Smokin-It User Forum!
Recipes => Brines, Marinades & Injections => Topic started by: DivotMaker on March 28, 2014, 08:22:31 PM
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I realized that I had this in my brined butt post, but neglected to put the recipe in the brine section.
1 gallon water
1 1/8 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Instacure #1 pink curing salt (optional)
Put 1/3 of the water in a pan large enough to hold 1 gallon. Add the other ingredients, and heat on medium to simmer the brine. The idea is to melt all the salt and sugar, and help blend some of those spices into the liquid. I usually heat for 15-20 minutes, never bringing to a boil. Stir regularly.
Once the brine is blended, remove from heat and add the rest of the water in the form of ice cubes. I have a large sauce pan that has 1 gallon marked on the side, so I know the level - makes this much easier. This will immediately cool the brine. Once all the ice melts, I place the brine in the fridge to get cold. I don't take any chances by putting the meat in a brine that isn't below 40-degrees. Once the brine has chilled, place the pork butt in the brine. Let it brine for 12-13 hours.
After brining, rinse well, coat in yellow mustard and rub, and you're ready for the smoker! I know there are some that say you should never brine a pork butt, but you'll find it to be the most moist and flavorful pulled pork you'll ever have! Let me know if you have any improvements or variations!
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Thinking I want this for my first #3 smoke Thursday. Tell me please, do you remove any fat after the smoke?
Thanks in advance.
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The nice thing about the fat is that it disappears through the smoking process! You will see a nice bark on the BB, and lots of good juices, but the fat should be long gone. The brine is the bomb!
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If there is any remaining fat, it is pretty minor and just melts into flavorful juice that gets mixed in when I pull the butt. No removing of fat before or after for me. Unless there are huge thick chunks of fat prior to smoking.
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I never remove the fat. A but is perfect fat to meat ratio, you could grind it for sausage without adding anything. I has the perfect blend I don't mess with it.
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Thanks for the kind words on the brine, Steve! I usually trim a little of the really thick fat from a butt, and always remove as much of the hard connective tissue in the flap between the two muscles. After smoking, the only thing I remove is the bone! ;) All the fat should be rendered down to pork candy that kisses the pulled meat with juicy goodness!! ;D
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Thanks again. I did buy a pork puller this PM, hope it gets here in time.
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Thanks again. I did buy a pork puller this PM, hope it gets here in time.
I use bear claws - cheap and effective. And, the manual method helps me de-stress! lol! Can't wait to see what you got!
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I use the bear claws to, but thinking with the #3 of making a bunch for church.
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Check out the meat rake, I got mine on Amazon and they seem to work better for me than the bear claws. I do like the bear claws for getting the meat out of the smoker, works great for that.
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I've seen the rakes, Mike, and almost ordered them. You've confirmed what I suspected! The bear claws work OK, but forks work even better. The rakes look like the best of both worlds!
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Hey Tony, why the pink salt in the brine? Does it change the flavor?
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Hey Tony, why the pink salt in the brine? Does it change the flavor?
Totally optional, Bob. I think it adds a little bit of a ham taste to the outer meat, but like that it adds a little "faux" smoke ring (makes the meat look great for presentation - a little splash of color!). That's pretty much the only reason I use it in brines for butts, loins or briskets. Of course, it's critical to a true curing brine, like for Canadian bacon.
Here's a couple of examples!
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Looks really tasty! Thanks Tony. I will give it a shot.
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Just remember, Bob - it's "our little secret!" lol. If you're feeding your BBQ to "traditional" smoker snobs (you know, the "real BBQ only comes from charcoal or wood" crowd), you'll impress them with your smoke ring! Little do they know you can duplicate the same tasteless pink ring they think is the mark of "real" BBQ! I laugh every time I fool one! ;)
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;D
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DM, very close to my brine. I've started adding some of my rub to the brine with good results.
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Looking forward to seeing your rub recipe, Dave!
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How would you adapt this brine to fit an equilibrium brining method? Follow the DDF calculator as far as the sugar and salt and pink salt go and then just add the listed amount of vinegar, cayenne, black pepper, garlic and onion powder?
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How would you adapt this brine to fit an equilibrium brining method? Follow the DDF calculator as far as the sugar and salt and pink salt go and then just add the listed amount of vinegar, cayenne, black pepper, garlic and onion powder?
