This Is The Trick To Making Pork Extra Flavorful

You've probably heard about the wonderful ways brining can be beneficial to fried chicken and pork chops. It results in meat that's juicier, tastier, and more tender than if the meat hadn't been brined.

Since you're already brining chicken pieces and pork chops, brining doesn't have to stop there. Imagine the moist meat, the flavor infusion, and the tenderness you can achieve if you brined a whole pork loin or even a whole pork belly before you roasted it in the oven. It's going to be really good, right? 

Here's what to do if you want to try it out for yourself:  

The process is the same as if you were brining a few chicken pieces or pork chops, but in just a larger volume, a longer time period, and of course, you'll need a much bigger container to fit the whole hunk of meat that's going into the brine. (It is very similar to marinating if you think about it but the ingredients and purpose are little different.)

The trick to brining a large piece of meat is knowing two things: how long to brine the meat and what method to use. That means: are you going to use a dry brine or a wet brine? A dry brine is basically seasoning the outside of the meat and letting it sit (a.k.a. brine) for several hours, uncovered in the refrigerator until the salt and other granules that can dissolve will have a chance to melt and flavor the meat overall. You'll need about 1/4 cup seasoning for this per kilogram but this can be more or less as needed. 

With a wet brine, depending on the size of your meat, you'll need to dissolve about 1/4 cup of salt per 4 cups (1 liter) of water. The water should be enough to cover the meat in the container you're using. You can add other seasoning ingredients to the brine solution as desired but the key components are the salt and water.

To determine how long to brine your meat, you can use this simple guide: for every kilogram of meat, let it brine for as little as 8 hours to as much as 24 hours per kilogram.

Now that you know how to infuse flavor and ensure extra moist meats, try these two recipes so when Noche Buena nears, you know exactly how to cook the juiciest, tastiest meat this holiday season: 

 

 

Need more inspiration? Here are more roast chicken and pork recipes to try: