# Brining meat to extend shelf life



## Leon

I've gotten into this recently and have been really surprised by the results. If you have ever ate a corned beef that's the stuff we're talking about- it is prepared in a BRINE.

Macy's mom is a born bred country girl from the outskirts of middle GA and she finds it hilarious that I cook as well as I do. I mentioned doing this before and she off and told me yeah she's seen it since she was little.

The concept is to basically pickle the meat. It can be done with all kinds, what essentially occurs is that it changes the chemical structure of said meats. This requires to prepare a brine, which is pretty simple and the possibility of extending the shelf life of fresh meat by days, even a week or more. What you do is prepare a solution of around a gallon of water to salt with a cup sometimes two (it varies) and then immerse the meat in said brine for a period of time. It can be done overnight or as long as a week in most cases. The meat will usually come out much more flavorful tender and juicy.

It is important to remember to WASH and even soak the meat in clean water BEFORE prep and cooking but man, the results are like old world fanciest cuisine. I'll elaborate on my first success.

Macy loves turkey, loves it it's her favorite and I have been known to do bird well, any kind from robin to ostrich I am the bird carcass whisperer. I could cook you a seagull and it would be good. So one night we were at my place (I have the big kitchen with the hardcore power tools) I surprise her with a turkey breast was only 14 bucks, breast alone was 8lbs. I looked up some old martha stewart episodes and in this one she did this thing with brining and smoking a turkey. Like 5 star chateau elan stuff. I watched it, got the recipe down and nod with acceptance of a challenge.

Got out my tall pot, started two gallons of water with a cup and a half of kosher salt. After it was dissolved I added by free hand juniper berries, sliced orange peel, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, 2 cups of brown sugar, fresh sprigs of thyme, thin sliced onion, three cloves of crushed garlic, mustard seed, two sprigs of rosemary, two cups of apple cider and two whole real nutmeg nuts.

Brought it to a boil, took it off heat let it cool. The house smelled like a potpourri shop. I dunk the big breast of turkey under, it sat right totally under the brine, stowed it away for THREE DAYS in the garage fridge.

I definitely earned some brownie points when macy finally came up I had the kitchen going full swing, place is smelling good and I show it to her. She flipped out. "That's the fanciest thing I ever saw" it was almost a shame to throw out the brine. I soaked the turkey, washed it off well, seasoned lightly with pepper and prepped a small wet tray of red oak chips to go in with it. Birds are usually best done at high temperatures and low cooking times. Set it in at 415 for 1 hour 50 minutes. Timer popped up almost exactly with the timer on the oven. I let it rest for 10 minutes, it held heat very well and carved the breasts off perfectly, one was big enough for the both of us.

This turkey was the best macy (claims) she ever had. And I have to admit it was the best one I ever did. It was so juicy it left a puddle on the plate, just wet. Perfectly uniformly cooked, flavor was like something out of old london at the palace during christmas. The second breast she wanted to make sandwiches with for work so I got out the meat slicer attachment for my kitchen aid mixer and sliced it up like cold cuts. It was just as good as lunch meat as it was a roast and she reports that the stuff lasted till the last slice some week later. Normal turkey like this is tired after about three days. That's a gain of four days.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

Looked into it and tried a few different things. Prime rib, brined in peppercorns and garlic was a really good one. Anything corned is brined with pickling spice. Pickled pigs feet? Try them brined in mustard seed, lemon zest, fresh chilies and sugar. Venison rump roast? Try sitting it for three days in fresh sage, peppercorns, whole fresh cardamom and juniper berries fresh off your juniper bushes. Got a thing for asian cuisine? Try doing a duck in brine seasoned with rice wine, soy sauce, fish sauce and ginger. Leg of lamb brined in garlic, rosemary, thyme, peppercorns and fenugreek is to die for. You know those bad cuts of wild hog? The ones that stink like diarrhea? Try brining for a WEEK yes a week in cumin, brown sugar, red pepper and lime zest. You can literally eat this stuff, I wouldn't want to gnaw on it unless it was good and set but technically it's cooked. Like salted fish or ceviche. IT'S SCIENCE!

