Brining Poultry and Pork

For a lot of years we have used brining techniques without always appreciating what they were or why they worked. The earliest memory involves one of Phil's former students giving him lessons on Southern fried chicken. The first step, she explained, was to salt the chicken the night before you plan to fry it. She didn't know why, but this was part of what her Granny had taught her.

In later years, we encountered a dozen variations on the same theme. Julia Child recommended dry salt marinades for pork roasts. The legendary Zuni Room, identified by All Things Considered as the source for the perfect roasted chicken, described a process that began with a dry salt marinade. And The Joy of Cooking provided a recipe for brine roasted turkey.

It remained for the good folks at America's Test Kitchen to explain how brine marinades work. The salt, they explain, causes the proteins to trap more moisture, so the meat is juicer, meatier, firmer.

The easiest, most efficient way to brine meat is to soak it for an hour or more in a mix of water, salt (1/4 cup), and sugar (1/4 cup). The sugar? It has no effect on texture, but it does enhance flavor and browning of the skin.

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook