BRINING
Very lean meats such as breasts of chicken or turkey or pork loin roasts or chops tend to dry out when cooked to safe eating temperature.
Brining prevents that; it’s the process of soaking lean meats in a salt brine for several hours or overnight. The salt in a brine reshapes the structure of the meat’s proteins so they can capture and retain more moisture.
When cooked, the meat is juicier that it would have been without the brining. Also, the restructured protein makes the meat tenderer. And finally, the salt—and, often enough, other flavorings—get deep into the meat, thus making for more flavorful, seasoned meat. Adding sugar to a brine helps the meat brown, if desired.
RECIPE: Grilled spiced double-thick pork chops
This recipe comes from Gourmet magazine and serves 4.
Ingredients
For brine:
9 large garlic cloves
3 quarts water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons dried thyme, crumbled
1 teaspoon whole allspice
½ bay leaf
12 1 ½-inch-thick rib pork chops
For spice rub:
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
Directions
Make brine: Lightly mash garlic with flat side of a large heavy knife. In a kettle, bring water to a boil with garlic and remaining brine ingredients and simmer 15 minutes. Cool brine completely. Working over a bowl, divide pork chops and brine among 3 large heavy sealable plastic bags and seal bags, pressing out any excess air. Marinate pork chops in bags in a large bowl, chilled, turning them once, for 2 days.
Make spice rub: In a small bowl whisk together all spice rub ingredients. Remove pork chops from brine, discarding brine and any spices still adhering to chops, and pat dry. Season chops with salt and pepper and sprinkle both sides of each chop with about 1/2 tablespoon spice rub, patting it into meat.
Arrange chops in two lightly oiled shallow baking pans. Roast chops in upper and lower thirds of a preheated 450-degree oven, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, about 20 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 155 degrees. Transfer chops to a platter and let stand 5 minutes before serving.