Is It Better to Brine Meat Longer? | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

FAQs

Is It Better to Brine Meat Longer? | Cook's Illustrated? ›

But while it's important to brine the meat for at least the minimum amount of time, don't brine longer than the suggested range. The far end of the range is built in for the cook's convenience, not because the meat will be significantly juicier or taste more seasoned.

Brining super-thin meat cuts such as fish filets for 10 minutes is a practical rule of thumb. Other meats, such as shrimp and thin pork chicken breasts or chops, normally require 15 to 30 minutes to brine. Larger meats, such as a whole chicken, can be brined overnight, and huge turkeys can be brined for up to 48 hours.

Most over-brining simply makes everything a little too salty, and you can soak the meat in cold water to draw out the excess salt. If you really let it go too long—as in, brining for days instead of hours—things may go beyond repair. Doing so can make your meat mushy, and there's no way to fix that!

Dry-brining is our preferred method for seasoning both large and small pieces of meat, poultry, and sometimes even seafood. Along with producing juicy, flavorful results, dry-brining also helps us get better Maillard browning and crispy skin.

Now, we use much smaller quantities of salt, mixed with other spices and herbs, achieving increased flavor in the meat as well as other benefits. Brining in a saltwater mixture before you smoke typically will add flavor, tenderness and typically reduces cooking times.

Because the returns for brining diminish over time, the first few hours of brining a large roast (or the first 30 minutes or so for smaller cuts) are critical, but soaking the meat until the end of a recommended time range—or even a few hours longer—won't produce an appreciable difference in salt penetration.

For all-purpose brine, a good rule of thumb is: ¼ cup of kosher salt and ¼ cup of sugar for every quart of water.

Keep the steak open to airflow while in the fridge, either by placing it on a rack with a plate underneath, or by flipping it every so often. Generally, the longer you dry brine your steak, the better (to a maximum of 48 or so hours).

A general rule of thumb is to leave your meat in its brine for roughly one hour per pound—never brine your meat more than the prescribed amount, lest the proteins break down too far, turning it into unappetizing mush.

Why do you put sugar in a brine? ›

Sugar: This is an optional ingredient and is typically used to balance the saltiness of a brine. Use about 2 tablespoons per quart of liquid. You can decrease that amount if desired, but I wouldn't recommend using any more or it could make the final cooked protein burn easier and taste too sweet.

Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is perfect for brining because the flat, flaky crystals dissolve extremely well in water and create a crystal clear brine. Consider brining this grilling and holiday season.

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

Place the container in the refrigerator for the period of time specified in the recipe. The amount of time will depend on the type of brine you use; however, do not brine any longer than two days and always keep the turkey and brine refrigerated (at 40°F or less).

Some recipes call for rinsing meat after brining, while others skip this step. Do whatever the recipe calls for. Rinsing is common in recipes with a very high salt concentration or that contain sugar, since sugar can burn on the surface of meat during cooking.

The meat cooks up juicier and with more flavor than it does otherwise. You can also brine for longer, but after about two hours, the meat can start to get a bit mushy. Cook the meat any way you like once it's been brined. Grilling, broiling, pan-searing are all fine options with brined cuts.

How long to brine your chicken depends on what kind of chicken you're using. For skinless breasts, brine for two hours. For bone-in pieces, brine for four hours. For whole chickens, brine for at least four hours or up to overnight.

Smaller cuts like pork chops and chicken breasts can be brined for as little as 30 minutes to an hour, while a turkey really needs at least 12 hours. Remove the meat from the brine, pat it dry, and continue with your recipe. Brining makes the biggest difference for dry heat preparations like roasting and grilling.

To Rinse Or Not To Rinse After Brining

Rinsing is common in recipes with a very high salt concentration or that contain sugar, since sugar can burn on the surface of meat during cooking. Regardless of whether you rinse or not, make sure to pat the meat dry with paper towels before cooking.