Brining Science for the ultimate meat!

 

BRINING SCIENCE -You’ve likely heard the term brining and might have a general understanding of what is involved when a brine solution is applied to meat, but have you ever understood the simplicity of how brining improves overall quality and flavor? For all you science geeks, yes we’ve covered the scientific principles here but please don’t lose sight that this process is relatively easy and the little time invested will certainly lead to favorable results for your taste buds!

Let’s equip you with the science behind brining and a guide on producing a successful brine solution for meats, poultry and fish.

All Science Brining- Osmosis and Diffusion

Brine is a salt and water solution used to soak food in, usually meat proteins, to improve the overall quality by a change in the structure of the proteins in the muscle of the brined meat. There are three primary reasons to brine: texture, flavor, and moisture retention. To get these results, osmosis must take place.

Osmosis is the movement of a higher concentration of water to a lower concentration of water through a semi-permeable membrane. To create osmosis, you must start with a solution. The water being solvent (higher percentage of water) and the salt being the solute (lower percentage of salt to the water percentage).

With a balanced solution, brined proteins have an increased level of moisture when compared to non-brined proteins. Now, know up front, that you certainly could soak a protein in plain water and have it gain moisture but this process would be much slower than if you add salt to the water. Also, proteins don’t bind to water as effectively during the cooking process which is why salt is introduced when cooking.

Here’s the process of a brine: Salt is sodium chloride (NaCl) and when dissolved into water, it breaks into a positively charged sodium ion and negatively charged chloride ion. Both these ions will diffuse throughout food flowing from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration. It takes 100-1,000 times longer for salt to diffuse into food than heat. The negatively charged ions repel one another creating gaps in the muscle fiber for water to enter the food product. The food protein will then bind water more tightly which prevents the muscle fibers from shrinking and squeezing water out during the cooking process.

Brining- Three Strategies

There are three recognized methods of brining: Dry Rub Brining, Gradient Brining, and Equilibrium Brining.

Dry Rub Brining:

This is likely the most widely used form of brining as it is fast and easy. Salt and other dry ingredients like herbs and spices rubbed onto the surface of the meat. How do you know the percentage of salt? Start by calculating 1% of the proteins weight. For example, if you are doing a rack of pork ribs that weigh 3 pounds, the amount of salt used in the dry rub would be 1% of that weight minus the bone weight, which is generally calculated as 40% of the gross weight. Thus, that 3 pound rack of ribs would be reduced to 1.8 pounds for the calculation of salt at 1%.

Gradient Brining:

This is referred to as a traditional brining method as is includes a 5-10% salt content which after the food is soaked in the brine solution, the surface of brined foods is rinsed under cold water to remove excess sodium from the surface. Salt is dissolved into water with the amount of salt used determined by the desired brine salinity, again, usually between 5-10% of the weight of the water (desired brine salinity X water weight = salt weight). As an example, it takes 1,000 grams of water to cover chicken. If we want 5% salinity, then we would require 50 grams of salt in our brine solution (1,000g X .05 (5%) = 50g salt).

Equilibrium Brining:

This method of bring requires a salt or salinity meter to read the salt content in the brine solution during the brining process. The goal is to have the parts per million (PPM) on the meter drop to half of its initial reading. This is the state of equilibrium and brining is complete. This method requires you to calculate the PPM – 1 parts per million equals 1mg/1,000g. 1g = 1,000mg. If you desire a 1% salt water solution, dissolve 10g or 10,000mg of salt into 1,000g or 1,000,000mg of water producing a salt content of 10,000PPM.

A Bit of Sweet

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During stay at home or Quarantine doesn’t mean you should place your taste buds on hold!

Stay at Home

You’ve committed to a stay at home or in today’s lingo- stay-cation. Lists of games to play, tasks to complete, books to read, and movies and shows to see have been compiled. Now its time to give some thought to the food that will sustain you during this time.

Don’t compromise taste because your afraid to make too much work out of cooking. Using the grill is a super easy way to keep your foods and meals highly flavorful. Let’s give you some ideas that will provide options for everyone to feel satisfied and pleasantly full.

