Brining pork/chicken

[J F]

Any you guys/gals do it? I've got a couple of bone-in pork chops in some brine at the moment...due to the fact that I've somehow dried out the last 2-3 dinners on the grill (eating by myself). I'm also planning on egg-washin' and dippin' em in panko bread crumbs...and then pan fry and finish off in the oven..smwbo has tonight off and I don't want to screw 'em up again.

I got the chops at the butcher's...7/8" thick, roughly....dinner's not 'til 8 or 9 tonight.

I'm pretty sure the chops would be great without the "brining" since I'm not grilling them. Just thought I'd ask all of you.

Gracias.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

If you have dried out the meat, you are over-cooking it. Dredge it in all the egg and bread crumbs you want, but if you cook it to death it's going to be shoe leather.

A chop like that I would give 3 minutes per side over hot coals in a Weber kettle. A comparable steak I would cook 2.5 minutes per side, which would result in a medium steak.

I shudder to think of what you have been doing to liver or fish.

 

[J F]

You missed a bit, or just made up some stuff in your mind, Larry...but thanks for that helpful tidbit

 

[J F]

Oh, never had liver...you can "shudder" a bit less.

 

[Finnster]

Haven't brined pork, but brined chicken/turkey is amazing. Little apple & cherry in the smoker with the birds.. yum.

I don't see a reason not to try it on the chops, they do tend to get dry easy. My america's test kitchen cookbook had some helpful technique tips for chops...if I could just remember what they were.....

 

[Finnster]

Do you happen to have a thermometer? One of those insta-read themopens are great.

From my experience, the "cooked" temperature for most things is reached far sooner than you would think. USDA lowered the pork doneness temperature recently too.

 

[J F]

Thanks, Finn and yeah I've actually use a meat thermo...I let the pork get to about 135-140, realizing it will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing from the grill...usually let it sit 3-5 minutes after removing from grill.

I think my problem may come from the thermometer itself, it wasn't very expensive ($20-30 iirc). I know I've seen some in the $100 + range, which might solve the problem... It's only the pork chops that I ever seem to have a problem with on the grill. :confused3:

 

[teejk]

The USDA finally relaxed regulations on pork temps...essentially saying it's ok to have "pink" in the middle (145F I think???) as opposed to the shoe leather we always grew up with because of a disease that hasn't been found in pork in about 65 years. I use a gas grill that doesn't get that close to the heat and I start with 3 minutes, rotate for another 3 minutes to get that cross-hatch look, then flip and repeat the process. I use a meat thermometer after the flip...it might be 3 minutes, it might be more or less (and I cut my own chops about 1 1/2 so you might want to try 2 minute increments). As for brining, I only top coat with a touch of worstershire and seasoned salt an hour or so before they hit the grill (don't over do it). And remember that meat will continue to cook after it is pulled off the grill so 135 or 140F should be fine to pull it off...any meat should rest a bit before eating and you will get to the final desired temp while it sits on the counter. If not done yet, you own a microwave!!! You can add heat, you can't subtract it (it's like a haircut). And finally, a few wood chips in a small foil tray add a great flavor. I stopped using mesquite for anything but beef so hickory/apple/cherry works great. Let them soak for a while and get them to smoke before you put the meat on.

 

[J F]

Thanks, tjeek. I only ever use the thermo with chicken or pork, as my wife is pretty "hinky" when it comes to those being anywhere near the neighborhood of being undercooked. I went and looked, and this is what I have (just got it a few months ago)... Amazon.com: CDN DTQ450X ProAccurate Quick-Read Thermometer: Kitchen & Dining

There's another very highly regarded unit in the $100-200 range, that I can't recall, that I'll probably end up getting....and then probably not using very often. :laughing:

 

[teejk]

Finn...the biggest failure I experienced was using algebra!!! Figure going from 70F to 105F takes X, going to 140F should be also be another X. Wrong!!! That last leg goes very quickly regardless of what you are cooking. As for meat thermometers, I've found that they will ALWAYS read too low to make sure people don't undercook (people get a substandard meal but nobody gets sick). I read something recently that crock pots now employ the same idea so if you want a crockpot you will like you have to go to garage sales and look for the older ones.