 gallon of water. But because we are adding 0.31 lb (144 g) of salt that is inside of Cure 1, we have to subtract that from the salt the table calls for. The result is: 1.567 - 0.310 = 1.257.

To make 1 gal 60 degree brine with nitrite we need: 0.310 lb (144 g or 5 oz) of Cure 1 1.257 lb of salt 1 gal of water And if we need 5 gallons of the above brine, we simply multiply all ingredients by 5. Note: Nitrites are not allowed in all species of fish used for smoking. The Food and Drug Administration currently allows nitrites to be used in salmon, sablefish, shad, chubs, and tuna. The standard traditional curing brine for each 100 lbs. of meat has been: 8 lbs. salt, 3 lbs. sugar, 3 oz. saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and 4 ½ to 6 gals. of water. This is exactly the same mixture as used for dry curing except for the addition of water. Hundreds of recipes that can be found in books or on the Internet will conform to this formula. This is basically the standard 8:3:3 dry cure mix that is added to 4 ½ - 6 gallons of water.

Nowadays it is almost impossible to obtain pure nitrates/nitrites and premixed nitrite cures (Cure 1, Cure 2) are offered instead. 8 lbs. of salt/4 ½ gallon of water = 66 degrees brine. Best for hams and shoulders. 8 lbs. of salt/5 gallons of water = 61 degrees brine. Loins and bacon 8 lbs. of salt/5 ½ gallon of water = 57 degrees brine. Loins, bacon, spareribs 8 lbs of water/6 gallons of water = 52 degrees brine. Spareribs 4 lbs. of salt/6 gal of water = 26 degrees brine. Poultry Curing times: 11 to 13 days per inch of maximum thickness As meat may be immersed in brine for quite a long time, sometimes even up to 6 weeks, it goes without saying that we want our brine to be very clean, otherwise we may introduce some bacteria to it and that will spoil the brine. That is why it is a good idea to pre-cure your meat as it was done in dry curing.

Take the part of the dry mix before it is dissolved in water and rub it in into the meat. Let it sit overnight in a cool place (preferably in a refrigerator) to allow blood to be drawn out. Then rinse it and immerse in a wet brine. Required amount of salt should be dissolved in water, brought to a boil and boiled for about one hour (prolonged boiling kills all bacteria). Depending on the quality of salt we may have some impurities that will gather on the surface and they shall be scooped up and discarded. Some of the brine shall be transferred to a smaller container and the remaining ingredients (nitrite, sugar, spices and if used the chemical ingredients) shall be added and mixed. Then it should be added to the main portion of brine and the solution should be checked with a brine tester (salinometer) for proper strength. After that it should be left for 24-48 hours for the impurities to settle down at the bottom. Then the solution should be siphoned off through a filter (fine cloth, paper towel, gauze) to a different container without stirring the sediment. The brine should not be stored at temperatures higher than 4° C.

Although the above procedure sounds a bit complicated it definitely should be used when preparing large amounts of brine (25 US gallons, 95 liters). In such cases we will be curing 200 kg (450 lbs) of meat or more and we cannot take a risk of contaminating the brine. For a home sausage maker curing small amounts of meat, mixing all ingredients in tap water will be fine, though the solution should be checked with a brine tester and kept in a refrigerator until further use. There are bacteria present in a tap water although they are harmless to us. Whether they will spoil the brine is anybody’s guess and you can not go wrong by boiling water for 10 minutes first. Brine injecting machine. Courtesy Koch Equipment, Kansas City MO Adding sugar Sugar is NOT a curing agent and its main use is to offset the harshness of salt and to further improve flavor and final color. It is well known that fruits preserved with sugar keep well for a long time when sealed in jars (canning). In meat curing, sugar is in rather low concentration to prevent the growth of bacteria. When added to brine it becomes food for numerous bacteria that prefer it as a food.

With no sugar present those bacteria will feed on protein. Another benefit is that sugar helps to develop the color. It does that indirectly by providing food (sugar) to those bacteria that react with nitrate which in turn release nitrite. It acts also as anti-oxidant. What it means is that it reacts easily with oxygen and prevents the latter from changing the color of the meat. Sugar added to brine becomes an additional food for many bacteria. Now our brine or sweet pickle goes into a complicated but quiet fermentation process. Many other technologies rely on the fermentation process (baking bread, making wine) and curing is somewhat similar. When making wine we mix yeast (bacteria) with water and we add sugar (food for yeast) to start fermentation. Curing solution should remain at temperatures no higher than 41° F (5° C) otherwise sugar will facilitate rapid fermentation and the development of meat spoiling microorganisms which is what we are trying to avoid in the first place. Even at low temperatures the addition of sugar to wet cure should be limited to 2 % (in relation to salt) or less as it may start rapid fermentation which in turn may affect the quality of the product.

