TurkeyOnRye
Well-Known Member
Many food addicts will go to great lengths to preserve and enhance the moisture and tenderness of their meats, but it would appear that still few individuals regularly utilize perhaps the most effective means of increasing the moisture and tenderness of their meats.
Brine.
Brining meats dramatically–read: "dramatically"–increases the tenderness and juiciness of cooked meats. For the last several months, I have been perfecting a technique to brine and slow roast pork shoulder. Pork shoulder is a very inexpensive piece of meat, often as low as $1.49 /lb. on sale in my region of the US. And properly prepared, this meat is absolutely bomb.
To simplify things, a good brine consists of four (4) main components:
1. Water
2. Salt (table salt, kosher salt, sea salt et al.)
3. Acid (apple cider vinegar, limes et al.)
4. Various flavor enhancers
Water increases moisture content. Salt and acid help denature proteins, thereby tenderizing the meat.
Brining is very simple. Absurdly simple, in fact! Fair warning: once you start brining your meats, you will likely never go back.
Here is my recipe for brining a beautiful pork shoulder roast:
Once the pork shoulder is done brining, following these instructions for a wonderful honey mustard pork shoulder roast:
1. Remove from brine and pat dry with paper towel
2. Drizzle with canola oil (olive oil would smoke once in the oven).
3. Place brined pork shoulder into a roasting pan or casserole dish uncovered.
4. Roast in oven at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cover with roasting pan lid or aluminum foil.
6. Place a pan of water in the bottom rack of the oven to increase vapor pressure (and thereby decrease evaporation of moisture from the meat).
6. Return to oven and turn down to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and slow roast for 5-6 hours.
8. Return to oven and turn up to 375 degrees (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes to caramelize honey mustard sauce.
9. Remove from oven and allow to rest at least 20 minutes, covered.
10. "Carve" with fork.
Honey Mustard Recipe:
1 part honey
1 part high quality whole grain/stone ground mustard (Inglehoffer®, Maille® et al.).
Adjust to taste
Enjoy!
Brine.
Brining meats dramatically–read: "dramatically"–increases the tenderness and juiciness of cooked meats. For the last several months, I have been perfecting a technique to brine and slow roast pork shoulder. Pork shoulder is a very inexpensive piece of meat, often as low as $1.49 /lb. on sale in my region of the US. And properly prepared, this meat is absolutely bomb.
To simplify things, a good brine consists of four (4) main components:
1. Water
2. Salt (table salt, kosher salt, sea salt et al.)
3. Acid (apple cider vinegar, limes et al.)
4. Various flavor enhancers
Water increases moisture content. Salt and acid help denature proteins, thereby tenderizing the meat.
Brining is very simple. Absurdly simple, in fact! Fair warning: once you start brining your meats, you will likely never go back.
Here is my recipe for brining a beautiful pork shoulder roast:
Once the pork shoulder is done brining, following these instructions for a wonderful honey mustard pork shoulder roast:
1. Remove from brine and pat dry with paper towel
2. Drizzle with canola oil (olive oil would smoke once in the oven).
3. Place brined pork shoulder into a roasting pan or casserole dish uncovered.
4. Roast in oven at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cover with roasting pan lid or aluminum foil.
6. Place a pan of water in the bottom rack of the oven to increase vapor pressure (and thereby decrease evaporation of moisture from the meat).
6. Return to oven and turn down to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and slow roast for 5-6 hours.
- Do not baste
- Do not remove drippings
- Do not uncover
- Do not mess with at all for the entire duration of the slow roasting process!!!!
8. Return to oven and turn up to 375 degrees (190 degrees C) for about 30 minutes to caramelize honey mustard sauce.
9. Remove from oven and allow to rest at least 20 minutes, covered.
10. "Carve" with fork.
Honey Mustard Recipe:
1 part honey
1 part high quality whole grain/stone ground mustard (Inglehoffer®, Maille® et al.).
Adjust to taste
Enjoy!
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