I saw a short piece on the internet on 'brining'. Now most of us have heard about the benefits of brining turkeys (moist white meat etc - Alton Brown did a whole show on it on Food Network). But the piece I saw was about brining PORK - specifically pork chops. The lean meat of a pork chop reacts similarly to a turkey breast (moistness).
So I figured that it should react the same with a piece of pork tenderloin. I had two smallish pieces in the freezer and decided to do a grilling comparison. I made a brine (very similar to the short internet piece I saw) of water, salt, sugar, spices and apple juice) and immersed one piece of tenderloin. The other piece, I simply marinated in my normal pork marinade (a homemade Italian salad dressing).
I grilled both pieces on the grill. When I figured they were done, I brought them inside and let them rest for about 5 minutes. I started by slicing (from the larger end of the tenderloin) the marinated piece. When I got to the 5th slice, I moved to the brined piece and sliced it likewise. I then sampled both of the 5th slices. The brined piece was noticeably more juicy!!
I must say, though, that the brining process doesn't seem to impart much flavor so the next time I think I'll use a basting sauce while grilling it.
So there's my experiment in brining PORK - I'M A CONVERT!!!!
If anyone wants more info on the brining recipe, leave a comment and I'll post it.
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