Perfect for the cooler months, this basic brine with beer is an instance where the power of beer can be highlighted during the cooking process. Brining is salt's ability to denature proteins, causing some of the muscle to unwind and swell. The brine then gets trapped in these proteins and when cooked, the liquid binds to the muscle creating flavor pockets and a juicier result.
1 cup craft beer (Recommended styles: brown ale, pale ale, dubbel, wit)
¼ cup kosher salt
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 sprigs thyme
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp black peppercorn
1 Fresno chili split
1 cup ice cubes
Directions
In a medium saucepot, combine all the ingredients except ice cubes and bring to a soft boil. Simmer for five minutes. Turn heat off transfer brine to a bowl and add ice cubes to cool.
Pour the brine over the protein or into Ziploc bags with the proteins. Refrigerate and follow the guideline below for brine times. Discard brine when the protein is removed and pat dry the protein before cooking.
Brining Time
How long to brine depends on the size of the protein; a whole turkey will take much longer than a few chicken thighs; a pork loin left whole for roasting will take longer than a pork loin cut into chops. Be careful not to over brine otherwise the dish will taste over salted.
Bone in pork chops: 6-12 hours
Whole chicken: 4-8 hours
Chicken breast: 1-2 hours
Whole quail: 2-4 hours
Duck breast or legs: 4-6 hours
Whole pork loin: 8-12 hours
Pheasant breast: 4-6 hours
Chicken thighs: 4-6 hours
Yield: 5 cups or enough for up to 2 pounds of protein.
The standard fish and chips is taken to the next level by adding your favorite pumpkin ale to the batter, imparting a slight pumpkin flavor and fluffiness to the fish.
Hearty meatballs and homemade tomato sauce gain depth of flavor with a tipple of dark beer. Stout--with its soft hop character, round mouthfeel and pronounced malt backbone--is an excellent tool to have on hand for grounding a dish, both tempering the acidity of a bright tomato sauce and balancing the savory juiciness of good ground beef. I like to cook with a dry, Irish-style stout with black-olive notes, like the Boston Irish Stout from Harpoon Brewery. This isn't the time for high-octane imperial stouts or anything described as "coffee," "chocolate," or "oatmeal." Save those stouts for baking.
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