Very good question, Jason! I'll have to give this one a little thought. This is one that I've always just stuck to the gradient brine method, because I found the time that works for me. I think you're right, as far as following the calculator for sugar, salt and cure; the only question would be the ratio and percentage of salt. This would take a little experimentation to find the right mix.
The good thing about converting this to an EQ brine would be that you could predictably use it on smaller cuts, without having to find the ideal time factor.
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Not really finding an answer for my question. But, for safety sake after puttting the BB in the brine I assume it goes in the fridge for the 12 hours?
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Not really finding an answer for my question. But, for safety sake after puttting the BB in the brine I assume it goes in the fridge for the 12 hours?
Absolutely, Bill! The brine should be chilled to start with, then the meat and brine in the fridge for the duration.
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Brined my first butt! Used the recipe mostly as posted: substituted smoked paprika for the cayenne, and dried onion flakes for the onion powder. Let it sit overnight, coated in mustard and used Salt Lick rub. 4oz maple and 2oz hickory.
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Sounds like good substitutions, Michelle! Let me know how it turns out!
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Turned out great! I brought it in for a potluck at work, and it was declared best effort yet. It was amazingly juicy and flavorful. Add me to the list of brine converts!
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Welcome to Club Briney-Q, Michelle! 8)
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Divot,
I am using your brine right now on 3 - 10lb butts, plus I injected them before rubbing. I woke up this morning and realized that in my haste laste night, I neglected to rinse the brine off of them. I'm hoping the salt and instacure aren't going to ruin the taste for our feast. Dadgumit!!!
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Hey Libohunden, if you haven't put it in the smoker yet, rinse and reapply the rub. You will be glad you did. :)
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Bob, I'm already 13 hours into the smoke. Didn't realize it till I woke up this morning. I've made this mistake before but not with instacure. This is the second time I've used the instacure and not sure how it's going to effect the taste. Hopefully, it's just a little salty and that's it.
It was a pain to brine 30lbs of butt and with everything going on, I just plumb forgot to rinse. Frustrating but still hoping for acceptable results. I would hate to have to trash 30lbs of butt.
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You should be ok, Libo, if your rub didn't have a lot of salt. At least with pulled pork, you are mixing it together with the meat that has virtually no salt, so you should be good. On something like a brisket, though.... :o
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I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's still cooking. I'm at 17 hrs and ave temp on all three butts is around 183.
I used Memphis Dust for my rub.
The last time, I brined(and rinsed), injected and rubbed - my butts turned out better than I have ever had. Incredible! I may try just injecting and rubbing next time.
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Nothing wrong with injection & rub only - butts are great, even with just rub! I just find the brining really helps retain the moisture, and adds flavor.
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All that worrying for nothing. Turned out great. Not salty at all. I got lucky
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I don't bother injecting butts. Just brine and rub.
I do inject briskets and sometimes poultry though.
I'm not surprised that it turned out good still.
Any pics?
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Unfortunately, no after pics. Here are a couple of the brine and rub portion...
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All that worrying for nothing. Turned out great. Not salty at all. I got lucky
Nice! I thought you'd be OK - glad to hear it was! :)
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Going to use this brine on a couple whole chickens over night season and rotisserie them.
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Let me know how that goes, Bart. I've never used this brine on poultry (I use my all-purpose poultry brine instead).
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Ok. I am not sure my brine was below 40 degrees when I put the shoulder in. I did use ice in the brine but I can't verify I got it cold enough. Shoulder is 9lbs. Went from the grocery store to brine within an hour. I was just so damn excited to get this hunk of meat into the brine I may have rushed it. Dammit!
Thoughts?
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My guess is that you are OK. I usually just test it with my finger and if it is room temp or colder it is good to go. You just want to make sure that the brine isn't hot enough to start cooking the meat.
I usually use half or more ice than water and the brine cools very fast. I usually have small little pieces of ice floating that are not melting because the brine temp has cooled enough.
1. Start with 1/2 if your brine liquid in a pan with the brine ingredients.
2. Fill a vessel for the second 1/2 of brine liquid with ice. Then add water to the fill line.
3. When your brine liquid from the pan is ready, combine the hot ingredients and the ice water in your brining container, and then stir.
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Verdict is in. Shoulder was AWESOME! Thanks for all the info on this forum. It's proving to be a most invaluable tool.
