I understand the basics of brining, 20:1 ratio liquid:salt by weight, or about 3/4 cup salt to a gallon. Experimenting with pineapple juice tonight. Plan to soak a rack of pork short ribs. using 1 qt. pineapple juice, 3 qt. water, a can of pineapple, 3/4 cup of kosher salt, 3/4c brown sugar, 2 tbs oregano, 1/4 cup chili powder. and a half cup lime juice. They say it is hard to mess up a brine, unless it is left soaking too long. I'll try 2 hours of the ribs in the brine, not sure how long to brine ribs. any brine formulas to share?
How'd the pineapple brine turn out? When I cook pork loins I'll use a 50-50 apple juice/water base salt, lower brown sugar as the apple juice has some already, bay leaves, cumin and thyme. If cooking in the oven I will add a 1/2tsp of liquid smoke, otherwise on the grill I sear the loin, move to indirect heat add some hickory smoke ~20-30mins, wrap in foil add a small amount of apple juice to the foil and wrap tight bring it to 135 them let it stand for 20mins. Apple trees aren't found around here, too warm in the summer otherwise I would use applewood
I keep mine pretty simple. 4 cups water, 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, and 1 minced jalapeno.
You use the same ratio +/-, 20:1. My gallon does 10 pounds chicken breasts in a 12qt. pot. I do the hot method, boiling dissolves the salt, blends the spices, brings out the flavors of dried herbs, the onions and garlic. Making the brine takes more time than cooking the meat.