The Breakdown

I think the easiest way to view meal preparation when you focus on the grill as your primary method of cooking is to breakdown foods by categories.

Fruits:

This group of food can make some of the best grilled items. Already sweet in flavor, grilling them produces more vibrant flavor as the heat caramelizes the natural sugars and produces a char to the outside of the fruit. When selecting fruits for the grill, be sure they are ripe but not over-ripened to where they present as soft, or they will have tendency to break apart on the grill. Keep the pieces of fruit large when placing on the grill to maintain as much cell structure as possible. Brush the fruit pieces lightly with a high heat oil like coconut, avocado, or grape seed. The key is to leave the pieces untouched for at least 3 minutes before flipping to get great char and flavor infusion. Perfect fruits for the grill: banana, avocado, apple, mango, peach, papaya, pineapple, peach, pear, plum, grapes, cranberry, eggplant, kiwi, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, tomato.

Vegetables:

You likely are already aware of popular vegetables to grill like corn on the cob, peppers, and onions, but there are so many more that pair perfectly with the grill. In fact, I would go as far as saying ANY vegetable is appropriate for the grill, you just need to control those that should be exposed to direct heat versus indirect. The easy method of determining heat level is the thicker the skin on the veggie, the more tolerant to direct heat. All vegetables can cook on the grill in less than 10 minutes so time really isn’t a factor. Always remember to avoid moving the vegetables on the grill until they have cooked for at least 3-4 minutes. For preparation to the vegetables, most require just quartering or slicing in half, with some going on whole like tomatoes and smaller mushrooms. Basting with high heat tolerant oils is also recommended.

Nuts and Seeds:

These are foods that react with a super boost in flavor when exposed to the heat of a grill and flavor of wood on the grill. Any seed or nut can be grilled by using a disposable foil pan or griddle pan designed for grilling. These items take about 15-20 minutes and should be stirred every 5-8 minutes to prevent scorching.

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Kiwifruit gets smoky by adding a new twist to your kiwifruit by cold smoking it to enhance its wonderful sweet flavor.

KIWIFRUIT GETS SMOKY

Kiwifruit is now in season! It’s time to use this potassium, vitamin A, C & E enriched fruit in your favorite recipes. How about doing something to up the flavor level a bit?

Packed with more vitamin C than an orange and as much potassium as a banana, Kiwifruit, more commonly called kiwi, is also a fiber powerhouse. I’m going to take this creamy fruit favorite to a new flavor level by cold smoking it.

The Ease of Hand Held Food Smoking

To do this technique, you’ll need a handheld food smoker, SmokinLicious® Minuto® Smoking Wood Chips in size 6, 8 or 10, a lighter, a sheet pan, a food bag large enough to go over your sheet pan, and a cable tie. Then gather together the number of kiwifruits you’d like to infuse with smoke vapor, and have a knife and cutting board available.

Kiwifruit Gets Smoky by Letting the Smoke In

Simply cut your kiwifruit in half to allow the smoke vapor to penetrate the fruit flesh. As kiwifruit is covered by a brown, fuzzy skin, you will need some of the fruit’s meat exposed to get real smoke flavor incorporate. Otherwise, leaving them whole won’t bring much of a smokiness to the fruit meat.

What I love the most about cold smoking with a handheld food smoker like The Smoking Gun™ Smoker, is how fast this flavoring can be done to any food, beverage, liquid, spice or herb item. After cutting me kiwifruit in half to allow for maximum penetration of the smoke vapor, I place the cut halves on a sheet pan. I then slip a food bag over the sheet pan.

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Make the most of prepared foods during an emergency by using any type of grill!

Make the Most of Prepared Foods During an Emergency:

Bagged Boxed or Canned

If you have one or more grills at your home then likely, without even knowing it, you have prepped for emergency situations. I’ve been encouraged to see while social distancing is in place, people are reaching out to their grills to cook family meals. It is simply fabulous!

