Favorite Brine For Porkcider Maple Recipes

FAVORITE BRINE FOR PORK/CIDER MAPLE

Steps:

• Stir the hot water and salt together until the salt is dissolved. Add the apple cider, syrup, sugar and pepper. Cool to below 45 degrees F. in the refrigerator.
• Trim any excess external fat from the meat. Submerge the pork in the brine in a large bowl or small crock; make sure the meat stays under the surface during curing by using a heavy plate to weight it down. Refrigerate the pork in the cure. The chops should take 4-6 hours in the brine; the tenderloin, 6-8 hours; and the loin, 1-2 days. (Bone-in pork can take a day longer in the brine because of the bone, which gives it a larger diameter.) If marinating for a day or longer, stir the brine daily and turn the pork occasionally.
• To test flavor of brined pork, cut a small piece off the meat, pat it dry and pan-fry it. If the meat is sufficiently flavorful, remove it from the brine, let it come to room temperature and grill. If not, leave it in the brine and test again later.
• I usually do a 4-6 lb pork loin and marinate 24 hours. I have cooked in oven, indirect heat on grill and rotisserie. They have all turned out fabulous! This makes a VERY moist piece of meat when brined this way.

MAPLE SYRUP AND APPLE CIDER BRINE FOR PORK RECIPE

Steps:

• Stir the hot water and salt together until the salt is dissolved. Add the apple cider, maple syrup, and peppercorns. Cool to below 45 F. in the refrigerator.
• Trim any excess external fat from the meat. Submerge the pork in the brine in a large bowl or small crock; make sure the meat stays under the surface during curing by using a heavy plate to weight it down. Refrigerate the pork in the cure.
• The chops should take 4 to 6 hours in the brine; the tenderloin, 6 to 8 hours; and the loin, 1 to 2 days. (Bone-in pork can take a day longer in the brine because of the bone, which gives it a larger diameter.) If marinating for a day or longer, stir the brine daily and turn the pork occasionally. Recipe Source: by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly (Houghton Mifflin) Reprinted with permission.

MAPLE-BRINED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Mix water, salt, 1/3 cup maple syrup, garlic, ginger, rosemary, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Place pork loin in brine mixture and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
• Remove pork from brine, pat dry, and season all sides with salt and black pepper.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Heat vegetable oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Cook pork, turning to brown each side, about 10 minutes total.
• Transfer skillet to the oven and roast until pork is browned, about 40 minutes.
• Mix 2 tablespoons maple syrup and Dijon mustard together in a small bowl.
• Remove pork roast from the oven and spread maple syrup mixture on all sides. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, until the pork is no longer pink in the center. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

MAPLE BRINE FOR GRILLED PORK CHOPS OR PORK ROASTS

Steps:

• Mix all the brine ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil.
• Turn off heat and stir the brine well with a spoon to insure the sugar, salt and maple syrup has dissolved.
• Let the brine cool, then place brine in a large glass dish or bowl.
• Add in pork chops (making certain that all the chops are covered completely with brine).
• Cover and refrigerate for NO MORE than 10 hours.
• Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry without rinsing.
• Season the pork with pepper ONLY (do not season with salt they are salty enough from the brine!).
• Grill as desired.