To brine or not to brine, that is a very personal preference and one that is up for debate amongst a lot of people. I choose to brine certain meats whenever I can. All poultry, and most pork, can benefit from some sort of brining or injecting. It helps make sure whatever you are cooking stays extra moist and flavorful.
Below is a brine I made for a Cornish game hen. I’m either going to use a BBQ sauce or an apricot juniper glaze to finish it off. Brines can vary in flavor so feel free to experiment. I sometimes use maple syrup instead of honey, brown sugar is good, all sorts of spices and veggies are encouraged … and if I’m doing BBQ in my meat smoker, I use a good amount of the dry rub in the brine so that the flavor permeates deep into the meat.
- 4 cups apple juice
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup pepper
- 2 tbsp dried rosemary
- ½ onion, peeled, cut into 4 wedges
- 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp juniper berries
- Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat until salt, or sugar if used, dissolves. Use a whisk to make sure everything is well incorporated, remove from heat and let cool completely before pouring over meat.
How much time should I brime?
Hi Monica! I usually brine no less than 4-6 hours. This is great for food you want to cook for dinner the same day such as chicken or turkey breasts/thighs/legs/wings, pork chops, pork tenderloin, etc. Larger pieces of meat such as whole chicken or turkey I like to brine overnight to 24 hours minimum. Although the base to any brine is water, salt, and sugar, feel free to try different juices and stocks (chicken, beef, vegetable) instead of water to bump up the flavor. Apple juice/cider are huge favorites of mine as they go with pork and poultry so well. Good luck with brining! 🙂