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Questions tagged [brining]

Questions about what ingredients can be used in the brining liquid and how the brining will affect the food.

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25 votes
3 answers
11k views

How deeply will the flavors in a brine penetrate chicken?

I'm not asking about salt or "juiciness". I think there is enough evidence here and elsewhere to answer that question with "pretty deep, or all the way to the bone". My question concerns spices and ...
Jolenealaska's user avatar
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22 votes
5 answers
5k views

What are the basics and options of brining meat, for example chicken?

What are the basics and options of brining meat, for example chicken? I ate at a restaurant in Santa Fe that specialized in brining and the chicken was amazing. Id like to know what the process is ...
user avatar
22 votes
3 answers
22k views

Does adding salt when soaking dry beans toughen or soften the skin of the bean?

I have heard opinions on both sides of this. The the latest answer on this site, says salt softens bean skins quoted Cooks Illustrated (I can't see the article, but I trust CI), while another answer ...
Clay Nichols's user avatar
13 votes
6 answers
80k views

Reusing pickle brine

So I just finished a jar of home-made pickles. They were excellent! Not too salty, a bit spicy, very good. They were so good that I'd like to get some more pickles out of that jar. I was thinking of ...
FrustratedWithFormsDesigner's user avatar
18 votes
10 answers
147k views

Is there any substitute for saltpeter / sodium nitrate in corned beef brine?

I realize there is another question about corned beef from scratch, but the answers don't really cover my question. Many recipes for making your own corned beef still refer to the use of saltpeter (...
Cold Oatmeal's user avatar
  • 1,332
6 votes
2 answers
73k views

How long will fermented/brined pickles last?

I've been interested in making some pickles, and a lot of the places I've found say that salt brined or fermented pickles generally taste better than acid-brined pickles. That is, pickles pickled in a ...
josh's user avatar
  • 175
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

How can I effectively time a short thawing and brining of a a turkey?

I have a 14 lb. frozen turkey. It has been in the refrigerator for 12 hours now but there is not enough time to thaw it completely in the fridge before cooking it in the turkey fryer. Could I safely ...
kathy grewell's user avatar
17 votes
8 answers
344k views

Is soaking beans 24 hours unrefrigerated safe?

It strikes me as an unsafe food practice to follow Cook's Illustrated's advice for soaking dried beans for 24 hours unrefrigerated. I've also seen them suggest you soak steel-cut oats unrefrigerated ...
Jeff Axelrod's user avatar
  • 4,939
7 votes
1 answer
6k views

Brining a kosher bird

How should I adjust the salinity of a brine when using a kosher turkey? Some reccomendations suggest decreasing the salinity of the brine, but how much? My recipe is two quarts of water with 1 c. of ...
David LeBauer's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
12k views

How much salt is absorbed by meat during brining?

Has anyone created a table of sodium absorbtion during brining vs. other contributing factors such as brining time, meat type, salt ratio, etc. I'd like to be able to compute how much sodium is ...
Jeff Axelrod's user avatar
  • 4,939
6 votes
4 answers
28k views

Brined chicken - too salty

I brined chicken breasts overnight. When I grilled them they were too salty to eat. Any suggestions for the ones I brined and froze?
jenny's user avatar
  • 61
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

What brine ingredients are effective?

I frequently brine chicken and pork, and mostly it's just salt and water, sometime sugar, and occasionally garlic. But I've seen all sorts of other "goodies" people add in, like spices, herbs, ...
Ray's user avatar
  • 6,164
11 votes
2 answers
9k views

If salt dehydrates the meat, then why would brining make it more juicy as a whole?

As the title says, why does brining work? If salting, by osmosis, pulls the water out of the meat, then why is meat considered more juicy after it's cooked?
MandoMando's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
10k views

Can you make pan gravy if the turkey was brined?

I've read every question here that mentions brining a turkey, and I've seen conflicting remarks about whether the pan drippings are suitable for making gravy. (None of the existing questions actually ...
Marti's user avatar
  • 5,012
9 votes
1 answer
15k views

How much salt does brining a turkey add?

I want to brine a turkey for Thanksgiving, using Alton Brown's recipe for brining. My wife is concerned that this will increase the amount of salt and sugar in the turkey, making it unhealthy. How ...
Neth's user avatar
  • 295
7 votes
3 answers
42k views

Can I brine a self-basting turkey?

I was planning to brine my turkey but I realise that I bought a self-basting turkey. According to most websites, brining a self-basting turkey is a big "no". But has anyone brine a self-basting ...
zachary's user avatar
  • 2,409
4 votes
2 answers
5k views

How cold can a brining turkey get before freezing?

If I brine a turkey in a solution of 1/2 cup of salt per 1 gallon of distilled water, how do I tell how cold it can get before the brine freezes? Here in America, we all know water freezes at 32 ...
user avatar
4 votes
5 answers
33k views

For patting dry meat, what is a substitute for paper towels?

Patting dry with paper towels is really wasteful. I would like to pat dry meat with something reusable like a kitchen towel, yet I fear some of the bacteria will remain on it and make it contaminated. ...
Bar Akiva's user avatar
  • 5,845
3 votes
2 answers
14k views

Can you brine frozen meat?

I want to brine a frozen chicken but I'm unsure if there is any reason why brining frozen meat is bad? Can you brine frozen meat, or do you first have to defrost it before you can brine it, or does ...
Neil Meyer's user avatar
  • 4,902
2 votes
6 answers
3k views

Traveling with chicken

In a few days I'll be cooking for my grand parents. Now I want to make it special so I decided to brine some pieces of chicken fillet before going there. But they live an hour traveling by bus from ...
Maarten van Beek's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
18k views

What is the proper way to brine fish?

My query is regarding fish in general and specifically types like salmon, tuna and trout. How long should fish be brined for? Some recipes say 4 hours and others say 8-12 hours. Should the saline ...
James Wilson's user avatar
  • 3,997
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Can I dry-brine a turkey crown while it's defrosting?

At the suggestion of certain knowledgeable parties, I plan on dry-brining my turkey crown for Christmas dinner this year. However, I will most likely be buying a frozen crown, so I'm wondering what ...
ElendilTheTall's user avatar