Tag Archives: shrimp

brine

What is a brine?
Can you brine shrimp?
Can you brine chicken?

A brine recipe is a solution of water and salt that (your) particular piece of food product soaks in to make the food more moist and more flavorful. The longer the piece of meat soaks in the brine the greater the flavor and moist level will be.
The basic setup for a brine is water and salt. Place your piece of meat in a large bowl with water that has been salted, making sure the meat in completely submerged in the water and that you are using a large bowl. The salt in the brine: usually starting at 1/4 of salt, but this usually takes practice to achieve the flavor you want. The most common piece of meat people soak in a brine is chicken or turkey, making sure that when you do brine a piece of meat that it stays in the refrigerator during the brine process or else you risk bacteria. Once you get the hang of making a brine for your favorite cuts you will love the possibilities, flavor, and moistness of the meat you brine. Once you master the plain old water and slat brine, which is great by itself, you can explore endless possibilities of adding different herbs to the brine.

You can brine shrimp, you can brine chicken, you can brine turkey, you can brine beef! The list goes on and on! I suggest looking up a recipe for your particular piece of meat to see the different possibilities of the brine and the extras you can add to the brine. Just remember, add water, enough salt to help lock in the moisture, and always keep the brine in the refrigerator.