Don’t limit the use of this cooking equipment to the traditional items like animal proteins and thick-skinned vegetables like peppers, onions, and corn. Embrace the concept that nearly anything can be cooked on the grill.

Bagged Food Items

Common bagged food items that are considered perfect for storing as emergency food rations include: rice, dried pasta, dried beans, oats, quinoa, trail mix, dried fruits, candy, snack foods like chips and cookies, cornmeal, granola, and more.

Any of these items can be used in food preparation on the grill as long as you have cookware that can tolerate the heat of the grill or even use disposable foil pans or aluminum foil that you can mold into your own cookware.

Starting with common items like rice, dried pasta and beans, and quinoa, these items can be cooked in water or broth using cookware placed directly on the grill grate. Generally, direct heat works for these items, since you need to reach a boil and then simmer these items for a relatively long period before they are tender. Trail mix, oats and dried fruits work great as breakfast items to cook with milk or milk substitutes, again using a saucepan directly on the grill. Snack foods, candy, trail mix and more work well for making desserts on the grill. Cookie crumbs work for making tart and pie shells, crushed chips for crusting animal proteins, and candy for those special treats that may just include some type of chocolate candy and prepared phyllo dough sheets, which I always keep available in my freezer for spur of the moment needs.

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We use a moisture reader to maintain proper wood chip wetness of our products.

Wood Chip Wetness chart for smoking and grilling with Wood! Share on X

Wood Chip Wetness Reference Data

If you’ve been following the Smokinlicious® Culinary Wood Products website for a while, then you’re very aware of how serious we take wood. It is extremely important to us to educate you on hardwood and how it can be used for cooking. We know there are choices out there when it comes to purchasing wood. That’s why we love to make comparisons between popular products on the market.

Recently, we investigated the moisture levels of two popular name-brand products that are available across the USA. Using a commercial-grade moisture reader (Delmhorst Instrument Co., RDM-3 #12084), we recorded the moisture level of both name-brand smoking wood chips. One was Hickory, the other Mesquite – two very popular wood species for smoking.

Why should you care about the moisture level of the wood?

Moisture is what causes wood to smolder rather than burn up. It’s the difference between firewood and cooking wood. If you want to burn a fire for heat output only, then you need dry wood. If you want to cook flavorful foods by fire, the wood needs some measurable moisture, preferably over 15%, in order to flavor the food with the essence of the wood.

The Results Are In!

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The ways to use wood chunks on gas grill!

Try wood chunks on gas grill for a natural taste! Share on X

This is the year! You made a promise to yourself, family and friends that this outdoor cooking season, you were going to bring more flavor to meals cooked on the grill by incorporating smoking wood and grilling wood. All you need to know is, what are the options for setting up the grill for this type of cooking without purchasing a smoker?

We have the answer and lots of options to utilize your existing equipment!

LP/Gas Grills of All Types

There is a great deal of variation in LP/Gas Grilling equipment in terms of grilling surface space, the number of burners, BTU rating, etc. Know up front, that this will play into how frequently you need to replenish grilling or smoking wood or even to monitor the foods being smoked on the grill. Essentially, these tips will work on any brand/model that you may own.

How To Add Wood Chunks on Gas Grill

Heat diffusers are commonly found on newer models of grills. They are made of high heat tolerant metal and cover the actual burners of the unit. Their purpose is to ensure even heat distribution throughout the grill so both radiant and conductive heat is maximized.

Wood Chunks On The Diffusers

If you have a grill model that has heat diffusers (remember, they may go by other names like flavorizer bars, flame tamers, heat plates, burner shields, and heat distributors) then you’re ready to use smoking wood chunks on your unit! Yes, I said smoking chunks. This is by far the easiest method of getting the true smoke flavor to the foods being cooked. Plus, you can set up an indirect method of cooking using smoking chunks.

