Guest guest Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 Ok, working my way throught the Charcuterie book, I've been brining meats with fantastic results! I got interested in this after reading Marc Kurlansky's book " Salt: A World History " and finding out how much our ancestors preserved meats and vegetables in salt - either dried or in brine. I'd always pictured salted fish or meat as kind of yucky and far inferior to what we eat today. But then I tried some, it's fabulous! Brining in kimchi juice is wonderful, or you can make brine just for meat - 4 cups water 1/4 cup salt, and a tablespoon of sugar, maple syrup, or honey if you like with whatever seasonings you prefer - bay leaves, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, hot pepper, fennel, garlic, etc... He says brining in salt water changes the molecular structure of the protein so it holds more water - so the meat is more tender and juicy when cooked. The skin gets thinner and browns more easily when brined with some sugar. The flavor changes, especially if you are using kimchi juice with naturally - occurring nitrates/nitrites. The ascorbic acid from the ingredients keeps them from converting to carcinogens. (In the book he uses " Pink salt " for nitrites, but I prefer the natural sources, also traditional - our ancestors loved to pickle meats with their " sauerkraut " which when they did it rarely contained only cabbage - they'd throw in juniper berries and other seasonings, onions, carrots, whatever they had on hand. It was really " barrel 'o food " to eat throughout the winter. When you consider that fermenting actually ADDS nutrients while most other forms of keeping foods caused loss of nutrients (drying, root cellaring), you can see why they'd probably barrel up whatever they could fit in. Yes, even refrigerated foods lose nutrients and enzymes. Cabbages kept in the dark for two weeks will have considerably less vitamin A than when fresh picked. ANYWAYS, to brine meat, just get the brine and soak the meat in a nonreactive dish (glass, ceramic) in enough brine to cover. You'll have to put a plate or something on the meat to keep it from floating. You can brine for a few hours for filets of fish or a week for something like beef brisket. When first learning brining, you can cut off a small piece of meat and fry it up to taste and see if it's too salty. If it is, just soak in water - it will release salt into the water and become less salty. You'll want to do all brining/soaking in the refrigerator for safety, of course. I'm pretty sure Boston Market brines their chicken in salt/sugar water. So far I've brined pork chops in kimchi juice, pork shoulder in sweetened brine - fabulour cooked all day at 250, ribs in salt/sugar water with spices, and made the brined corned beef brisket in the book Charcuterie. It has all been gourmet-quality food. Really, guys, you've got to try this!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 --- In , " haecklers " <haecklers@...> wrote: > Hey thanks for the info. that sounds great. What is title and author of Charcutertie book and which one gives best details on how to cure the meat . Thanks. Don in Pa. > Ok, working my way throught the Charcuterie book, I've been brining > > . try this!!! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 --- In , " haecklers " <haecklers@...> wrote: .... So far I've brined pork chops in kimchi juice, pork shoulder in > sweetened brine - fabulour cooked all day at 250, ribs in salt/sugar > water with spices, and made the brined corned beef brisket in the > book Charcuterie. It has all been gourmet-quality food. Really, > guys, you've got to try this!!! Renate, I made the brined corned beef from _Charcuterie_ last week and the clients RAVED about it. Had a houseguest eat a large portion, too, so I didn't get to try it myself. The author is fairly enamored of saltpeter, no? I disturbs me that pink salt is in so many recipes. Is it fine to just leave it out? B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 " Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing " by Ruhlman & Polcyn > > Hey thanks for the info. that sounds great. What is title and > author of Charcutertie book and which one gives best details on how to > cure the meat . Thanks. > Don in Pa. > > > Ok, working my way throught the Charcuterie book, I've been brining > > > . try this!!! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I think you'd have to encase it somehow to keep it from dispersing. In the old days they'd put sausages in their sauerkraut & that's ground, but it's in a casing. Maybe cheese cloth would work? - Renate > > What about using pre-ground meat? > TT > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Have you tried with Beef liver? I hate beef liver but believe in it's qualities. On Mar 18, 2006, at 9:09 AM, haecklers wrote: > Ok, working my way throught the Charcuterie book, I've been brining > meats with fantastic results! I got interested in this after > reading Marc Kurlansky's book " Salt: A World History " and finding > out how much our ancestors preserved meats and vegetables in salt - > either dried or in brine. I'd always pictured salted fish or meat > as kind of yucky and far inferior to what we eat today. But then I > tried some, it's fabulous! Brining in kimchi juice is wonderful, or > you can make brine just for meat - 4 cups water 1/4 cup salt, and a > tablespoon of sugar, maple syrup, or honey if you like with whatever > seasonings you prefer - bay leaves, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, hot > pepper, fennel, garlic, etc... > > He says brining in salt water changes the molecular structure of the > protein so it holds more water - so the meat is more tender and > juicy when cooked. The skin gets thinner and browns more easily > when brined with some sugar. Parashis artpages@... zine: artpagesonline.com portfolio: http://www.artpagesonline.com/EPportfolio/000portfolio.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 We had the corned beef (minus saltpeter) last night and it was very good. I'm not trying any of the dry curing recipes so far, but I'm just leaving out the " pink salt. " Certain vegetables have naturally occcurring nitrites and nitrates, especially spinach and some of the darker green greens. I figure I'll use them in my kimchi and use the kimchi juice in meats I want pink. The kimchi has vitamin C which keeps the nitrates/nitrites from becoming the cancer-causing nitrosamines. I noticed the very expensive " Black Forest " organic ham I got a couple of weeks ago had sour undertones. That really got me interested in mixing meats with the fermented vegetables. If you think about it, a lot of the " cured " meats have a sour flavor that's very appealing - pepperoni, summer sausage, ham. It wasn't something I noticed until I paid attention. Then I didn't want to eat meats that had used chemicals to achieve what is so good when done naturally. - Renate > > Renate, > I made the brined corned beef from _Charcuterie_ last week and the > clients RAVED about it. Had a houseguest eat a large portion, too, so > I didn't get to try it myself. > > The author is fairly enamored of saltpeter, no? I disturbs me that > pink salt is in so many recipes. Is it fine to just leave it out? > B. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 I get it. THanks, TT --- haecklers <haecklers@...> wrote: > I think you'd have to encase it somehow to keep it > from dispersing. > In the old days they'd put sausages in their > sauerkraut & that's > ground, but it's in a casing. Maybe cheese cloth > would work? > > - Renate > > > > > > What about using pre-ground meat? > > TT > > > > > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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