Chief Dick Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Anyone have any good suggestions for brining a pork shoulder? I have done this in the past but cannot remember the recipe I used. I'm going to start soaking it tonight and smoke it Saturday. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 You smoking and slapping some sauce on this....?? Off the top of my head: Apple juice Lots of Kosher salt Some Apple sauce Chinese five spices Ground Cloves Pepper Corns maybe some fresh ginger Sounds good to me... but then agian I've been drinking... A few bottles of 97' Napa Wine Company Cab w/ anice basil butter ribeye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 (edited) You smoking and slapping some sauce on this....?? Off the top of my head: Apple juice Lots of Kosher salt Some Apple sauce Chinese five spices Ground Cloves Pepper Corns maybe some fresh ginger Sounds good to me... but then agian I've been drinking... A few bottles of 97' Napa Wine Company Cab w/ anice basil butter ribeye! Good Lord. Did you just spit out the first 7 things that may or not be related to brining pork? I'm not making pork shoulder brining stir fry. Thanks. Edited July 7, 2006 by Chief Dick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 really basic here............ 4 cups apple cider 3 1/2 cups water 1/2 cup salt 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper 2 teaspoons dried sage 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catfish Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I brine my pork in: salted water, honey, sliced onion, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed, bay leaves, and some nutmeg. I bring it to a boil, let it cool, add ice, cover the meat, set it in a cool place at least over night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch Oven Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 CD- Detlef posted this on here quite a while back, but I use it pretty often and it is damn good: Combine 1/2 # each kosher salt and brown sugar in a large bowl. Bring about 1 qt. of water to a boil with a handful of peppercorns, 5 cloves of garlic, 5-6 cloves, and some chili flakes. If you have any fresh herbs like thyme of rosemary, they're nice as well. Turn the water off when it boils and let the herbs steep for a minute or two, then dump over sugar/salt to disolve them. If there's still some undissolved, add a bit of hot tap water until it does. Then add enough ice/cold water to make about 1.5 gal of cold brine. If the ice/water doesn't cool it off, but it in the fridge until it is. Soak pork in brine for ~ 8-12 hours. If the pork is not completely covered, go ahead and add some more water it's ok if you dillute the brine a bit. Sometimes it's helpful to put a few plates on top of the butt to submerge it and I like to turn it once (not crucial, so go ahead and put it in the fridge before you go to bed if you like). Drain the pork, pick off any peppercorns and smoke as you typically do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh B Tool Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Large stock pot or crab pot needed. Bring kosher or sea salt at least two hand fulls, a handfull of peppercorns(tri blend), two bay leaves, fresh sage, rosemary and celery seed(wrapped in a make shift herb pouch) to a rolling boil in at least eight quarts of water. Sometimes I will throw in some good dry rub in also. Stubbs comes to mind. At boiling point add a bit more salt. one handfull. Make sure it dissolves and then turn off heat and cover. When cool enough(about an hour or three beers) pull out herb pouch, add cold water to about three quarters full again at least eight quarts. Add your pork so it is at least two thirds covered. You can turn it a few times if needed. Cover if you can with at least saran wrap or lid or both. I leave mine outside over night, but if you are worried about critters then put in the fridge overnight. Turning every four to five hours. In the morning pull out of brine towell dry. If you are not dry rubbing from this point that is perfectly fine as the brine will be set in. Then start the smoking!!! Absolutely great cooked in a H2O charcoal smoker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Anyone have any good suggestions for brining a pork shoulder? I have done this in the past but cannot remember the recipe I used. I'm going to start soaking it tonight and smoke it Saturday. Any ideas? yeah here you go: salt water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh B Tool Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 yeah here you go: salt water boring mofo aren't you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 CD- Detlef posted this on here quite a while back, but I use it pretty often and it is damn good: Combine 1/2 # each kosher salt and brown sugar in a large bowl. Bring about 1 qt. of water to a boil with a handful of peppercorns, 5 cloves of garlic, 5-6 cloves, and some chili flakes. If you have any fresh herbs like thyme of rosemary, they're nice as well. Turn the water off when it boils and let the herbs steep for a minute or two, then dump over sugar/salt to disolve them. If there's still some undissolved, add a bit of hot tap