The Science of Brining
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 9:00 pm
The Brine Secret to Making Foods Better
Brining foods in a saltwater mixture before you cook them adds flavour, tenderises, and reduces cooking times. If this sounds like a good thing then its time to learn the basics about brining.
The brining of meats is an age-old process of food preservation. Heavy concentrations of salt preserved meats for long ocean voyages and military campaigns before the advent of refrigeration. Now brining takes on a new purpose. By using lower concentrations of salt, mixed with other spices and herbs, brining can permeate meat with flavours, tenderise and add moisture.
The chemistry behind brining is quite intriguing. The salt water mixture behaves differently to a marinade, we should think of marinades as salad dressings, in fact the basic ingredients are similar and the purpose also, marinades only really flavour the exterior of the meat. A brine however will effect a chemical change at the cellular level.
Roughly speaking meat is composed largely of water, the problem is that down at the cellular level most of that water is trapped inside of protein structures. Imagine that each cell is completely full of protein structures that look like small balls of steel wool packed up against each other.
Some of the water contained in the cell exists in the space between these structures but most is trapped within the protein balls. When we place the piece of meat into the salty brine mixture, the first thing that happens is the water between the protein structures is drawn out of the cell and replaced with salt from the brine mixture.
In the second stage the salt starts to break down the protein structures (denaturing), tenderising the meat and releasing the fluid which is trapped within. Now we have a cell full of liquid heavily dosed with salt and denatured protein, and this brings on the third stage.
Now the process is reversed and the cell will take up moisture from the surrounding brine mixture. This last take up of moisture will bring even more salty liquid and flavour into the cell which will increase the tenderness and add saltiness to the end flavour.
If you could catch the process at the beginning of this third stage and replace the brine mixture with a less salty but more flavoursome version you would decrease the saltiness of the final product. This is a bit of a juggling act and there is no reliable method of predicting when the third stage begins my advice is simply to keep trying different batches, replacing the brine mixture until you find a timeframe that provides you with a flavour that you like.
The bottom line is quite simple, if you use a brining process you will increase the moisture content of whatever meat you choose, the process will also tenderise the protein structures within the meat at the cellular level and this will provide you with a more tender end result. The extra moisture and its flavour is trapped inside the individual cell and cannot escape till the cell walls burst ( at 66 degrees C ) from heating, but that is part of the Temperature Lesson.
The fact that you are introducing more moisture into the meat provides you with an opportunity to flavour the brine with any combination that appeals to you. Try some simple chicken wings in a brine flavoured with a teaspoon or two of a good curry paste, and you will see what I mean. If you are going to do the chicken wing test, make will you cook some that have not been brined so that you can get a comparison of the tenderness and moisture level as well.
The process of brining is easy but takes some planning. Depending on the size of what you want to brine it can take up to 24 hours of more. If you are going to be brining whole poultry you will also want an additional 6 to 12 hours between the brining and the cooking. If you want your poultry to have a golden, crispy skin, it needs to sit in the refrigerator for several hours after you remove it from the brine so that the skin can dry before cooking.
The effectiveness of the brining process can be increased by injecting some of the brine into the meat using a meat syringe or "Cajun injector".
The brining process will work on any meat you like, and there is a lot of fun to be had playing around with different flavour combinations, one of my favourite flavour additives is star anise.
The most basic process of brining is to take a minimum of 1 tablespoon of plain salt (no iodine or other additives) to 1 litre of water, experiment and find a mix that suits your taste. You will need enough brine to completely submerge the meat without any part being out of the liquid. Some items might need to be weighed down to stay under. Brine the meat for about 4 hours per kilo. Remove from the brine (don't reuse the brine), lightly rinse to remove any excess salt and cook.
You can brine over a period of days, just remember to change the brine initially after 24 hours then every 48 hours. Yuu can also marinate after brining to add a further layer of taste.
So what should you brine? Practically anything you want. Poultry in particular benefits greatly from brining regardless of how you plan to cook it. Large roasts, racks of ribs and anything you plan to smoke will be better for having been brined first. But this isn’t just a great barbecue tip but a good idea for meats whether you smoke, grill, roast or fry them.