Normally it is accepted to use between 1-2 % of sugar in a wet curing solution and 2-2.5 % of sugar in a dry cure mix. It does not really matter much whether white or brown sugar is used. Sugars commonly used in meat curing are beet, cane and corn. Molasses and syrups have also been used. Keep in mind that different sugars will have different degrees of sweetness. Honey is often added to lean meats (ham) or even bacon for a distinctive flavor. 3 % of sugar in relation to salt is the commonly accepted figure. We have looked at a number of professionally written Meat Technology books by notable experts in the field and we have found that very little sugar (below 3 % in relation to salt) is used in curing solutions. For example, in American classical dry mix mixture: 8 lbs salt : 3 lbs sugar : 3 ozs potassium nitrate – the percentage of sugar in relation to salt is: 3 lb sugar/8 lb salt and that comes to 37%. The books we have examined were: Meat Product Technology by M.D.

Ranken (English Book) Meat Technology and Making Meat Products (Technologia Mięsa i Produktów Mięsnych) – A.A. Manergerger and E.J. Mirkin (Russian Book) Meat Technology (Technologia Mięsa) – Adam Olszowski, Ph.D (Polish Book) Meat Technology (Przetwórstwo Mięsa) – Władysław Poszczepczyński – Polish Book Meat Through the Microscope – C. Robert Moulton, Ph.D and W. Lee Lewis, Ph.D, The University of Chicago In all those professional books the amount of sugar in relation to salt was always below 5%. In Polish and Russian books the percentage of salt was below 3% or less. As you can see adding sugar will be a matter of your personal choice, many curing solutions don’t employ sugar at all. The sugar commonly used in curing is cane or beet sugar also known as “sucrose”. Sometimes other sugars, syrups, and molasses are used and they all have a different chemical composition. Very popular is light-colored and well refined sugar called “dextrose”, also known as cerelose.

Keep in mind that dextrose (corn sugar) contains less sugar than cane or beet sugar and obviously tastes less sweet. A sugar found in raisin syrup and in honey is known as “fructose” , sometimes called levulose. There is a sugar called “luctose” in powdered milk products. Under certain conditions the sucrose (common sugar) can be split into two sugars of equal proportions: Sucrose (12 carbon atoms) = dextrose (6 carbon atoms) and levulose (6 carbon atoms). Which Sugar is the Best? The answer is very simple: there is no significant difference. There is no difference between cane and beet sugar when used for curing. Dextrose (corn sugar) is a reducing sugar and it is most effective in cures calling for short curing times (up to 15 days) as it reduces undesirable pigments in the meat. It reacts with those pigments and prevents them from changing the color of the meat. As it contains less sugar than other types, less of it remains in brine after 10 days and its curing properties are somewhat inhibited. Fructose sugar (honey) is also a reducing sugar and exibits the same properties.

Unfortunately it is too expensive to be of practical use. It is sometimes used by home sausagemakers to make a dry cured bacon as it imparts a peculiar flavor. Sucrose (common cane and beet sugar) is not a reducing sugar but after about 10 days in a pickle it starts to break down into dextrose and fructose (levulose) and is most effective at long curing times. For all purpose curing and sweetening the common refined sugar is the best choice. Partially refined sugar (Grade 2) will cure meats as good as others and may be of interest to commercial establishments as its price will be lower. Note: dextrose is much heavier than plain sugar and is only 70 % as sweet as regular sugar. It is a good choice when curing solutions contain potassium nitrate or when making fermented sausages. How Much Sugar? If we decide to choose 3 % sugar in relation to salt, all we need is a calculator. For example, we choose 60 degree brine and in the table Column 3 calls for 1.567 lbs of salt to be added to 1 gallon of water.

All we have to do is to multiply 1.567 by 0.03 (3 %) and the result is: 1.567 x 0.03 = 0.047 lbs of sugar = 0.752 oz = 21 g = 4 tsp. Oversalting can easily make a product not edible but sugar is very forgiving and you can always eat your meat-cake. The percentage used (3 %) is ten times smaller than amount of sugar (37 %) that has been present in American mix (8:3:3) for 100 years. Customers prefer many products on the sweet side: honey flavored ham, honey flavored bacon or poultry and ribs. Sugar is a flavoring agent, it does not cure meat directly and the amount you want to use is up to you. Spices and Vinegar Spices are used in curing meats for the flavor they impart. It is known that the oils contained in spices can inhibit bacterial browth. To be of any use they will have to be in very high concentration and even then they can not be used alone in curing.