You will need 3-4 wood chunks sized to fit over your heat diffusers and under the grill grate when setting in place. A 2x2x3-inch size fits most units and these should have some measurable moisture level; at least 20% moisture is ideal meaning you won’t need to presoak the wood. If you have an old grill model before heat diffusers were standard, you can still use smoking wood chunks by placing them in a smoker box. These boxes will generally fit 3-4 chunks of the size referenced above but be sure to use a good quality box. My preference is cast iron. Insert the chunks into the smoker box and leave the lid off!

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Spatchcock Smoked Turkey is perfect for even cooking! Moist and smokey what a delectable combination

Try this Spatchock Smoked Turkey Share on X

Smoked Spatchcock Turkey

Often when faced with cooking a whole turkey, you find the challenge of ensuring every part of the bird is cooked to temperature. This can result in some extra work in ensuring that certain parts that cook faster don’t dry out or burn on the exterior. Think the wings and drumsticks. It’s a lot of work!

I’m going to introduce you to a method of cooking a turkey that will ensure every part cooks at the same rate and to the same doneness level without having to cover specific parts with foil. Spatchcocking a whole turkey meets that goal and by doing the cooking process on the gas grill with hardwood, you get the added benefit of a smoke flavor and oven room for preparing other dishes.

Order up a whole turkey, preferably under 24 lbs., and let’s meet in the kitchen to prepare the bird for smoking.

Does Fresh Make a Difference?

#freshturkey

There is no question that I prefer a fresh turkey over frozen as the flavor is simply cleaner and the bird produces super moist meat compared to a frozen turkey. We are fortunate to have within 10 miles of our location, a fresh turkey farm that harvests turkeys once a year, just a couple of days ahead of Thanksgiving. My bird weighed in just under 22lbs. The organs and neck are removed from the cavity and the bird flipped breast side down to expose the backbone. This is where we start our spatchcock process. Get sharp cutting shears ready as we prepare to remove the backbone of our turkey.

Tasting Notes: If fresh whole turkey is not available, you may substitute frozen whole turkey. Just be sure it is completely defrosted and pat dried before starting this recipe.

Flatten and Rub for a Perfect Spatchcock Smoked Turkey

I won’t lie to you. Removing the backbone of a fresh turkey can be a bit of work, but it is so worth it. Start on one side of the backbone, insert sharp kitchen shears, and start to snip away. You’ll draw the shears along the edge of the backbone, releasing the bone from the meat. Done correctly, the spine will come out in one piece.

#spatchock

With the backbone removed it’s time for the final preparation to the turkey. Flip the turkey back so the breast is facing up. Time to break the breastbone so the turkey will lay flat on the cooking sheet pan. This will take both hands and a lot of force. Position your hands across the breast and push down with all your force until you hear the breast plate break. Now the turkey should be able to lay flat on a sheet pan equipped with a rack for rendering all the juice and allowing even heat distribution around the entire bird. The rack is key to use so heat distributes evenly. The turkey is now ready for a rub with your favorite seasonings, herbs, and spices.

#spatchocking

I’m using a simple herb rub that includes fresh sage, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, black pepper, marjoram, basil and cumin. I place my ground rub all over the skin of the bird and on the exposed meat side, reaching under the breast skin as well. Now cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. All this work can be done the night prior to grilling ensuring all that is left to do, is the simple two-zone cooking. Remember, two-zone cooking involves turning only half the burners on and placing a metal smoker box of wood chunks on the hot grate or directly on the heat shield of the hot burners. Be sure you have the box and hardwood at the ready for this step.

With our prepared spatchcock turkey readied, the sheet pan is added to the grill on the no heat side and the lid is closed. I leave this to cook on its own for about two hours before returning to rotate the pan, checking the smoker box of wood chunks I’m using on the lit side of the grill for the great smoke flavor. Remember, the heat from the burners that are lit will radiate throughout the entire grill, grill-roasting the turkey while the heat stimulates the release of the smoke vapor from the wood.

#twozonecooking #woodchunks#smokerbox

Tasting Notes: If you prefer, you can cook the turkey directly on the grill grate. Just be sure to place a water pan under the grate to collect all the juices.

