The tendency of modern meats to dry out led cooks to rediscover light brining, a traditional method in Scandinavia and elsewhere. The meats, typically poultry or pork, are immersed in a brine containing 3 to 6% salt by weight for anywere from a few hours to two days (depending on thickness) before being cooked as usual. They come out noticeably juicier.

Brining has two initial effects. First, salt disrupts the structure of the muscle filaments. A 3% salt solution (2 tablespoons per quart/30 gm per liter) dissolves parts of the protein structure that supports the contracting filaments, and a 5.5% solution (4 tablespoons per quart/60 gm per liter) partly dissolves the filaments themselves. Second, the interactions of salt and proteins result in a greater water-holding capacity in the muscle cells, which then absorb water from the brine. (The inward movement of salt and water and disruptions of the muscle filaments into the meat also increase its absorption of aromatic molecules from any herbs and spices in the brine.) The meat’s weight increases by 10% or more. When cooked, the meat still loses around 20% of its weight in moisture, but this loss is counter-balanced by the brine absorbed, so the moisture loss is effectively cut in half. In addition, the dissolved protein filaments can’t coagulate into normally dense aggregates, so the cooked meat seems more tender. Because the brine works its way in from the outside, it has its earliest and strongest effects on the meat region most likely to be overcooked, so even a brief, incomplete soaking can make a difference.

The obvious disadvantage of brining is that it makes both the meat and its drippings quite salty. Some recipes balance the saltiness by including sugar or such ingredients as fruit juice or buttermilk, which provide both sweetness and sourness.

Thanks for calling me out on my error. You are right I had it backwards. I havent had a bio lesson in over 5 years so its my bad.

Water does go from a low salt concentration solution to a higher one. But still a brine causes water soluble flavors to be taken up by the cells of the meat therebye causing them to taste a whole lot better. So even if you brine a kosher turkey, I think that once equilibrium is reached there is the same amount of water moving into the turkey as moving out of the turkey and the liquid coming in brings with it all of the flavors from the brine.

Last Thanksgiving I brined a josher turkey, and it really did make it taste a whole lot better.

Also, jabbet, a brine is not a marinade. A brine is a salt water solution while a marinade is usually an acidic liquid which tenderizes the meat. Does the same thing, but works through different methods.

Just what I said it was going to be, a geeky explanation……. Go Alton Brown!

Flavor injectors are the way to go, though, regardless. It’s not that hard, and the ingredients are basic…some herbs you like, and some moisture, voila.