water until it does. Then add enough ice/cold water to make about 1.5 gal of cold brine. If the ice/water doesn't cool it off, but it in the fridge until it is. Soak pork in brine for ~ 8-12 hours. If the pork is not completely covered, go ahead and add some more water it's ok if you dillute the brine a bit. Sometimes it's helpful to put a few plates on top of the butt to submerge it and I like to turn it once (not crucial, so go ahead and put it in the fridge before you go to bed if you like). Drain the pork, pick off any peppercorns and smoke as you typically do. Yeah, I ran a search for this last night and ran across it. I used a combo of a couple of everyone's ideas, and starting soaking the pork last night. Been in almost 24 hours now, and will start smoking at 8:00 AM tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Good Lord. Did you just spit out the first 7 things that may or not be related to brining pork? I'm not making pork shoulder brining stir fry. Thanks. I was drunk and throwing some stuff out there... I might have to try it sometime; I guess different strokes for different folks! I will sometimes use the 5 spices in dry rubs and I figured when it was diluted by the water it would give it a nice subtle flavor along with the apple suace and cloves... I did a search to see if my drunkeness was off the mark.. I guess I wasn't to far off! Link What time should we get there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 8, 2006 Author Share Posted July 8, 2006 I was drunk and throwing some stuff out there... I might have to try it sometime; I guess different strokes for different folks! I will sometimes use the 5 spices in dry rubs and I figured when it was diluted by the water it would give it a nice subtle flavor along with the apple suace and cloves... I did a search to see if my drunkeness was off the mark.. I guess I wasn't to far off! Link What time should we get there?? I purposely stayed away from any apple related additives to the brine mix, only because the other shoulder I'm smoking I injected with apple juice and didn't want 2 of them tasting like apple. The chinese spices and ginger could be interesting, though. I'll have to try that next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PantherDave Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Save some pickle brine(if your into ), this can serve as your stock, then add what you want for the flavor desired, also, Mom used to water it down abit so it would not taste like pickeled pork. Boil it up(whatever ya want to put in it)-follow normal brining procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 How'd it turn out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 10, 2006 Author Share Posted July 10, 2006 How'd it turn out Pretty good. The brined one actually turned out better than the one I injected with the apple juice. Definitely a re-do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Cracker Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Someone care to explain the purpose of brining? It's just not something that I have considered at this point in my developing grilling/smoking career. I smoked a butt for 18 hours on the BGE Saturday before the 4th with the only addition being a rub applied just before putting it on. It was the best pulled pork I've ever had so I can't imagine doing something to the meat ahead of time could make it any better but I could be convinced to give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 traditional brining was meant to preserve meat. the purpose of flavor brining is to improve the flavor, texture, and moisture content of lean cuts of meat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I smoked a butt for 18 hours [teenage girl] he he he...[\teenage girl] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh B Tool Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 Someone care to explain the purpose of brining? It's just not something that I have considered at this point in my developing grilling/smoking career. I smoked a butt for 18 hours on the BGE Saturday before the 4th with the only addition being a rub applied just before putting it on. It was the best pulled pork I've ever had so I can't imagine doing something to the meat ahead of time could make it any better but I could be convinced to give it a try. Brined turkey is the only way to go IMO. Brining is usually done to keep the meat juicy and to seal in the flavor. Mostly though for the moistness factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I use this on mainly ribs but I imagine it'll work with all pork: 1/2 cup salt (I use Kosher) 7 cups hot water 2 cups cider vinegar 1/2 cup sugar-free pancake syrup 1/2 tablespoon cracked black pepper 1/2 cup Splenda (I use sugar, it is a straight 1:1 ratio) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cunning Linguist Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Brined turkey is the only way to go IMO. Brining is usually done to keep the meat juicy and to seal in the flavor. Mostly though for the moistness factor. wurd. Its the only way i make a bird anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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