Ready in No Time

My nearly 22 lb. fresh turkey takes about 3-3/4 hours to reach a 165°F internal temperature. In total, I use about 8 double filet wood chunks for the entire process. The best part, I can do other things while the turkey cooks, then rest it for about 20 minutes before carving. Don’t forget about all the beautiful juice it produces in the pan as well. Make gravy, use it as au jus, or save it for producing stock. Spatchcock fresh turkey – the easiest method of no-fuss grilling and smoking of a turkey!

What’s your favorite spatchcock turkey recipe? Leave us a comment to opine and subscribe to get all our postings on tips, techniques and recipes. Bringing innovation to wood fired cooking with recipes, techniques and the science behind the fire, smoke, and flavor. That’s SmokinLicious®.

#spatchcocksmokedturkey

Love this article? Then please, share it!

SmokinLicious® Products used in this technique:

#woodchunks

Wood Chunks- Double Filet

More related reading on Spatchcock Smoked Turkey and other Sptachcocking itmes see our smoking & Grilling tips and technique see our directory on previous blogs!

More blog topics you might enjoy:

-SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN IS THE WAY TO MOISTURE & HARDWOOD FOR FLAVOR

-SMOKE A TURKEY- LEARN HOW

-THE NOT-SO-SMOKEY SMOKED TURKEY

-WHY TWO-ZONE COOKING METHOD LET’S YOU WALK AWAY FROM THE GRILL

Dr. Smoke- Great moist smokey meat from our Spatchcock Smoked Turkey- awesome way to cook the “bird”

We discuss how long do wood chips last in an electric smoker!

How long do wood chips last in an electric smoker Share on X

Without question, electric smokers are by far the easiest smokers to manage as they require no charcoal lighting, no constant checking of the fuel supply, and usually no messy ash pan. These are units that are designed to run on very little wood product, usually between 2-5 ounces because the actual ‘fuel’ is an electric coil. No gas, charcoal, or pellet.

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Let’s stop the dry smoked meats effect with our 9 easy steps!

WHY IS MY BARBECUE MEAT DRY?? Share on X

You thought you timed the meat perfectly on your smoker or grill. When it came time to cut it, all you found was a gray, dry former piece of meat staring back at you.

What went wrong?

Don’t fall into your old habits when it comes to outdoor cooking, whether you’re using a traditional wood or electric smoker, charcoal grill or gas grill. Learn some easy tips to keep your foods juicy and enticing this outdoor cooking season by preventing the unwanted occurrence of dry smoked meats.

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BBQ Smoke color, Black, Brown White or Blue is the key to successful Barbecue flavor

BBQ Smoke Color know the differences Share on X

You smell it before you see it! The aroma of foods being cooked outdoors. When those foods involve cooking over wood – hardwood to be specific – well, it’s a flavor experience that is in a league of its own.

Today, instead of concentrating on the cooking technique of wood-fires, let’s examine the smoke vapor.

Does BBQ smoke color mean anything for flavor outcome?

The quick answer: absolutely! Let’s take a closer look at the finer points of smoke vapor colors.

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Including the grill in staycation plans is a flavor rich must this year!

Including the Grill in Staycation Plans:

The Grill

The reports are in and all point to one common theory: people are likely to cancel previous plans to vacation away, especially those considering foreign travel, and instead opt for a staycation.

What does this mean for the economy? Of course, there will be negatives with this decision not to travel but one potential positive is the soar in potential grill sales as people begin to ponder ways to keep home cooking interesting.

Options of Including the Grill in Staycation Plans

Likely the first assessment for most considering a staycation is what do we do for food. People often have dining out plans built into their weekly schedule but due to concerns with visiting populated locations like a restaurant, food truck, or even street vendor, these locales will likely be one of the first voluntary bans. That means, cooking at home just moved to the front of the line. Cooking on the stove top or in the oven are certainly options, but given you want to keep your body from getting bored you’ll likely want to branch out to the outdoors and start grilling, especially if the weather makes that enticing.