There was a myth a few centuries ago (no refrigeration) that when some highly flavored spices like saffron, marjoram, curry and others were added to recipes, the meats kept well. The fact is that they helped to mask the ordor of the slowly decomposing meats making them acceptable for consumption. It is like putting on perfume instead taking a shower. Now you know why some countries like to use a lot of strong spices. In hot climate people use a lot of hot peppers not even knowing why. Eating hot food (peppers) make your body sweat all over and it gets cooled at the same time. For a guy sitting under a palm tree and without access to electricity and the air conditioning, the only means to cool down is to keep on eating hot peppers and drinking cold beer. Pepper is basically added for flavor. It has no value as a preservative and has little efect when added to brine cures since it can not dissolve in water. But it can be rubbed on the meat after curing or smoking, adding some flavor. Vinegar is very effective in preventing the growth of bacteria as most bacteria do not like acidy environment.

Vinegar also adds flavor to the product and is commonly used in marinades and barbecue sauces. It is also used in Mexican Chorizo Sausage. Bad brine symptoms White slime and foam on top Milky color and foul odor Brine turns blue in color Brine becomes very tacky (gluey) to touch It is normal for a thin scum or white mold to accumulate on top of the brine. This white foam should be periodically removed. In case the foam starts to give a foul odor, turn blue in color, or becomes much thicker slime we will have to remove the ham, wash it in cool water and place it again in freshly made brine. At the first suspicion of brine spoilage it should be replaced with a fresh one, in most cases there is nothing wrong with the meat itself which should be just rinsed. Bad brine was nicknamed “Ropy” pickle and was stringy, sticky or slimy dripping from the fingers like syrup. Cured meats should be completely immersed in brine and weighted down when necessary. Most important no meat should protrude from the brine as it may get spoiled and then ruin the whole brine.

If brining a large amount of meat, pack them together in a barrel without using excessive force. Heavy pieces like hams and shoulders on the bottom, lighter ones like bacon on the top. Then you can pour in the prepared solution covering all pieces. As the meats will start to shift and will come to the surface, place a suitable clean weight on top to prevent meat from contact with the air as this can spoil the brine. Pack meats the skin side down. The container should be placed preferably in a refrigerator or in a cool, well ventilated place. Reusing brine Reusing brine at home conditions is a bad idea as the old brine could have some bacteria in it from the previous use. Besides, cure mixes are so inexpensive that it makes no sense to take a risk of meat contamination. We would like to mention that in the past re-using properly prepared curing solutions was very popular and helped to acquire the cured color, the great taste and flavor much faster. It also helped to prevent a loss of meat juices and minerals that occurred during curing. The previously used curing solution was much weaker and more salt and nitrites had to be added. That requires professional testing and even if used should be reserved for commercial meat plants.

Baumé Scale You may come accross a scale in Baumé degrees that is based on the specific gravity of the brine measured with a hydrometer. It is a popular scale in metric countries and you can often find reference given in Baumé degrees. One can measure the gravity of the brine with a specially designed float (like a brine tester) and one can refer to the table and look up the % NaCl (salt) by weight. We have compiled a table that compares brine strength degree with Baumé scale. Specific Gravity Salt Tables for UK gallons - UK gallon holds 4.54 liters One Baumé degree corresponds to 10 g of salt in 1 liter of water. Making brine by using floating egg method Floating egg is an old traditional trick to measure the strenghth of the brine. Why people make brine using egg as a meausuring device? In some countries it is not an easily obtainable item, some people does not know it exists and others don't want to buy it. Salinometer is made of glass and can break at any time. Though an egg does not provide accurate readings it at least can help in case of an emergency.

As there is no reliable information on how the egg behaves when immersed in brine and we have seen some sources saying that 80 degrees brine is achieved when the solution will just float an egg, we have decided to research the matter ourselves. Conclusion Between 10º and 20º degrees the eggs layed prety much on the bottom. At 30º degrees they tried to float when touched with fingers. The first ones to raise of the bottom were X-Large White and Large-Brown at 35º degrees. They were also the first ones to break the surface at 40º degrees. The most defined point 45º degrees when all eggs swam to the surface. To calculate the strength of the brine using the floating egg or potato method makes very little sense as the readings are not reliable. There are books that advocate this method and each of them give different readings. The egg sinks in clean water and as the salt is added it should start lifting to the surface. Well, they do but in a very unpredictable manner. We have checked the floating egg method using five different size fresh eggs and the results were inconclusive. More information on making brine can be found in hams .