Just remember- never use anything that is reactive, glass bowls stainless or ceramic. *DO NOT USE FOIL* to store leftovers it will react with the salinity, dissolve it into the meat and make the leftovers unusable, toxic. I lost the last turkey leftovers I did to that I wasn't going to eat dissolved aluminum in any capacity.

It's all chemistry, after some practice you can do it with anything, even seafood. Shrimp are good brined, I'm sure this method could be used to brine anything and it extends the shelf life of valuable protein by critical days especially without power. I do it in a fridge but technically you don't have to- the brine is a sterile thing and harmful microbes can't grow in it. It's a desert for the nasties- like the surface of the moon. Even flies won't go near it. It tends to make roasts brown up beautifully, the skin on birds will crisp up with a rich deep almost auburn color and it makes meat retain its moisture during cooking which results in moist meat with heady overtones of what flavoring you use.

The opposite side of this skillset is SUGAR curing, which uses less salt, more sugars but the same concept. It still involves salt. Macy makes (she cans) these pickles that are the friggin bomb and it's just white sugar, salt, coriander seed, a little vinegar and cinnamon and the pickling brine is a sugary thick syrup about the consistency of the stuff you find in a can of fruit cocktail. She will also do almost the same thing but just salt and black cherry cool aid. It tastes like a maraschino cherry.

With the craft of brining under your belt you can almost double the life or flavor of fresh meats in the short term, stretching your supply out to days even to the next week while your cuts ripen.

Anyone else do this?


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## Leon

well hell I typo'd the title. Oh well.


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## A Watchman

Leon said:


> well hell I typo'd the title. Oh well.


Good post Leon, I as well like to cook and brine meat. You have given me some ideas. I also have posted a new thread and messed up the title with misspelling, yea .... its a bummer you cant fix.


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## Prepared One

Damn! Now I am hungry and I ain't had my first cup of Joe yet. I have never brined meat myself. I have eaten a lot over the years however, and it does have a wonderful flavor. Now it's on my "to do list list".

Note: I have a "to do list" and my beautiful bride has a "to do list", and she is of the opinion that her list is more important then mine. I must have missed the Memo. :tango_face_wink:


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## Illini Warrior

brining and salting down meats have temperature limitations - it's not a summer doable in most parts of the US for extending storage .... but brining for taste & texture is always a great meat treatment prior to cooking ....


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## paraquack

Down here in AZ I simply cut the meat into very thin strips and hang in the sun to make jerky. 
If you cut it thin enough, it only takes about 6 minutes at high noon.


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## azrancher

Leon said:


> well hell I typo'd the title. Oh well.


OK I fixed it, although I liked bringing meat much better, I thought you were going to show up for dinner.

*Rancher*


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## Steve40th

Damn, I thought brining was difficult.. This really opens the kitchen up for experimenting. What size pot for the Turkey did you use, and do you put aluminum foil around Turkey in oven, or keep it open topped, or in a pan with lid.


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## 23897

Prepared One said:


> Note: I have a "to do list" and my beautiful bride has a "to do list", and she is of the opinion that her list is more important then mine. I must have missed the Memo. :tango_face_wink:


Come on now. It started at the wedding:
The first thing she walked down at the wedding? The AISLE
She stopped at? The ALTAR
Everyone then sang? A HYMN

First three things were, then?

AISLE ALTAR HYMN.

The Memo was there for all who will see. 

Fangfarrier

Sent from my iPhone using Technology whilst it still exists.


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## bigwheel

Non deodorized tall kitchen garbage bags are my brining or marinating favorites.


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## Kauboy

In every instance, do you boil the brine first, and THEN add the meat to set for the specified time?
Since it looks like you still cook it after doing the brine, I would think that you don't boil it with the meat already added, but maybe I read it wrong.