Here’s where the lesson needs to be learned. Don’t just settle for cooking direct heat method like you do with hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages. Learn how to grill with indirect heat and you’ll be in great position to put a variety of foods including vegetables, animal proteins, and even fruits and nuts on the grill.

The starting point, however, is to assess your current outdoor cooking equipment and decide the following:

► Is the equipment in good working order to be used frequently?

► Are there any components of the grill that need replacing? For example, the grill grates, heat shields, ignitors, wheels on a portable unit, charcoal pan, water pan, etc.

► Is the current equipment of adequate size to feed your family all at once?

► Is the equipment easy to operate meaning it won’t burdened you with constant supervision?

► Does the equipment have an option for a dedicated fuel set up like LP gas conversion to natural gas which will allow you full use without having to worry about filling LP tanks?

► If you want to up the flavor of your grill foods, can you easily add wood to the unit?

If you’re in the market for a new grilling unit, assess the frequency of its use and what you want to be able to cook on it before making the purchase. The more frequent use the higher quality the materials that make up the grill need to be, to keep the grill functional for a very long time.

In the end, you not only will have piece of mind in knowing you can feed your family great tasting foods, but you’ll likely have a great opportunity to bond in a great outdoor environment.

Do you plan to take a staycation? Leave us a comment and subscribe to get our latest tips, techniques, recipes and the science behind the fire and smoke, for all live fire cooking methods. That’s SmokinLicious!

SmokinLicious® Products:

Charwood

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®, Minuto® & Piccolo®

More related reading on including the grill in staycation plans and for more smoking & Grilling tips and technique see our directory on previous blogs!

Related reading:

-HOW TO KEEP FOOD INTERESTING, PRESERVED & SAFE DURING QUARANTINE

-Thermal Heating Process is Why You Shouldn’t Be Concerned About Receiving a SmokinLicious® Package

-OUR AIR HANDLING PROCESSES PAY OFF IN THE BATTLE WITH COVID-19

Dr. Smoke- don’t let your staycation this year affect your meals. Break out the Grill for great tasting meals

Our food scale demonstrates guidance on adding wood for food smoking.

One of the most common questions asked when it comes to smoking foods on a gas grill, traditional charcoal grill or smoker is, how much wood do I need? Likely the second most common question is where does the wood go? Share on X

Let’s break this down by equipment and method of smoking so you have a good place to start in answering the above questions.

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Dr Smoke- “Our moisture controlled manufacturing process enables the generation of great smoke.”REASONS WHY WON’T MY WOOD CHIPS SMOKE??

WHY Share on X

We’ve all been there! You purposely made a list of all the things you would need for the weekend BBQ. Carefully selected the meat, cleaned the grill or smoker the weekend before, and purchased the wood chips to impart that great flavoring you can only get from hardwood! You marinated the meat 24 hours ahead and woke up on grill day full of excitement.

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Learn how to turn your charcoal grill into a smoker with the right hardwood chunks and chips!

LEARN HOW TO TURN YOUR CHARCOAL GRILL INTO A SMOKER Share on X

Let’s be honest. When you bought that charcoal grill you were likely thinking that you could both grill and smoke without needing to add anything. Soon, you realized, that just wasn’t the case. Now, you’re contemplating whether you need to purchase a smoker. Well, hold on the shopping trip until you read this. We can help you turn your charcoal grill into a smoker!

You can turn your charcoal grill into a smoker with these simple steps!

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Is it fresh, is always a question that comes from new smokehouse products wood chips customers only! Our old customers know that at Smokinlicious® we are cutting products daily and measuring moisture to produce the best smoking wood in the world!

Smokehouse products, need fresh Smokinlicious® Minuto® and Piccolo® wood chips to produce the finest smoke flavor! Share on X

I always find it interesting when we receive a new inquiry about providing specialty products for commercial-grade smokehouses. I’m speaking specifically to the large commercial-grade smokehouse. The type that utilize walk-in, wall smokehouse units that can turn out hundreds of pounds of product each cycle.

First, there’s always the question if we can duplicate the current wood chip product. That’s where the education begins.

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