Useful Information The 100 degrees brine (saturated) equals 26.4 % salt and a useful formula for calculating percent salt in a brine is to multiply the salimeter (brine tester) reading by 26.4 percent. For exammple the percent salt in 60 degrees brine is: 60 x 26.4 percent (0.264) = 15.84 percent salt in brine. When doing those calculations we can ignore the influence of the water temperature on salt. The reason being the fact that there is very little difference for the amount of salt to dissolve at different temperatures, for example at 32 F (0 C) 26.2 % of salt makes a saturated solution, and at 212° F (100° C) about 28.9 % salt will dissolve in water. Baking soda was sometimes used in small quantities to sweeten brine, or to recondition it. Adding a small amount of baking soda (1 Tbs to 25 lbs of meat) to brine in warm weather was known to prevent it from spoiling.

For pumping solution it is advisable to have reading of 70 – 85°, quite salty. For cover solution the solution might be reduced to 55 – 65° as the meat will be immersed in it for longer time. Pumped at 10% of meat’s weight means a 10 lbs. ham requires 1 lb. of brine solution. Amount of water needed for making brine – about 40% of the meat weight. Recommended wet curing temperatures 36 – 40° F ( 2 – 5° C) at 90 – 95 % humidity. Salt dissolves much faster in hot water and that is why some people boil wet brine, then clarify it, and refrigerate it one day before intended use. It is advisable to place meat on a scale when pumping to control amount of pumped in brine. Use a Quick Brine to Make Any Cut More Tender — Tips from The Kitchn | The Kitchn (Image credit: Emma Christensen ) Brining has become synonymous with Thanksgiving turkey , but it's such a great technique that we've started using it all year round for all sorts of different meats!

We like to throw pork chops and chicken breasts in a quick brine for extra oomph before continuing on with the rest of the recipe. Brining is the process of submerging a cut of meat in a brine solution, which is simply salt dissolved in water. The meat absorbs extra liquid and salt, resulting in a juicier and more flavorful final dish. This technique is particularly great for lean cuts of meat that tend to dry out during cooking! Basic brine ratio: The basic ratio of salt to water for a brine is 4 tablespoons of salt per 1 quart (4 cups) of water. In a container large enough to hold your meat (and preferably with a lid to avoid sloshing), dissolve the salt in the water. Add your meat. If there's not quite enough liquid to cover, add a solution of 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt until the meat is completely submerged. Cover the container and refrigerate. Since it's so large, a turkey ideally needs to be brined overnight—for about 12 hours. Smaller cuts like pork chops or chicken breast for weeknight dinners take far less time and are typically ready to be cooked in 1/2 hour to an hour.

To infuse your meat with extra flavor, throw some extra spices and aromatics into your brine that will complement the finished dish. Making our Pork Stir-fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas ? Try adding a few slivers of ginger into the brine. For roasted chickens , add lemon rind and a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme. Some folks also like adding sugar (about 2 tablespoons per quart) into the brine to lightly sweeten the meat. One quick note: brining is really more of a technique for dry heat preparations like roasting and grilling. The flavor and texture difference isn't as great when braising and poaching in liquid. Do you brine your meat? What's your favorite recipe? How to Brine Turkey Guidelines and Recipe, Whats Cooking America What flavorings to add to brine – You can add flavor in all sorts of forms such as herbs and spices. Flavoring Options: Use brown sugar, honey, or molasses in place of the sugar (some sweetness tends to offset a saltiness the brine might otherwise impart).

You can also use apple juice, cider, orange juice, beer, wine, rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, stock, tea, or other liquids to replace some or all of the water. You can also put together decidedly Oriental flavorings with soy sauce or the Japanese rice wine mirin. In other words, be creative with the flavorings! How To Brine Turkey: Refrigerate Turkey While Brining – Refrigeration is absolutely required during brining: The main logistical problem with brining is that you need a container that is large enough to submerge your turkey in the brine, but will fit in your refrigerator or cooler. The meat and brine solution must be kept below 40 degrees F. at all times. Since brining does not preserve meat, the turkey and brine must be kept refrigerated at all times. Refrigerator – If storing the poultry in the refrigerator during brining, check to make sure that the container will fit in your refrigerator first! A container large enough to hold a whole turkey might be too big for your refrigerator. Picnic Cooler – First, choose a cooler that is large enough to keep the turkey completely submerged during the brining process.

