Kris D via WeightAdviser.com said:Dry Rub- Use all the coolest spices you like, Rub and leave for 12 hours,
Probably be a good idea to look at some recipes for them. If you happen
to really like cloves, lavender and fenugreek, you might not have to
share your dinner with anyone else.
Quoted message said:I
suggest a brine before the rub of 1 cups vinegar and 1/2 cup salt and 1 cup
splenda 2 gallons of water. leave for 6 hours then rub with spice of choice.
This will make your meat tender, and tasty!!!
A brine needs to have sufficient and appropriate solutes to draw out
juices from the meat and to create enough osmotic pressure to re-enter
it. This brine recipe is too dilute to reach the minimum which is about
a 5% solution - roughly a cup of salt and no more than 1/2 cup sugar per
gallon. Splenda is chemically and physically so different than sugar as
to be virtually useless in this situation. This brine will wet the meat
and impart a tiny bit of flavoring to the outer fraction of an inch.
Here's part of an article I published a while back...
Brining for Beginners
This is one of those "gotta have faith" pieces. I want you to sink
meats, birds and seafoods in some salty water so they’ll cook faster, be
better tasting, more tender and more juicy. Yeah, I know. Sounds absurd.
But it really works and now it’s all the thing.
Brining the meats. Here’s what happens. The salt and sugar act to draw
moisture out of the meats. Then a kind of balance is struck where no
more juices come out of the meat. Then, in a funny reversal, the brine
is taken up by the meat bringing moisture and flavoring into the meat.
It makes the meat plumper and juicier. It makes it more forgiving in
cooking. It makes your dinner a bit more tender. What’s to not like?
We aren’t going to pickle them, just soak them in a light brine
solution. Stay with me here. We aren’t making the meats taste salty,
just better. And cook more quickly.
Poultry, pork, lamb, beef and game meats can all be brined and I
guarantee they’ll be tastier, juicier and more tender than without
brining. Brining will also shorten cooking times. Cook as you always do,
just check on the progress of the meats a bit earlier and more often
than usual until you get the sense of it. And this isn’t just for
special occasions. Every time you cook meats, they can benefit from this
approach. Discard the brines after using once.
BASIC MEAT BRINE
This much brine will take care of a 3 or 4 pound piece of pork loin, a
chicken (or chicken pieces), a 3 or 4 pound beef, lamb or veal roast.
How long to leave the meats in the brine? Depends. For poultry, at least
24 hours. Up to about 36 hours. Roasts benefit from 3 days or more.
Since I first started doing this, I’ve evolved my recipe. This is the
one I’m working with now.
1 quart water
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves
4 or 5 bay leaves, crumbled
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons vinegar
Heat the water and add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a low simmer,
stir a few times and remove from the heat. Let cool.
That’s the brine. How to use it? One very easy way is a gallon freezer
bag. Put the meat in the bag and pour the cooled brine over it. Squeeze
out much of the air, put the bag in a container and refrigerate. Just in
case of leaks.
Variations: Well, for the basic brine, you can add or subtract any
flavorings you want. The amounts of water, salt and sugar should remain
fairly constant, but the other ingredients are variable.
For duck, goose and other oily birds, add 2 tablespoons ground ginger,
1/4 cup of soy sauce and 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate. Stick the
duck all over with a fork and brine for 3 or 4 days. Roast in a 400 oven
for about an hour.
Chicken pieces benefit from the juice of a lemon and a tablespoon of
rubbed sage added to the brine.
BRINED PORK AND VEAL CHOPS
These chops will be rosy inside like a good cured ham and very tender.
Don’t try to cook the wonderful pink color out, you’ll ruin them.
1/ 2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
10 black peppercorns
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons mixed dried herbs (rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage)
1 quart hot water
3 quarts ice water
12 chops, 1 inch thick
olive oil or cooking spray
Put sugar and salt in a large nonreactive container - plastic, glass or
stainless steel. Add the hot water and stir to dissolve. Add other
seasonings and let sit for a few minutes to rehydrate herbs. Stir in the
ice water. Submerge the pork chops in the brine. Cover the container and
refrigerate for 24 hours or more. Or use the freezer bag technique. To
cook, remove the chops from the brine, pat dry and lightly brush or
spray with oil. Grill, broil or pan-fry. Figure 7 to 9 minutes per side.
FISH FILLETS IN A MAPLE AND DILL BRINE
This brine works well on fillets of tuna, salmon, orange roughy and
trout. Brining fish is faster than meats. You need real maple syrup for
best results.
1 quart water
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 bunch fresh dill, coarsely chopped (about 1/ 2 cup)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
fish fillets, about 2 pounds total, center cuts if possible
Combine the water, salt, maple syrup and brown sugar in a large
nonreactive container. Stir to dissolve the salt. Add dill, garlic, and
pepper. Submerge the fish skin side up in the brine. Cover the container
and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
To cook, remove the fish from the brine and pat dry. Brush or spray
with oil. To broil, put the fish on a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side
down and broil for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness at the
thickest point, or until just cooked through. To grill, put on a sheet
of foil directly on the grill rack over medium heat for about 10 minutes
per inch of thickness.
And don’t forget that turkey or the venison leg. Got a really big
bucket? Enjoy very much.