Basics of Brining

by RogerJune 15, 2021

Summer is coming, and along with that, grilling season. Everyone who has ever tended the fire in a backyard cookout knows that it’s a fine line between serving your guests a juicy and perfectly cooked chicken breast or a chewy and chalky hunk of bird. The same goes for pork, beef, and even fish and shrimp. Luckily there is one technique in the grilling toolkit that can stack the odds in your favor and help you avoid dried out food on the grill: brining.

On today’s episode we’ll explore the magic of salt using wet and dry brines and how the techniques can add moisture to your proteins and help prevent drying out. Coupled with a good meat thermometer, brining will help you up your grilling game just in time for summer.

Mentioned in today’s episode

Brining is a great technique to help you combat dried out food when cooking on the grill (or any other hot, dry cooking method, like roasting). But it isn’t foolproof and overcooking can still lead to disaster. If you haven’t already, you need to get a good meat thermometer so you know exactly when your proteins are ready to come off the grill. Thermapen is an industry favorite, but they can be a bit on the spendy side. Alternatively there are hundreds of options on Amazon, but your mileage may vary. Read the reviews before purchasing!

Resources for Wet Brining

Here is a surprisingly good overview of wet brining from MSN/Taste of Home. Also has a handy timing chart.

The Kitchn talks about that magic brine ratio.

Ready to brine that whole Thanksgiving turkey? Betty Crocker has you covered.

How to brine a whole chicken from Spruce Eats. Also a good article on brining fish for grilling.

Furious Grill has tips for brining pork shoulders.

Resources for Dry Brining

Many of the articles linked here talk both about dry and wet brining, but this Serious Eats article on dry brining is comprehensive and makes a good argument for abandoning wet brining altogether.

Another Thanksgiving turkey brine, this time dry, from Epicurious.