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Salting, Brining, Curing, And Injecting
If you like your meat juicy, tender, and flavorful, there is one simple ingredient that can improve all three: Salt.
Salt, which is another name for the mineral sodium chloride (NaCl), is probably the oldest way to flavor food and essential to all living things. Our bodies require salt, and the only way to get it is to ingest it. All our bodily fluids, blood and tears, contain salt. Our nervous system requires salt to conduct electricity.
Salting and brining can significantly improve your cooking. Salt is unlike any spice and herb in the house physically and chemically, and it behaves in strange and wonderful ways when applied properly to food. Don’t overdo it and you have nothing to fear from salt. And when used judiciously it can seriously amplify flavor without changing it, and it can help protein hold onto moisture.
Salting And Wet Brining: Flavorize, Moisturize, Tenderize
Achieve juicy, tender, and flavorful meat every time you hit the grill thanks to one simple ingredient: salt. Sprinkling salt on finished meats helps amplify the flavor on the surface but brining helps bring the benefits of salt to every bite. Here's how salting and brining can significantly improve your cooking.
Wet Brining vs. Dry Brining
Salt helps protein hang onto water during cooking so brining is a great technique to make food moist. But which is better, wet brining or dry brining? It all depends on which meat you're cooking and the results you want. Get the details.
Dry Brining, Easier And Less Wasteful Than Wet Brining
Dry brining is a quick and easy way to flavor and moisturize meat before cooking.
Seasoned Salt Recipe
Seasoned salt is easy to make and the large grains really add a spark to potatoes, pastas, pizza, veggies, and just about everything else that needs salt. By adding a variety of herbs, spices, and dried citrus you can create your own signature seasoned salt blend for adding a new depth of flavor to countless dishes.
Cooking On Salt Blocks
Cooking on a salt block amps up flavor and makes a great presentation. You can put the salt block right on your grill, heat it up, and then cook on the salt block like a griddle. You can also bring a hot salt block to the table and sear meats tableside! Here's everything you need to know about cooking on salt blocks.
The Science Of Curing Meats Safely
Curing meat is not like any other recipe. You must be pretty precise about some ingredients.
The New Data About Nitrites, Nitrates And Cured Meats
Nitrites and nitrites appear naturally in foods, and are added to many foods. Are they dangerous? Recent research is enlightening.
Inject Maximum Flavor Into Your Meat With A Trio Of Brines
Injecting is a great way to get flavor down into the meat. It is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than brining. Here's how to do it.
How To Cure Meats: Bacon, Ham, Corned Beef, Pastrami, More
Here are some wonderful meats you can cure at home, from bacon to pastrami.Related articles
- Marinade Myths And How To Add Flavor More Effectively
- The Science Of Pickles
- The Science Of Rubs
- Salt Potatoes Are A Unique Specialty Of Syracuse, New York
Published On: 5/6/2019 Last Modified: 4/21/2021
Grilla Pellet Smoker proves good things come in small packages
We always liked Grilla. The small 31.5″ x 29.5″ footprint makes it ideal for use where BBQ space is limited, as on a condo patio.
Click here for our review on this unique smoker
Finally, A Great Portable Pellet Smoker
Green Mountain’s portable Davy Crockett Pellet Smoker is one mean tailgating and picnic machine. But it’s also gaining popularity with people who want to add a small, set it and forget it pellet smoker to their backyard arsenal. And with their WiFi capabilities you can control and monitor Davy Crocket from your smart phone or laptop.
Click here to read our detailed review and to order
Comprehensive Temperature Magnet With 80+ Important Temps
Winner of the National BBQ Association’s product of the year award. This 8.5″ x 11″ magnet contains more that 80 benchmark temperatures for meats (both USDA recommended temps as well as the temps chefs recommend), fats and oils, sugars, sous vide, eggs, collagens, wood combustion, breads, and more. Although it is not certified as all-weather, we have tested it outdoors in Chicago weather and it has not delaminated in three years, but there is minor fading.
Click here to order.
The Efficiency Of A Kamado Plus The Flexibility Of The Slow ‘N Sear Insert
Built around SnS Grill’s patented Slow ‘N Sear charcoal kettle accessory, this 22-inch kamado is a premium ceramic grill that brings true 2-zone cooking to a kamado.
Click here for our article on this exciting cooker
Groundbreaking Hybrid Thermometer!
The FireBoard Spark is a hybrid combining instant-read capability, a cabled temperature probe, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. We gave Spark a Platinum Medal for pushing the envelope of product capability while maintaining high standards of design and workmanship.
Click here to read our comprehensive Platinum Medal review
Our Favorite Backyard Smoker
The amazing Karubecue is the most innovative smoker in the world. The quality of meat from this machine is astonishing. At its crux is a patented firebox that burns logs above the cooking chamber and sucks heat and extremely clean blue smoke into the thermostat controlled oven. It is our favorite smoker, period.
Click here for our review of this superb smoker
Surely you know somebody who loves outdoor cooking who deserves a gift for the holidays, birthday, anniversary, or just for being wonderful. There he is, right in the mirror! Here are our selections of best ideas, all Platinum or Gold Medalists, listed by price.
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