The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: fightingquaker13 on November 28, 2010, 07:42:49 AM
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I have always had a hard time getting thick center cut pork chops to stay moist on the grill. I've brined, but only for a few hours. I've recently heard advice (including from Food Network) to brine for up to two three days. Is this a way to juicy pork goodness or a trip to the ER?
FQ13
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i would'nt brine it for more than 12 hours,but if you keep it cold you should'nt have any problems.I brined my bird this year and it was moist and tender.
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Brining chops for more than a few hours (or maybe even overnight) sounds a bit excessive in my estimation. However, if you brine them in a non-reactive container in the refrigerator for 3 days, it should cause no biological malady. Just cook 'em before the "use by" date and you will be fine.
Chops, even thick ones, are still relatively thin pieces of meat, and the brining liquid would likely reach (given its osmotic and capillary action limitations) everywhere it could reach in an overnight scenario. Heck, brining a leg-o-pig before smoking that bad boy is only a two day process in most cookbooks.
What kind of brining juice are you using? A mix of kosher salt and brown sugar in plain tap water works pretty well. Lemme know how it works out for you.
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I generally go for a mix of salt and brown sugar and 1/2 lemon (for acid) in a large stainless steel bowl. Anne Burrel, Mario's former sous chef (I've gotten great recipes from both), was advocating a two day brine. I've heard others say the same. Me, I've had a hard time avoiding dryness cooked to 145 degrees on the grill. I won't go lower (just pink inside), but I do hate a dry hunk of meat. This is doubly true as I hope to take a wild pig or two this year and moisture is much more of an issue. Keep the thoughts coming, I doubt I'm alone.
Thanks
FQ13
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That sounds about okay, but I think you want to make sure you are using Kosher or at least non-iodized salt. It may be my imagination, but I taste the hint of metallic iodine when I use Morton's iodized table salt.
Another thing you can do that may help with the dryness issue is to aggressively poke that chop with a fork (or tenderizer, if you have one) and lay on some infused oil just before you hit the grill. Too much will cause flare-ups, but a little bit of garlic-infused olive oil can make a pleasant improvement to an otherwise dry piece of meat.
On the wild pig side of things, when you do the initial rough butchering of the pig, and you put all the parts on/under some ice in your cooler, pour in about a quart of distilled vinegar. Over the next 24 hours, as the ice melts and you add fresh, add some vinegar, too. Takes a lot of the gamey flavor out of the pig. It's going to be hard to keep any wild hog moist when you cook it unless you braise or stew the stuff. And you will need to add a fair bit of fat to the mix when you make up your sausage. Just add as much fat as you think it could possible take, then add as much again. Traditional sausage spicing works will, but I like to throw in a good batch of red pepper flakes, too. And garlic never hurts.
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Whether it's brine or marinade,.....pork is the other white meat,...."Low & Slow" is mo' betta'.
Also they can be wrapped in foil, and slow "grilled", remove the foil, last 10-15 minutes, to give it a little grill happiness...
Baste, baste, baste,....Needle injectors, with some butter/oil, helps.
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Brining is a wonderful technique, for chops 2 to 3 hrs should be good, 12 hrs ok, but why, now I do normally start my brine with ice, so your not heating up the meat, everything that was said I will not argue with, all valid, I killed a Javelina a few yrs back and the south Tx natives where asking, " why did you bring it back? you gonna eat it? " My response was yes, and I brined it for 2 days, and we made roast and Tacos, it was really good. If brining for a few days, dry crawfish boil spices are pretty good.
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Low and slow IS the way to go.
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Brining is a wonderful technique, for chops 2 to 3 hrs should be good, 12 hrs ok, but why, now I do normally start my brine with ice, so your not heating up the meat, everything that was said I will not argue with, all valid, I killed a Javelina a few yrs back and the south Tx natives where asking, " why did you bring it back? you gonna eat it? " My response was yes, and I brined it for 2 days, and we made roast and Tacos, it was really good. If brining for a few days, dry crawfish boil spices are pretty good.
I envy you operator. I never did get a chance to take a javelina. If I had, it would have been on the smoker or in the stew pot though.
FQ13
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First: If you can't find chops 1.5" thick - FIND A NEW MEAT MARKET!!! You should be able to either buy the "thick" actually appropriate thickness chops over the counter. If they don't carry them that way, you just select a full rack and have them cut to your specs.
Second: Two to three hours should be plenty of brine time, but you can go up to 24 hours. Pork is a delicate flavor, so I would be leery of over brining with strong flavors.
Note: Regardless of how thick you buy your chops they must be brined, unless you are able to find a supplier of "heritage" pork. Today's pork is so lean that it is dry and flavorless. Our wonderful culture and the do gooders have driven the industry, "The Other White Meat," to the point of turning out chicken with four feet and a snout. As a former pork producer I can tell you how much the commercial market hated my pigs, but the public that would or could work with a locker loved the cross we raised.
