Master Your Grill Technique with Brining

Nothing makes the late summer more fun than a backyard BBQ with your friends, family, or maybe even the neighbors! At Farmview Market we love to grill and have found some simple grilling techniques that will help you perfect your favorite ribs.

One of our go-to grilling techniques is the brining technique. Brining is a simple trick that will add amazing flavor and moisture into the meat you are grilling. When we say simple, we really do mean simple! A brine is a salt solution paired with water. For every gallon of water that you use, you should add 7 ounces of coarse salt. It’s important to use coarse salt, not ionized or table salt, as those will turn your meat too salty. We suggest using a coarse kosher salt when you try brining.

Along with the water and coarse salt mixture, you can add herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, aromatic teas, stocks and liquids. All of these add in’s will bring flavor to the protein you are grilling. We recommend that you soak your protein in your brine mixture for several hours. For pork, 8 to 10 hours; for beef, 6 to 10 hours; and for chicken, 12 to 16 hours. After you remove the meat from your brine, be sure to wash it thoroughly and pat it dry.

So what does this grill technique actually do, besides adding tons of flavor? This process works because the salt in the solution pulls all of the blood and water from the piece of protein and then replaces it with the brining solution, trapping all of the flavor inside. This grill technique also helps keep your protein nice and juicy for the grill!

If you are looking for a brining recipe to test this grill technique, try our delicious apple cider rib brine recipe!

Apple Cider Rib Brine

Ingredients:
5 lbs. ribs
5 limes, juiced and zested (use juice, zest and fruit in recipe)
5 lemons, juiced and zested (use juice, zest and fruit in recipe)
3 oranges, juiced and zested (use juice, zest and fruit in recipe)
1 bottle apple cider
20 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs rosemary
2  fresh Bay leaves
½ cup salt

Directions:
Set the ribs aside. Combine all other ingredients in a stock pot, bring to a boil, and let cool. Add the ribs to the liquid and let sit for 8 hours in a cooler. Remove ribs from liquid (set the liquid aside) and pat dry. Cook as desired. Strain the liquid through a colander. Add to a stock pot and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Serve the sauce with the ribs.