To Brine or Not To Brine

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To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby '89HOG » Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:54 pm

I believe most of us agree that brining turkey before smoking is highly recommended. However, what about brining chicken? What about pork ribs (or any other cuts)? Doe anyone care to share your thoughts or experience?

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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby OldUsedParts » Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:56 pm

I have brined only one Chicken and I won't do it again but that's just me - - - I prefer beer can chicken for the moisture retention and will stick with that process from now on. :dont: :dont: :idea:
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby bsooner75 » Mon Apr 10, 2017 3:22 pm

I brine chickens and have had good results. Pay attention to whether the birds already have a solution in them or not and adjust brine time accordingly. They do not need an overnight brine like Turkeys.

Never tried pork ribs but I've seen several recipes for pork chops being brined.


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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby k.a.m. » Mon Apr 10, 2017 3:57 pm

We brine chickens 4 to 5 lbs. or halves for 12 hours. We use Sanderson's.
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby '89HOG » Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:36 pm

I'll be using chickens raised for FFA so they're pretty large birds. The ones I smoked last year were delicious without brining, but I'm all about making improvements. I'm most curious about brining pork ribs (or other pork cuts). Thanks for all the input so far.
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby Txdragon » Mon Apr 10, 2017 5:50 pm

I've never brined ribs or anything before.. I must try this! I do however, brine all poultry if time permits.
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby 88rxna » Wed Apr 12, 2017 6:00 pm

I've never brined anything before. I have a pork loin I thought about brining and wrapping with bacon

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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby Swamptrout » Thu Apr 13, 2017 2:47 am

I have brined chickens in the past.
The moisture in the meat was great but it was at the detriment of the crispy golden skin.

Also the wife and kids didnt like the flavour it added so i have stopped .
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby Boots » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:31 am

Brine. Definitely. Using beer.
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby egghead » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:37 am

A chef once told me to try brining thick pork Chops in a simple salt water solution for a few hours. Brining thick pork chops, searing over hot coals to develop the maillard reaction, roasting away from the hot coals, and not over cooking (pull mine at 140), yield an outstanding and moist pork chop.
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby cowboydon » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:14 am

I have seen ribs brined regularly for comps using the same brine formula that is used for yardbird, Salt/Sugar and Your favorite Rub - I never have done it for home use though except on bird.
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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby '89HOG » Sat Apr 15, 2017 8:21 pm

Update: I brined the pork ribs and they are very moist and tender. Unfortunately, I probably left them in the brine a little too long (8 hours). Lesson learned, they definitely don't need to stay in the brine but for a couple of hours. Either that or cut down on the amount of salt. I used the same ratio as I do for turkey and chicken (1 gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 cup of sugar). BTW, the chicken isn't too salty so I'm going to stick with that ratio and length of time.


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Re: To Brine or Not To Brine

Postby Txdragon » Sun Apr 16, 2017 3:51 pm

'89HOG wrote:Update: I brined the pork ribs and they are very moist and tender. Unfortunately, I probably left them in the brine a little too long (8 hours). Lesson learned, they definitely don't need to stay in the brine but for a couple of hours. Either that or cut down on the amount of salt. I used the same ratio as I do for turkey and chicken (1 gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 cup of sugar). BTW, the chicken isn't too salty so I'm going to stick with that ratio and length of time.


Happy Easter, gentlemen. The Lord is risen!


The time for brining is about an hour per lb if I'm not mistaken. Ribs will be a different beast though since most of their weight is bone. If you have a 10 lb slab, you can probably subtract about 50 to 60% of that weight for bone. Hope you have enjoyed your Easter!
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