Really great site with TONS of info on brining

[tamarockstar88]

I came across this site and figured I would share it with everyone here. It's worth a read, It has really great information on the principals and science of brining meats as well as recipes for brines and equations for different salt levels. It has the basics and also gets pretty in depth showing how deep the brine penetrates the meat before after and during cooking process. I learned that brine only penetrates the meat partially and is dispersed in 2 steps. the second step is cooking, it disperses the salt throughout the meat.

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/zen_of_brines.html

Really great info on how to measure salt for a brine without a scale! and the differences in salt types

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/archimedes.html

Salt diffusion-

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/diffusion.html

I'm Def. bookmarking this site, I just learned so much from this, really awesome!!

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Careful, it's possible to get in trouble discussing science here.
Never, ever, mention wet-bulb temperature!!!!



~Martin :biggrin:

 

[jwbtulsa]

Are you suggesting that we instead refer to the adiabatic saturation temperature?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Not at all.
That will likely lead to just as much trouble.


~Martin

 

[jwbtulsa]

That will likely lead to just as much trouble.

Nothing more fun than poking the bear!:devil: Some of my favorite reads on SMF have been great debates amonst the scientists. It's like sitting in the grandstands at a combination mixed martial arts competition and a drunken paintball match. I just sit here eating good BBQ and watch the carnage. I get to learn a lot too from all the sharing of information.

 

[tamarockstar88]

I just like to know the science behind results to better learn how they occur, I am a professional after all and I try to understand what I'm doing and why I do it. I was actually taught in school that osmosis was how brining works and was surprised that it only played a partial role in the process. I thought this had a really helpful way of measuring the salt in a brine thats more accurate than a volume measurement due to differences in salts. Like the page says every brand of salt differs in density, volume measurements can be inaccurate, and if you don't have a kitchen scale this is a fail proof method as long as it's measured correctly. In school when baking almost everything was weighed except liquids because it was easier to be more accurate. Everyone measures differently and on top of it imagine everyone having to mention in a brine recipe exactly what brand salt they're using. "Scientists cringe at the use of the same units for volume and weight- e.g. ounces, because at best its true for only one material with one specific density at one temperature. Its almost exactly true for water- one volume ("fluid") ounce of water actual weighs 1.04 ozs (surprising, since water density at room temperature is actually LESS than one), and in the kitchen its ok to treat water weight and volume as identical. But a cup of salt does not weigh 8 oz, and a cup of oil only weighs around 7 oz. Which is why accurate recipes have abandoned the use of volume measures, and moved entirely to weights."

I also just thought it was interesting to see how the salts travel throughout the meat during the curing / cooking process. I learned a lot of great information from reading this even if some of it was just for curiosity sakes.

As for adiabatic saturation temperature seems like too much of a pain to even consider, but if some people believe in it then good for them! I wasn't trying to start anything just thought people might fight it interesting or useful. I'm working towards the point of selling my products so I try to keep things as consistent as possible

 

[davidhef88]

Careful, it's possible to get in trouble discussing science here.
Never, ever, mention wet-bulb temperature!!!!



~Martin :biggrin:

Lol.

 

[jwbtulsa]

TR88, sounds like you are well on your way to success. As a consumer, I really appreciate someone that goes the distance to produce something of quality. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[tamarockstar88]

Thank you. I'm still sort of new in this aspect of cooking but smoking is my favorite. I've been making rubs and spice blends with smoked spices, and I plan to make it an official small business but I'm starting by word of mouth. Doing like a personal chef thing, cooking food for parties and bbq's, making sauces, and all sorts of stuff. Getting the proper regulations is a pain there's so many technicalities here in Mass. But I'm just starting small and going from there