This sounds really good!


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## Redneck

I brine all the time. You can boil the brine initially if you wish but you want the brine cool/cold when you add the meat. The point is to completely dissolve the salt. My technique is to put half the water in the pot first and it is very hot from the tap. I then add the salt (plus honey in my case) and stir well until dissolved. Then I add the rest of the water... cold from the well & maybe some ice to get it cool again. Then I add other ingredients. I prefer bone in turkey breasts & will brine them overnight. When done with the brine, I rinse it off under tap water & then drain. If doing lots of turkeys, you can start a day ahead & keep reusing the brine. Just obviously keep the other, previously brined birds in the refrigerator. I have a very simple recipe. I use 1 cup kosher salt per gallon of liquid. Important to use kosher salt. If you use regular table salt, it generally has additives plus is twice as strong as kosher (kosher has bigger, lighter flakes), so use half as much. In one of my gumbo pots, I can easily fit two bone in breasts at a time & generally takes about 1.5 - 2 gallons of brine. So I put in around 1 gallon of hot water, add 2 cups kosher salt & one qt. honey & mix all until completely dissolved. Then I add a fifth of rum & the rest of the water, which is cold. If necessary & brining immediately, reduce the amount of cold water some & add ice.

Brining works different than marinading. A marinade doesn't penetrate the meat very deep. Brining goes in deep, as it works thru osmosis, where the brine (salt solution) moves from an area of high concentration ( the brine in the pot) to an area of low concentration ( the cells of the meat). Any flavor added to the brine is carried along deep into the meat. When the brine enters the individual cells of the meat, they puff up with the addition of the extra liquid. This is what makes the meat so moist. Has another benefit, which is so important when cooking breast meat, is that it extends the temperature window of when the meat is cooked. That means if you screw up & cook too long, the breast meat will stay moist longer. I shoot for an internal temp on turkey breast to around 161 or so, knowing the temp will still rise a bit after it comes out of the oven. I cook many of these during Thanksgiving & what I do is soon as the breasts come out of the oven, I wrap heavily in foil & sit them on the kitchen counter, out of the way & will cover with a couple of towels. This way, they will stay hot for hours & gradually cool down & allow the meat to rest & retain the juice when sliced. This works great, as I cook the breasts early so that I'm done with the ovens at the time my wife is ready to use them for all her goodies. If I needed the meat to hold longer, I'd do the same but put in a cooler. But this way, they are good for two hours or more & will still be very hot to the touch.


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## Steve40th

Do you still cook the meat in lbs per hour? Temperature?


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## Redneck

Steve40th said:


> Do you still cook the meat in lbs per hour? Temperature?


Would depend on which meat or even which cut of meat. For example white meat on a turkey needs to be at around 165 but dark meat needs to be around 180. That is why so many folks get dry breast meat on a whole turkey and why I now generally cook just bone in breasts. With those, I know the meat will be juicy.


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## Redneck

Will add that if brining for the first time, it can be difficult to know how much brine to make. Easy way to determine the proper amount is to put the meat in the container, then measure the amount of water added to the pot to completely cover the meat. Drain the water & then make that amount of brine.


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## Urinal Cake

I get it pre canned!


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## bigwheel

I startred brining back in the 70s when I stumbled over and old recipe for home made corned beef. It was a strong old preserving brine which was strong enough to float a raw egg....and a touch of salt peter to make it red. Had to go ten days in the cold. Made great but highly salty corned beef brisket...if it got cooked by boiling it was fine. Made tons of the stuff over the years. Then come the comp bbq hobby and brining chickens and turkeys was the rage. That takes a weak brine..which is 1 cup salt per gallon and and equal amount of sweet to offset the salt. Tried boiling a brine one time and did not like it. I start with hot taper water and add the other ingredients aromatics etc. and let it set at room temp for a few days before chilling for use. I have of late got into hot water brines which uses hot tap water half a cup of salt and 1/4 cup of your favorite bbq rub..and allowed to brine at room temp for one hour. No more no less. Works great on pork chops and suspect chicken also but aint tried that yet. Brines using 1 cup or less salt per gallon dont need rinsing or soaking...least that I ever heard of..lol. Here is one of my old pastrami recipes which usually comes out purty good. 

