Brining Basics is it a Brine or Marinade

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Welcome SmokinOkie! :welcm: Do they still have that screwed up drinking age there where the girls can drink at 18 but the guys have to be 21? :eek: (Was stationed at Tinker)
 
Hey SmokinOkie nice to see you here, I hope everything is well with you and the wife, missed you at the Royal this year.
Russ is well versed in BBQ and teaching it.
Jim
 
Wecome Smokinokie !

It's great to have another voice of experience to listen to. Looking forward to learning.

Al
 
There was a statement made that pickling salt in cold water where you had to heat the brine desolve the salt which is true. Another reason to heat a brine is to release oils in the herbs and spice in the brine.

I believe this thread can help people get a better idea on how brining works and based on what you want to use as a recipe and the best technique to make it work.
Jim
 
A Brine is defined as Water and Salt solution (source, Google Define search)

A Marinade is usually defined as a Acidic solution for soaking (source, Google Define search)
I agree but would add a fine point to the marinade definition. ("Brining 101" is great, btw.) Marinades are thought to tenderize or aid in the tenderizing of the meats being marinated. ("Marinades" are also used to add flavors to foods--specifically vegetables--without tenderizing.) That marinades often fail to actually tenderize is outside the scope of this post but I could go on and on about why and how they fail. There are two types of marinades when tenderizing is the point (or one of the points) to marinating: acidic, as noted often in this thread, and enzymatic. Mixtures that include citrus juice(s), vinegar and/or wine are examples of acidic marinades; those that contain fresh pineapple, papaya, papain or bromelain (in dried form) are examples of enzymatic marinades. Proteases (protein enzymes) are also found in ginger, kiwis, figs, and honeydews.

I certainly don't see how applying a brine such as the WSM sites' Apple Brine gets to be defined as Marinading
Nor do I. Most of us who cook in a professional arena consider a brine to be water mixed with a sufficient salt quantity so that both will actually get into the meat--the point of brining in the first place. Any flavor additions (be it juices, herbs, aromatics or otherwise) are personal prefernce additions to the brine. Neither I nor anyone I know would call a brine a marinade simply because of the addition of some acidic (orange juice, e..g.) or enzymatic ingredients to the brine. Most of us consider anything that is not a brine a marinade, irrespective of acid or enzyme content, because we marinate primarily to add flavor, not to tenderize. A marinade, to us, can be an herb-infused oil alone, or a paste made of garlic pureed with herbs and lemon zest--it does not need to contain additional liquid.

Actually this is true for fish, but not for Poultry. In my opinion, I've never found any scientific reason providing that you have to let a pellicle form on poultry
I agree utterly. I air-dry because I think evaporation (and separating the skin from the meat) is important for better skin texture. [ In addition to fish, pellicle formation is important before smoking bacon.]

How brining actually works from a physics/chemisty perspective is not completely understood.
No, not completely. In addition to osmosis we know that salt contains two oppositely charged ions and that the protein molecules of meat (which contain many charges, negative and positive) move around in reaction to the salt. The re-organization of the protein molecules weakens its original structure which we perceive as tenderization. This re-organization also creates little gaps which fill with water. The added salt makes this water less likely to evaporate during cooking so the end result is juicier.

Another reason to heat a brine is to release oils in the herbs and spice in the brine.
Absolutely. And note that since many of the items we use to flavor brines contain flavor elements that are oil soluble and not water soluble heat is an important tool to get the flavors out and working. Additionally, if you're not tasting enough of an item's flavor it may be that that item contains virtually no water soluble components (peppercorns come to mind); use heat and/or use more.


My $.02
 
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