Always remember - Fat is flavor, and when you remove fat you must replace it with flavor, flavor, flavor!
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And that is why the $4 a pound turkey almost makes sense. :'( Turkey has no taste. Pork is "lean" (WTF)? And my local grocer Publix has nothing but all "lean" beef. Again, its like cardboard. Here's a clue, eat it or don't. All things in moderation. If I want a lean porkchop, I'll order a freaking salad! >:( When did we stop respecting the animal and ourselves? I hate to give the Italians credit, but they know what a pig should taste like. If it doesn't have fat, I'll take the fish.
FQ13
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Others have beat me to it, but the "Texas Crutch" (foil wrap) is the best way to keep pork moist on a smoker/grill.
Like M58 said, you can get them about 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" thick.
I've never brined chops, but have marinated in a combination of things from beer, butter, apple cider, spices and sometimes a smidge of honey brushed on. I usually smoke and baste until about 1/2 done on low heat (low-n-slow). Then do my final heavy baste, cross 2 strips of bacon on each chop and wrap each in heavy foil and finish cooking very slowly. The meat is tender enough to not need a knife when done.
I also do whole pork tenderloins this way (sometimes after spiral cutting and re-rolling with sausage and/or bacon).
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I brined some pork to see what the taste would be for the turkey a couple weeks back. Used a couple cups of apple juice and water plus a cup or so of salt, al little sugar, pickling spices, and whole all spice, cinnamon and star anise. I left the prok overnight and the turkey a couple days. They tasted great. The turkey didn't defrost all the way so that was a problem. Smoked it with cherry and mequite for 7 hrs then finished it in the oven for 30 min.
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IMHO, salt is best left for last.....It can expedite a drawing out of what flavor is inherent to the meat. The previous post of fat is flavor is correct.
Especially with thinner chops,....one can always lay some bacon strips on top, or around, and save the salt till serving.
I enjoy pork, unlike Muslims,...and a spinach and feta cheese stuffed pork roast, or butterflied pork chops, with bacon strips on top, some shallots, olive oil, an a bit of garlic,....dash of pepper....makes for good livin'. Even a splash of white wine, or orange juice.
Wait, .....we have a food thread right????? ::)
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I don't brine because I'm usually just cooking for myself.
I just dry rub and season, get my grill screaming hot and sear both sides for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes and then move them to the cooler side of the grill to finish. Maybe 3 to 5 more minutes per side. Remove them from the grill and rest like any other protein.
No brainer....moist, tender, delicious.....
Cooking a pork chop to death is no longer necessary as trichinosis hasn't been an issue in the meat supply for some time now. Wild pigs maybe but not in FDA approved pork.
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The science behind the salt is osmosis. Tissue wants to reach an equilibrium between with salt and water. Water moves from low salt to high salt to equalize. Theory says this would dry the meat out, but it doesn't, because as time passes the water moves back and forth. Every time moves from brine to meat it takes other flavorings with it, and the moisture equalizes while not making the meat salty. Strange, but it works.
What is really amazing is that I learned this trick in .... Wait for it ... You are not going to believe or even trust this one ... but, I learned the secret of brining in embalming chemistry class ;D Believe it or not, it is the same scientific principle in both procedures.
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What is really amazing is that I learned this trick in .... Wait for it ... You are not going to believe or even trust this one ... but, I learned the secret of brining in embalming chemistry class ;D Believe it or not, it is the same scientific principle in both procedures.
OK. That just ruined my Christmas pork roast. ;)
I have no idea how to get ahead or how to get even on that one....it just came out of nowhere and "bam"....did the deed.
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So, embalming and pickling are basically the same thing?
Cool!
Sort of! :P
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So, embalming and pickling are basically the same thing?
Cool!
Sort of! :P
I've got a friend that if he's 'blamin when I call him he'll tell me he's "picklin."
And, yes Timothy it is! Anytime you are using solutions to cross cell membranes it is osmosis. Sometimes it is all done with chemicals, including salt, and sometimes it is with pressure, like your reverse osmosis water filtration. But, it is all the same scientific law in action.
Modern embalming is chemical process of fixing proteins. It is just like hard boiling eggs. The difference is that you do it with a chemical rather than heat. If you put a raw egg in its shell in a bowl of embalming fluid after a period of time it will be just like you boiled it ... but DON'T EAT IT!!!
I feel like I need to put one of those disclaimers on here like you see on car commercials:
Professional embalmer in a closed kitchen. Do not attempt!
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I like it!!!!
Embalming your food has a much more "off the beaten track" ring to it than plain ol' brining.