It is important to thoroughly clean and sanitize the cooler before and after use. You must keep the poultry and brine cold without diluting the mixture when using a cooler. Put the meat and brine directly in the cooler, then place Ziploc bags filled with ice or reusable gel packs into the brine solution. Another approach is to put the turkey and brine into a turkey oven roasting bag or brining bags inside the cooler, and then pack ice or gel packs around the bag. Monitor the temperature of the cooler (using a Digital Thermometer ) to make sure it stays below 40 degrees F. at all times. Turkey Brining Bags: Use large brining bags. These brining bags are very easy to use and take up less room in your refrigerator or cooler. Bags are sold large enough to hold a 20-pound turkey. Every now and then, turn the bag around and upside down to ensure even brining. For brining chicken, I use either small brining bags or regular resealable plastic bags. How Long To Brine Poultry: It is possible to end up with meat that’s too salty for your taste. To avoid this, brine on the low end of the time range on your first attempt.

You can always brine longer next time, but there is no way to salvage a piece of meat that hass been brined too long. Whole Chicken (4 pounds) – 4 to 12 hours Chicken Pieces – 1 to 1 1/2 hours Whole Turkey – 1 to 2 days Turkey Breast – 5 to 8 hours Cornish Game Hens – 1 to 2 hours Do not salt brined poultry before cooking. Cook poultry according to your favorite recipe. Do not overcook your brined poultry. Once brined, the poultry cooks faster, so be careful and use a Meat Thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Turkey Cooking Techniques: The Quick and Dirty Guide to Brining Chicken or Turkey | Serious Eats The Quick and Dirty Guide to Brining Chicken or Turkey 69 Brining your turkey is the first step to juiciness. [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] Brining or dry-brining your bird can mean the difference between dry turkey and supremely moist and plump turkey. Over the years I've written many articles on brining (or not brining) turkeys.

Much of this info can already be found in our Definitive Guide to Buying, Prepping, Cooking, and Carving Turkey or in my article on The Truth About Brining , but I get enough inquiries on basic brining guidelines that it seemed worth it to pull this out into its own quick guide. So here you go! The Quick and Dirty Guide to Brining Should I Use Aromatics in My Brine? Why Brine? Brining, whether a traditional water-based brine or a dry-brine, improves a turkey's ability to retain moisture. Certain muscle proteins are naturally dissolved by the salt in the brine solution. Once these proteins are dissolved, muscle fibers lose some of their ability to contract when cooking. Less contraction leads to less internal moisture being squeezed out, which in turn leads to juicier meat in the cooked bird. Brining also seasons a bird more deeply than simply salting just before cooking. Traditional vs. Dry Brine—Which is Better? I vastly prefer dry-brining. A traditional brine will plump up your turkey with moisture, but that moisture is mainly water, leading to a turkey that tastes watered down.

A dry brine, on the other hand, helps a turkey retain its natural moisture without adding any excess liquid, which leads to more intensely flavored end results. Adding baking powder to a dry brine can also improves your turkey skin. Not only does the baking powder work to break down some skin proteins, causing them crisp and brown more efficiently, but it also combines with turkey juices, forming microscopic bubbles that add surface area and crunch to your skin as it roasts. How to Dry Brine Combine half a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 6 tablespoons Morton's kosher salt) with two tablespoons of baking powder in a bowl. Carefully pat your turkey dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle it on all surfaces with the salt mixture by picking up the mixture between your thumb and fingers, holding it six to ten inches above the bird and letting the mixture shower down over the surface of the turkey for even coverage. The turkey should be well-coated with salt, though not completely encrusted. Warning: You will most likely not need all of the salt, in some cases less than half will be ok depending on the size of your bird and your salt preference.

Transfer the turkey to a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered for 12 to 24 hours. Without rinsing, roast using one of our recipes , omitting any additional salting steps called for in those recipes. Dry-brining for more than 24 hours will produce even more juicy and well-seasoned meat. To brine longer than 24 hours, loosely cover turkey with plastic wrap or cheesecloth before refrigerating to prevent excess moisture loss through evaporation. Let rest for up to 3 days. How to Make a Traditional Brine Not convinced by the dry-brining argument? No problem. Here's how you do a traditional brine. To brine a turkey using the standard method, start by clearing out a space big enough to fit a container large enough to hold your turkey in the fridge. Alternatively, fill a few empty 2-liter soda bottles 3/4 of the way with water and freeze them with the lid off. Seal the bottles with their lids once completely frozen. Next, fill a large cooler or plastic basin with the prescribed amount of tap water. Add the salt and stir until dissolved.

