To Brine or not to Brine

Ok, so if one was to visit Wikipedia you would find:

Brining

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which meat or poultry is soaked in brine before cooking.[1] Equal parts sugar and salt are added to cold water in a container, where the meat is soaked usually six to twelve hours. The amount of time needed to brine depends on the size of the meat. More time is needed for a large turkey compared to a broiler fryer chicken. Similarly with a large roast versus a thin cut of meat.

Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis, and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked, via the process of denaturation.[1] The brine surrounding the cells has a higher concentration of salt than the fluid within the cells, but the cell fluid has a higher concentration of other solutes.[1] This leads salt ions to diffuse into the cell, whilst the solutes in the cells cannot diffuse through the cell membranes into the brine. The increased salinity of the cell fluid causes the cell to absorb water from the brine via osmosis.[1] The salt introduced into the cell also denatures its proteins.[1] The proteins coagulate, forming a matrix that traps water molecules and holds them during cooking. This prevents the meat from dehydrating.

For many years I never brined anything, I suppose because i was too afraid to try it.  After reading a recipe that said mix a bunch of salt and sugar together with water, I was worried the meat would take on a completely different taste.  Well, fast forward many years, and I'm please to share that I'm a complete convert.  Difficult meats to keep moist like pork tenderloin, pork loin, chops, and chicken breasts, do amazingly well in this process.  I'm always pleased with I serve a brined meat product and my guest comments on how moist the end result is.  So, here is a basic brine recipe that I use for most everything.  

1/2 cup sugar (white or brown)

1/2 cup salt

2 cups of water

4 cups of ice cubes

I dissolve the sugar and salt over heat to incorporate the ingredients into the water.  It's at this point where you can add your own additional flavoring ingredients like peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic.  Be creative...there are no rules here.  Once dissolved I pour the hot liquid over the ice to cool it down.  If you would rather just use the 4 cups of water instead of the ice part, remember to completely cool down your liquid before using it.  Once cool, I put in the meat and let is sit for about 8 hours.  Your results will be worth the extra step!  

Here's the chops I made last evening:  

Menu:  Grilled Double Chops with a mushroom mustard cream sauce.  Served with grilled asparagus and risotto.