I saw an interesting bit of info on America's Test Kitchen that I thought I'd pass along.
When brining, water soluble flavors, such as salt, sugar, onion powder and garlic powder can make it into the meat. Most other spices and peppers are actually fat soluble and won't add anything to the flavor of the meat during the brine. On the other hand, dry rubs, when applied to the surface, will allow the fat soluble flavors in most spices to permeate the meat. So to achieve the most flavor, use a 2 stage approach by brining with the water soluble flavors then dry rubbing with the fat soluble ones. Makes perfect sense, I'd just never heard it explained in terms of what dissolves best in what.
When brining, water soluble flavors, such as salt, sugar, onion powder and garlic powder can make it into the meat. Most other spices and peppers are actually fat soluble and won't add anything to the flavor of the meat during the brine. On the other hand, dry rubs, when applied to the surface, will allow the fat soluble flavors in most spices to permeate the meat. So to achieve the most flavor, use a 2 stage approach by brining with the water soluble flavors then dry rubbing with the fat soluble ones. Makes perfect sense, I'd just never heard it explained in terms of what dissolves best in what.