Submerge your fully defrosted turkey in the brine solution and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours. Alternatively, place the brining basin in a cool spot in your home and add the frozen soda bottles, replacing them every few hours to keep the water below 40°F. After 12 to 18 hours, remove the turkey, dry carefully with paper towels, and roast using one of our recipes . For crisper skin, brine a couple days in advance and let your turkey air-dry at least overnight and up to two nights uncovered in the refrigerator on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. When constructing a brine, what really matters is the amount of salt compared to the amount of water, not the amount of salt compared to the size of a turkey. So long as your brine solution is around 6% salt by weight (that's about 1 1/4 cups of kosher salt per gallon) and your turkey is submerged, you'll do just fine.

Here are some approximate measures for the minimum amount of water and salt you'll need for a range of turkey sizes: Standard Turkey Brine Formulas 3 3/4 cups (675 grams) Should I Brine a Kosher, Enhanced, or Self-Basting Turkey? All of these types of turkeys have already been treated with salt and do not need to be brined again. Should I Use Aromatics in My Brine? There's no need. Many brining recipes call for bringing a number of aromatics—carrots, celery, onions, spices, herbs, etc—to a boil in your brine before letting it cool completely. While this does a great job of making your brine smell great, it doesn't affect the flavor of the turkey or chicken much beyond the skin. The problem is that because a brine is packed with salt and because salt is much more likely to enter your turkey's cells (due both to its size and its magnetic charge), most of those larger flavorful compounds don't actually make it into the meat. For the time and effort it takes to make a flavored brine, heat it up, and let it cool completely, you're much better off making an flavorful rub or herb butter .

You'll get just as much (if not more) flavor into the bird, use fewer ingredients, and save yourself some time in the process. Basic Brine For Juicy, Tender Chicken Or Turkey Recipe - Food.com (16) Most Helpful As a basic brine, this simple recipe worked out great for me. It falls short of five stars only because I did a lot of tweaking to add flavor to the brine mix by adding some aromatics. I will say though, in the last three years I've been coming here for recipes, this is the first one that inspired me enough to make an account and comment. I rough cut a carrot, celery stalk, three large cloves of garlic, and an onion. A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme (gently tap the sprigs with the back of a solid knife to bruise and bring out more essence) really rounded it out nicely. I tossed all of that in with a whole cut up chicken and put it in the fridge. It smelled amazing, still cold and uncooked, when I lifted the lid off after only three hours of soaking in the brine.

I rinsed and patted the parts dry, then made a mixture of 2 tbs olive oil, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp fresh chopped garlic, 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Baked at 425 for 30-40 minutes. My family absolutely loved it. I've never had chicken breast so tender and juicy. You can chop two or three russet potatoes, skin on, toss in the same herb and oil mixture (before the chicken) and salt to taste. These can be cooked alongside the chicken and will be done at the same time. Prewetting with Salt Brine May 1996, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa Prewetting with Salt Brine Thomas J. Donahey and Dennis Burkheimer Iowa Department of Transportation, 800 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010. Prewetting is the process of spraying deicing salt with a solution of liquid chemical before spreading the salt on the roadway.

Prewetting the salt helps it work more effectively as a deicing agent for two reasons: First, wet salt clings to the road instead of bouncing off or being swept off by traffic. The result is that less salt is spread, saving money and minimizing the threat to the environment. Second, to be effective as a deicing agent, salt requires moisture. Moisture dissolves the salt, releasing heat and thereby melting the ice and snow, as well as breaking the ice-road bond. When temperatures drop below freezing there is no moisture on the road, and salt alone is ineffective. Prewetting the salt, however, ensures that there will be enough moisture to facilitate the melting process. Then, prewetted salt works faster and at lower temperature than does dry salt, with less waste. Sodium chloride (salt) brine is a low-cost, effective alternative to liquid calcium chloride as a prewetting agent. Is prewetting the wave of the future or just another passing fancy? In Iowa we are willing to bet on prewetting with salt brine as the method of our future for removing snowpack and ice on our roadways.