My 9lb shoulder went almost 14 hours. I was 235 for most of the cook. 250 for the last few hours. I would have loved to let it rest for longer but our patience ran out. I was trying to have it ready by halftime of the MSU/Iowa game.
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Nothing like impressing your friends and family with some great food from the SI during halftime!
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I'm not seeing any pics? :o
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Glad to hear you and your guests are still with us, Bill! ;)
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Anyone store DM's brine in freezer bag (in fridge) for multiple smokes in consecutive days? How long is too long to keep in the fridge?
Also, is anyone else experiencing reduced times for smoking boston butts after using DM's brine? I've been averaging 1.8-2 hrs/lb. before I started using DM's brine ...... but after using DM's brine, I'm closer to 1.2 hrs/lb. - - - Is this common? Just trying to nail down my "start-smoking" times.
PEOPLE LOVE these boston butts with DM's brine, btw. "best I've ever had," is coming in regularly
(paired with Weber Honey Garlic rub, good buy at Sam's Club)
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Thanks for the kind words, Jody!
You never want to re-use brine...always start with a fresh batch. If you're mixing up a double batch, you can store the unused portion for a long time; really nothing in it that will go "bad" in the fridge.
Brining can reduce smoke time as much as 30%, so your times are not uncommon. I rarely go over 1.2 - 1.5 hour/lb. Haven't tried the Weber rub, though, but will!
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Tony, that brine is out of this world. I've read your bold claim to others that, once you brine you won't ever NOT brine.......yep - that is CORRECT. No more butts without brine for me.
I was speaking about making a gallon of brine and splitting it into two halves, to keep in the fridge for future projects. With a ziplock bag of water to weigh down the butt, I'm finding that a half gallon works perfectly to cover a butt (8lbs up to 11.5 lbs.). Yeah, I have it stirred and mixed well to distribute the brine's goodies to each ziplock bag equally.....put simply--- this S**** works.
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So glad to hear you like the brine, Jody!! ;D
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Just pulled a 9 lb pork shoulder after brining for the first time. I'll be doing this all the time now! This is the juiciest shoulder I have done so far. I kept in the bribe for 8 hours, rinsed, put mustard and a maple dry rub and smoked with sugar maple...outstanding! I just purchased a Weston vacuum sealer so everything is vacuum sealed and in the freezer, it won't stay the very long though ;-). Also finished 3 chickens smoked with cherry/hickory mix, also brined the birds, also very juicy with very little moisture draining out during the smoke. Thanks again for all the information on this forum!
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Good deal, Carl! I put off learning to brine for the longest time, but sure am glad I overcame my fear and got into it! Makes a big difference on so many meats!
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After brining how long are you letting it sit in fridge with the dry rub in place before tossing in the smoker? Sounds like maybe just brine, rinse, apply rub, toss in smoker?
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Jason, I do just what you described... Rinse, pat dry, mustard, rub, smoke! I don't see any reason to let rub sit on the meat overnight, as the spices are in the brine! The rub just makes great bark.
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Jason, I do just what you described... Rinse, pat dry, mustard, rub, smoke! I don't see any reason to let rub sit on the meat overnight, as the spices are in the brine! The rub just makes great bark.
10-4! I went to mix up a batch of brine just now and I've only got 3/4 cup kosher salt. Grr! Off to the store in the morning. [edit: learned you can sub table salt for kosher just changing the volume ratio]
10-12hr brine soak is still the sweet spot correct?
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Just a side question Tony-
-where's the best place to source the curing (pink) salt?
BTW-thanks for the recipe!
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Dave
Just look for one of those restaurant supply stores. Or, not sure if y'all have any in Lufkin but you can also order it on Amazon.
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Actually have one up the street from work so I'll take a look. :)
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Dave, if you order a small bag of Instacure #1 on Amazon, it'll last you forever! Hopefully, your restaurant supply place will have it. You can also check with a local butcher; many of them will sell or give you a small bag.
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Tony,
Do you use your same brine recipe on all cuts (like whole pork loins) or do you tweak it?
Thanks for all the guidance!
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Tony,
Do you use your same brine recipe on all cuts (like whole pork loins) or do you tweak it?
Thanks for all the guidance!
Dave, I use this brine on butts and brisket, but use the following on pork loin and poultry:
Pork Loin Brine (http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1235.0)
All-Purpose Poultry Brine (http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1447.0)
And, Thank You for the kind comments!