Brining foods in a saltwater mixture before you cook them adds flavour, tenderises, and reduces cooking times. If this sounds like a good thing then its time to learn the basics about brining.
The brining of meats is an age-old process of food preservation. Heavy concentrations of salt preserved meats for long ocean voyages and military campaigns before the advent of refrigeration. Now brining takes on a new purpose. By using lower concentrations of salt, mixed with other spices and herbs, brining can permeate meat with flavours, tenderise and add moisture.
The chemistry behind brining is quite intriguing. The salt water mixture behaves differently to a marinade, we should think of marinades as salad dressings, in fact the basic ingredients are similar and the purpose also, marinades only really flavour the exterior of the meat. A brine however will effect a chemical change at the cellular level.
Roughly speaking meat is composed largely of water, the problem is that down at the cellular level most of that water is trapped inside of protein structures. Imagine that each cell is completely full of protein structures that look like small balls of steel wool packed up against each other.
Some of the water contained in the cell exists in the space between these structures but most is trapped within the protein balls. When we place the piece of meat into the salty brine mixture, the first thing that happens is the water between the protein structures is drawn out of the cell and replaced with salt from the brine mixture.
In the second stage the salt starts to break down the protein structures (denaturing), tenderising the meat and releasing the fluid which is trapped within. Now we have a cell full of liquid heavily dosed with salt and denatured protein, and this brings on the third stage.
Now the process is reversed and the cell will take up moisture from the surrounding brine mixture. This last take up of moisture will bring even more salty liquid and flavour into the cell which will increase the tenderness and add saltiness to the end flavour.
If you could catch the process at the beginning of this third stage and replace the brine mixture with a less salty but more flavoursome version you would decrease the saltiness of the final product. This is a bit of a juggling act and there is no reliable method of predicting when the third stage begins my advice is simply to keep trying different batches, replacing the brine mixture until you find a timeframe that provides you with a flavour that you like.
The bottom line is quite simple, if you use a brining process you will increase the moisture content of whatever meat you choose, the process will also tenderise the protein structures within the meat at the cellular level and this will provide you with a more tender end result. The extra moisture and its flavour is trapped inside the individual cell and cannot escape till the cell walls burst ( at 66 degrees C ) from heating, but that is part of the Temperature Lesson.
The fact that you are introducing more moisture into the meat provides you with an opportunity to flavour the brine with any combination that appeals to you. Try some simple chicken wings in a brine flavoured with a teaspoon or two of a good curry paste, and you will see what I mean. If you are going to do the chicken wing test, make will you cook some that have not been brined so that you can get a comparison of the tenderness and moisture level as well.
The process of brining is easy but takes some planning. Depending on the size of what you want to brine it can take up to 24 hours of more. If you are going to be brining whole poultry you will also want an additional 6 to 12 hours between the brining and the cooking. If you want your poultry to have a golden, crispy skin, it needs to sit in the refrigerator for several hours after you remove it from the brine so that the skin can dry before cooking.
The effectiveness of the brining process can be increased by injecting some of the brine into the meat using a meat syringe or "Cajun injector".
The brining process will work on any meat you like, and there is a lot of fun to be had playing around with different flavour combinations, one of my favourite flavour additives is star anise.
The most basic process of brining is to take a minimum of 1 tablespoon of plain salt (no iodine or other additives) to 1 litre of water, experiment and find a mix that suits your taste. You will need enough brine to completely submerge the meat without any part being out of the liquid. Some items might need to be weighed down to stay under. Brine the meat for about 4 hours per kilo. Remove from the brine (don't reuse the brine), lightly rinse to remove any excess salt and cook.
You can brine over a period of days, just remember to change the brine initially after 24 hours then every 48 hours. Yuu can also marinate after brining to add a further layer of taste.
So what should you brine? Practically anything you want. Poultry in particular benefits greatly from brining regardless of how you plan to cook it. Large roasts, racks of ribs and anything you plan to smoke will be better for having been brined first. But this isn’t just a great barbecue tip but a good idea for meats whether you smoke, grill, roast or fry them.