For years maintenance supervisors at a few garages were experimenting with ways to keep more of the salt and sand mixture on the roadway. Several modifications were made to the spreader equipment, and a special chute was developed to drop the salt/sand mixture closer to the pavement to reduce the amount of materials lost through bounce, wind, and traffic. A few supervisors had begun wetting their loads with water hoping that this might help keep the materials on the roadway but were quiet about any successes for fear the water would freeze the load or add additional ice to the existing poor road conditions. Many of the modifications over the years proved to be great successes, but we knew there had to be a better way to keep the material on the roadway surface to speed the removal of snowpack and ice. Despite attempts with bigger and better equipment to improve the way we removed snowpack and ice, our operation changed very little over the past 30 years. Our policy stated that 50/50 (half salt and half sand) would be applied at the rate of 300 pounds per lane mile to snowpack and ice. Basic snowpack and ice removal operations had changed little during this time despite the rapid improvements in other equipment.

SHRP publications (1) provided several studies on prewetting applications that had been conducted in Europe in the 1960s and early 1970s that appeared to be working to keep materials on the roadway surfaces. Further study of the properties of salt gave us an even better picture of how and why prewetting works and why prewetting with liquid brine can work even better. Prewetting is the process of spraying salt or other deicing chemicals with a solution right before spreading on the roadway. WHY PREWET WITH SALT BRINE? Sodium chloride has been selected as the prewetting agent of choice in Iowa primarily because of its low cost and ready availability, but the real benefits from prewetting occur when the brine is mixed with the dry materials. Sodium chloride must find moisture from some source before it can generate the heat needed to begin the melting process. Under past operations dry sodium chloride could not generate heat until it came into direct contact with the snow or ice on the surface. As the sodium chloride found the moisture in the snow or ice it began to generate heat which melted more snow and ice, accelerating the melting process.

During snow storms with cold air temperatures and low humidity, sodium chloride had difficulty finding available moisture, which slowed the melting process considerably. Adding sodium chloride brine to dry sodium chloride at the spinner before it struck the road surface provided extra moisture to quicken the melting process. Calcium chloride, on the other hand, is hygroscopic, which means that it can take moisture freely from the air so that even before the material strikes the snow or ice covered roadway it is generating heat and ready to melt on contact with the surface. Since calcium chloride is generating heat before contact with the surface, it is capable of melting snow and ice at a faster rate than dry sodium chloride. Calcium chloride brine would work very similar to sodium chloride brine used in Iowa, but because of the higher cost of calcium chloride and the residue that is left on the pavement, it has not been considered for mass use in Iowa for several years. The eutectic point of calcium chloride is much lower than sodium chloride, but in the past we have found that calcium chloride leaves the pavement wet for several days, where the pavement de-iced with sodium chloride is dry shortly after the storm.

Under blowing snow conditions we have found that snow will stick to the wet surface, quickly refreezing the roadway surface. Studies cited Studies conducted in Germany and Finland used a brine solution to prewet their sodium chloride and experienced success keeping more of the materials on the road surface than with dry materials. One study in Germany measured the amount of materials left on the road surface after 100 vehicles passed the test site and found that nearly 30 percent of the prewetted materials stayed on the road surface, while only five percent of the dry material could be found. The studies done in other countries also confirmed that prewetted materials adhere better to the roadway and the added moisture causes the sodium chloride to begin working immediately on contact with the surface. Word was spreading in the state that prewetting seemed to be a method worth trying. The garages in Council Bluffs, Adair, and Des Moines found plans on how to make brine-making equipment from common materials found at a local hardware or farm equipment store. Cattle water tanks were used to make the brine along with lots of PVC pipe, pumps, and a large enough tank to store brine for an operation (Figure 1).

In one garage the manufactured brine was pumped into an eight-foot by 16-inch drainage pipe that had been capped at both ends and mounted directly behind the cab. A pump was then used to pump the brine through hoses to the rear of the truck where it was then directed onto the material at the spreader. At the other garages similar brine manufacturing equipment was made and special containers were mounted on the tailgate where the brine was fed by gravity onto the dry materials at the spinner. ELECTRIC LIQUID SPRAY SYSTEM In the spring of 1995, Swenson Spreader of Lindenwood, Illinois, demonstrated an electric sprayer system with either 60- or 100-gallon polyethylene tanks that could be mounted to our trucks either on the tailgate or along the V-box. The sprayer system is equipped with a variable speed control system that allows the operator control of the amount of brine directed onto the dry materials at the spinner. The electric motor/pump combination is operated from standard 12-volt D.C. system with a rating of 2.8 gallons per minute.

