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A BBQ thread

Thyme, sage, garlic, #1 salt and sugar for two days. Then some smoke.
I wanted some eggs benedict this morning and found I was out of CB'n. Had to settle for some home made sausage links.

do you use a weight to brine ratio to control salt level? I have always dry brined but one day will try wet if I can get the formula.
 
I use the recipe out of this book and adjust for weight. With just a 48 brine I don't think salt would be a problem.


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Thx. Yes it must be taken off a commercial recipe where the salt content wont exceed 2.5% in the meat and it takes 48 hrs for full absorption. If you left it in for 96 hrs it would be no more salty but a waste of processing space. I would like to find a wet brine formula for added flavorings where you can adjust salt+water mix to the weight of the meat rather than vice versa. This is why I dry brine my bacons because I dont have to trim. 2.5% salt. 1.5% brown sugar and .25% #1 for the weight of the meat. simple.
 
Thx. Yes it must be taken off a commercial recipe where the salt content wont exceed 2.5% in the meat and it takes 48 hrs for full absorption. If you left it in for 96 hrs it would be no more salty but a waste of processing space. I would like to find a wet brine formula for added flavorings where you can adjust salt+water mix to the weight of the meat rather than vice versa. This is why I dry brine my bacons because I dont have to trim. 2.5% salt. 1.5% brown sugar and .25% #1 for the weight of the meat. simple.
I dry brine my bacon also. No percentages just a recipe for a whole belly. Seems to work. I use the ends in beans. I also dry brine my pancetta, but it's just bacon that hasn't been smoked.
 
Fast14riot; had to look up the process you mentioned.


Had some really amazing food at a local restaurant in Santa Fe after shopping for supplies to hunt Wild Turkeys near Cloudcroft.
Absolutely the best Mexican food I’ve had. The tortillas and tamales were stellar, as was the shredded beef and carnitas. Definitely an education.

If you have ever had hominy, that is nixtamalized corn. It soaks up the liquid and gets larger.
 
Thx. Yes it must be taken off a commercial recipe where the salt content wont exceed 2.5% in the meat and it takes 48 hrs for full absorption. If you left it in for 96 hrs it would be no more salty but a waste of processing space. I would like to find a wet brine formula for added flavorings where you can adjust salt+water mix to the weight of the meat rather than vice versa. This is why I dry brine my bacons because I dont have to trim. 2.5% salt. 1.5% brown sugar and .25% #1 for the weight of the meat. simple.
Thats equilibrium brining. For wet process, add the weight of the water to the weight of the meat, use the percentage of salt desired for that combined weight.
 
Thats equilibrium brining. For wet process, add the weight of the water to the weight of the meat, use the percentage of salt desired for that combined
Duh! Shoulda thought this 20 yrs ago! Thx. Make easy work for jerky too!

Ps just did a speed read. Looks like 30-40% water weight to meat ratio is optimal. Inject on any cuts thicker than 2.5in
 
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If you have ever had hominy, that is nixtamalized corn. It soaks up the liquid and gets larger.

Had to look up nixtamaized! fancy word for: I did some jungle adventures in Maya country in central america in past life. They would grow their own corn which was obviously a staple for their tortillas. Once a year the patriarch would paddle his hand dug canoe for 3 days to reach the ocean to collect conch shells. On return he would cook all those huge shells in a fire until they turned to a white powder and store it in a tub. A pinch of the powder would be added to the bucket of water the dried corn kernels would soak in. The next day you could see all these pieces of clear corn shaped outer skins floating on top of the water. The kernels would be separated and mashed up into a dough to be hand formed into fat tortiallas and cooked on a 'comal' ( potmetal platter) on the wood fire. Best tortillas I ever ate! ( ps I actually shot that shotgun!)
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