Bigwheel's Grand Prize Winning Corned Beef (Pastrami)

2 big severely trimmed packer briskets
2 gallons Foat Wuth tap water
2 cups Morton's Tender Quick
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup dried minced onyawns
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/3 cup coarse grind black pepper
2 T. dry mustard
1 T. ground Thyme
1 liberal sprinkle ground Allspice
1 chintzy sprinkle ground Cloves
4 or 5 or bay leaves

Mix up the brine using hot tap water and let it set in the jar for a day or two at room temps. Get it ice cold. Strain a few quarts of the the brine and shoot them up to the gills..then dunk em in the brine in the ice box giving them a shake and roll once a day for 7 days. (I use doubled non-scented Glad trash bags for doing my brining but however you brine feel free to do it your way). Drag em out and rub down good with coarse grind black peppa and ground corriander. Cook em on the pit at somewhere around 250 till the internal temp hits about 180 and dont seem to want to go no higher. Slice em thin and against thegrain and pile it high on your Reuben. Will make you want to slap somebody's Mama.


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## hawgrider

Hawgs corned venison -

http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/recipes/11869-corned-venison.html


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## A Watchman

hawgrider said:


> Hawgs corned venison -
> 
> http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/recipes/11869-corned-venison.html


Well ..... Its about damn time! Geez Hawg!


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## Leon

Yeah there's a lot of questions let me just try to get them all in a post let's see.

I DID have a tall 3 gallon pot, stainless, and yes it had a tightly fitting lid, airtight. With brines you don't boil the meat IN it but you do cook per pound around the same as normal after washing it off the meat. If you don't wash it comes out a little salty. That's why some folks think the corned beef is salty they get from the stores is because they don't wash it well. I also hear people say corned beef and cabbage stinks but they're doing it wrong by adding the cabbage in with it during the long slow simmer of 5-6 hours. You add the cabbage at the end for around 15 minutes and no it don't stink that way. I love *******'s take on it he's obviously done this a lot. Illini- yes no doubt you can't just like leave it out in the sun in mid summer it'll be toast by the time you come back. BUT in cooler months, when the hunting is good, this is the ticket.

Some dude on facebook told me that when he does BBQ he always brines it first, even ribs and brisket. I could totally see that. When I do my brines I bring to a minute boil, take it off, let it cool and then slap it in the spare fridge to cool it down the rest of the way. *******'s technique looks just like what I do when I'm starting the moonshine mash, half hot dissolve the ingredients add cold water to cut the heat. The last turkey I did I also had a bunch of chicken thighs and wings in there, they lasted two days longer in the same brine and came out awesome. In hindsight I would also do venison in that same brine the flavors are just perfect for game. The orange peel, the spices and heady garlic / onion, the allspice it just works up to this magic that reminds me of the old days in a fancier time. You got basically three modes, savory, sweet or spicy. I did a spicy with the chilies I grew this year, did some cornish hens in sliced chilies, chopped pepicha (anyone ever use this?) onions garlic and crushed coriander seed. They were pretty killer over charcoal I want to try some quail next.


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## 23897

Can someone recommend a beginners book for this brining malarkey? Some of us non-US citizens fancy giving this a go. 
Sounds delicious. 


Sent from my iPhone using Technology whilst it still exists.


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## Leon

fangfarrier said:


> Can someone recommend a beginners book for this brining malarkey? Some of us non-US citizens fancy giving this a go.
> Sounds delicious.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Technology whilst it still exists.


Foodtv.com and youtube is where I been getting my info


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## 23897

Thanks Leon. 

Any direct links to anything you particularly recommend for beginners?


Sent from my iPhone using Technology whilst it still exists.


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