Brine is pumped from the polyethylene tank through hoses capped with rubber fittings that discharge the brine onto the spinner at controlled speeds. The original sprayer design called for brass nozzles in place of the rubber fittings but experiences in other states with clogging moved us toward the rubber fittings. BRINE-MAKING PLANT At the same time we met with VariTech Industries of Garfield, Minnesota, who designed a brine-making system that produces 600 gallons of liquid brine at 23.3 percent solution in less than an hour (Figure 2). Dry salt is loaded into the top of the tank and water is pumped through the salt from below. Once the loading area has filled, water will begin overflowing the tank through four-inch diameter screened holes into the main storage tank below. At this point the brine is tested with a hydrometer to determine the salinity level of the solution. If the brine needs adjustment, a separate fresh water valve can be opened to mix fresh water with the brine bringing the solution to the 23.3 percent optimum. The system is also equipped with an internal float that shuts off incoming water once the lower tank is full.

At this point the brine is ready to be pumped to the tailgate spreaders through a 55-gallon-per-minute pump system and 1H inch discharge hose equipped with a quick disconnect coupling. The system also comes equipped with a remote control for pumping the brine into the tanks which makes filling quick and easy. The minimum purity of rock salt is 95 percent; therefore, the brine makers have to be cleaned out four or five times each year. Another important part is to make sure all screens are in place as the impurities will plug up the system. PURCHASING PROCESS Leland Smithson had returned from a European and Asian tour of snow and ice operations and was convinced that prewetting was a proven method to remove snow and ice. He and I were convinced that prewetting was the way to go and recommended to management that the Maintenance Division purchase brine-making and spreader equipment for use on all Interstate highways in the state. The order was placed to equip the 30 Interstate garages with one brine making plant and liquid applicators for the Interstate trucks. Since this equipment is not mass produced in great numbers the equipment arrived at many Interstate garages after the first storms of winter had begun.

The spreader equipment also arrived later than we had hoped but by mid winter all Interstate garages had their brine making and spreader equipment in place and actively in use. Though the equipment has been in place less than one winter supervisors and equipment operators are reporting good results from the use of materials prewetted with brine. The success at Interstate garages has spilled over to other garages that are now manufacturing their own brine plants and creating sprayer equipment from available parts. There have been 15 additional shop-made brine plants and 105 shop-made liquid applicators added to the initial Interstate buy this past winter. BENEFITS We are pleased with the results this winter and have found the following benefits to using prewetted materials: Materials readily adhere to the roadway better than with dry materials. Prewetted materials begin dissolving snowpack and ice faster than dry materials. The quantity of materials can be reduced when prewetted, since less materials leave the roadway during spreading. Corrosion of equipment is minimized by spraying the liquid salt at the spinner. Operators report quicker melting with the prewetting process, which means better service to the traveling public.

FUTURE OF PREWETTING IN IOWA The Iowa Department of Transportation plans to expand prewetting to other garages in the future but recognizes that there are several lingering questions that need to be answered before we declare prewetting successful in Iowa. The use of finer salt works faster on the roadway, but is it porous enough to work in the present brine makers? Are equipment operators and supervisors aware of conditions that prewetted salt should not be used? Can we make brine and store brine in large quantities before the winter season? Should brine be stored indoors or underground? Can we reduce the manpower and time needed to make brine? Can we transition to anti-icing with this system smoothly? Though we face challenges in the future with prewetting, we feel that this method works in Iowa and will become a standard operating practice as we continue our expansion and education. REFERENCES 1. R.R. Blackburn, E.J. McGrane, C.C. Chappelow, D.W. Harwood, E.J. Fleege. Development of Anti-Icing Technology. SHRP-H-385. Strategic Highway Research Program, National Research Council, 1994.

6 Easy Brine Recipes - Real Simple Real Simple Marinating meat in a salt water solution leads to juicy, flavorful results. Right Arrow Photo by Con Poulos Want to lock in moisture and add deep, complex flavor to your meats? Experiment with brining, a simple technique that involves marinating your ingredients in a mixture of salt, water, and oftentimes other spices or flavoring agents. To get started, read these tips and tricks on how to brine properly. Then, try the recipes below for pork and lamb. Basic Flavor Brine Courtesy of The Great Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells ($40, amazon.com ) Makes enough for 4 pork chops; for larger cuts, such as pork loin roasts, double or triple the recipe Ingredients ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar 2 cups ice cubes Directions Stir together the water, salt, and sugar until dissolved. Stir in the ice and any other flavorings and cool the brine to 45°F or lower. Place 4 pork chops in a zipper-lock bag. Pour in the flavor brine and seal the bag. Place the bag in a bowl in case it leaks and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours, depending on the thickness of the chops.

Remove the chops, discard the flavor brine, and pat the chops dry. Proceed with the recipe, or wrap the chops in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 2 days. 1

Question: What is added to water to make brine?
Answer: Salt