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Good info...I enjoy experimenting like everyone else but no need to reinvent the wheel especially when your new to this 'brine' stuff :)
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Try them, Dave, then go ahead and reinvent all you like - won't hurt my feelings a bit! Brining is just like any other prep; we all have our own preferences on spices and flavorings. These work for me, but might not for everyone.
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I realized that I had this in my brined butt post, but neglected to put the recipe in the brine section.
1 gallon water
1 1/8 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Instacure #1 pink curing salt (optional)
Put 1/3 of the water in a pan large enough to hold 1 gallon. Add the other ingredients, and heat on medium to simmer the brine. The idea is to melt all the salt and sugar, and help blend some of those spices into the liquid. I usually heat for 15-20 minutes, never bringing to a boil. Stir regularly.
Once the brine is blended, remove from heat and add the rest of the water in the form of ice cubes. I have a large sauce pan that has 1 gallon marked on the side, so I know the level - makes this much easier. This will immediately cool the brine. Once all the ice melts, I place the brine in the fridge to get cold. I don't take any chances by putting the meat in a brine that isn't below 40-degrees. Once the brine has chilled, place the pork butt in the brine. Let it brine for 12-13 hours.
After brining, rinse well, coat in yellow mustard and rub, and you're ready for the smoker! I know there are some that say you should never brine a pork butt, but you'll find it to be the most moist and flavorful pulled pork you'll ever have! Let me know if you have any improvements or variations!
I plan on brining a couple of butts tomorrow. Later this morning now that it's after 4:30am. Anyway, hate to sound like an idiot, but in the recipe for the brine, you say to use a gallon of water as the first ingredient, but to only use 1/3 of it to mix the other ingredients and heat them up. Then to make up the rest of the gallon with ice. This is confusing to me, sadly. Maybe because it's so stinking late and I need sleep. :)
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Scott, you use a gallon of water, total. But, since you heat the ingredients, only use enough water to get them dissolved. Adding the rest, in ice, quickly cools the brine so you can add the meat. I have a 1 gallon mark on the pan I use, so I add ice until I hit the gallon mark!
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Scott, you use a gallon of water, total. But, since you heat the ingredients, only use enough water to get them dissolved. Adding the rest, in ice, quickly cools the brine so you can add the meat. I have a 1 gallon mark on the pan I use, so I add ice until I hit the gallon mark!
Thank you!! :)
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I love brining. I can't do butts w/o it anymore :-)
Has anyone done a cost calculation on DM's brine? Just wondering approx how much it's costing to brine a butt as I'm getting more requests to smoke stuff for friends.
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@divotmaker Wondering if you make up a couple gallons of the brine to keep in the fridge? I love using it, but would like to make up 4-5 gallons at a time for use at a later date ... in keeping with the lazyQ theme :)
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@divotmaker Wondering if you make up a couple gallons of the brine to keep in the fridge? I love using it, but would like to make up 4-5 gallons at a time for use at a later date ... in keeping with the lazyQ theme :)
Jason, if I'm going to be using it in the next week or so, I will (and store it in empty gallon milk jugs). I'm sure it would keep longer, I just need the fridge real estate, so I only do it if I have more brining in store!
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Cool. I have tons of extra fridge space :-)
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I usually use this brine for one pack of the Costco deboned pork butts with great success. I am wondering if I do two packs would I just double all the ingredients including the water while keeping the brine time at 12 hrs. I attached a photo of one pack in the brine
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If you double the amount of meat you have to double the other ingredients. The amount of time never changes.
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Pork Belly
Thanks for the help I figured that was the case but I wanted to check before I had 30+ lbs. of meat in the brine
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So it seems 1 gallon is ok for 2 10lb butts, but would 1 gal still work ok for 3 butts provided all three are submerged? Just wondering at what point there are not enough ingredients in the brine to be absorbed well. I'm getting ready to do 12 butts and pondering how much brine I need to make :-)
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Well Tony, it’s my turn to try this brine of yours. It sure smells good. I’ll get it in the smoker at about 4-5am for tomorrow night’s feast. Like many others, I’ve brined lots of birds but never a pork butt. I’m looking forward to it and I’ll let you know how it comes out. Thanks for the recipe. 👍🐽