Father & Son BBQ: The Brine

So, how is everyone doing? Personally the past few months have been out of control. My day job has been unbelievably busy. I have no time to answer emails or write recipes or search for new products. Luckily, some tasty treats are starting to find there way to my door on their own. I must be doing something right. Anyway, I have recently decided to make more of an effort to BBQ and write. I find these are the only two things that keep me centered on what I consider most important in life, my family.

Whether I am sparking up the BBQ pit of preparing a simple week night meal my 2 (almost 3) year old is right there by my side. He makes dinner with me every night. We play on the swings and clean the yard while tending to the smoker together. He has become my official “applier of the rub” and “taster of the sauce”. When I find myself too caught up in work he reminds what’s really important. He knows what cumin is and how to work the peppermill. He understands to take 3 big steps back whenever anyone opens the stove, smoker or grill. Anthony even remembers to keep his hands flat on the counter whenever I am using the “big knife” even though he can’t wait to sneak a taste. The little pit master eats everything and will try anything. He loves to eat onions and mushrooms right off the chopping block and he cries when I put the BBQ sauce away.

He eats BBQ, loves salsa and watches Iron Chef. I think he likes Bobby Flay and I know he has a thing for Giada De Laurentiis. On Sundays we watch the Patriots when they are away and he looks for me in the stands when they are at Gillette. My bride can’t help but smile or forget why she is mad at me when she sees us cooking together. When the three of us sit down for dinner he is the server. He always makes sure that everyone has food on their plate. Heaven forbid not everyone is eating or there is an empty dish on the table. With every sip of water he offers a toast and he always helps with the dishes.

Anthony is so much fun to share food with and he loves BBQ so much that I decided that Eat Ugly will become a BBQ journal just for him. I want to make sure that when he is old enough to cook on his own he will have a record of all our epicurean adventures together. And since recently I have been inundated with questions about pulled pork I will start anew with a little ditty about Boston Butt. Try to contain your excitement son. I know its hard, “butt” we have to start somewhere. Plus it is never too early to start getting embarrassed by my puns. Boston Butt, pork butt, pulled pork, pork shoulder, picnic pork what the butcher calls it is of little importance. All that matters is that I have fun cooking it and you love to eat it. So here is my first lesson just for you (and who ever else may care). The brine…

There are so many different variations on brines that I find it impossible to rely on just one. I just started brining my Boston (pork) butts, chickens and turkeys this year. It’s not a difficult process, “butt” it is a pain in the butt. Anyway, brining makes the meat more tender, moist and flavorful. Basic brines consist on salt, water and sometimes sugar. I usually start with ¾ cup of kosher salt per gallon of water. From there I add what ever I have in the cabinet apple cider, bourbon, spices, herbs, seasoning, brown sugar, molasses, tea, honey, rum or anything else that looks interesting at the time. A major factor that affects most of my cooking is the availability of ingredients. Although I always try to have BBQ staples in our house, inevitably I am missing something that a recipe says we need. Truthfully I never really need anything. I do without or find a replacement. Your great grandmother taught me long ago to make do with what I have within reach, to use ingredients that I have on hand, and keep things simple. My whole keeping it simple mentality is a blog in and of itself. Anyway let’s get to the point, the brine for this particular pork butt adventure.

I prepare the brine using one of two methods, hot or cold. The hot method involves dissolving all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and cooling it over ice. With the cold method I simply just add the ingredients to cold water stir thoroughly and add the meat. I think dissolving the sugars and salts in hot water makes for more flavorful brine, “butt” sometimes time and motivation don’t allow for it. Anyway, for this cook I used the following.

• 1 Large food grade plastic container (plastic bags work well too)
• Approximately two quarts of water
• Ice (I have no idea how much)
• More water (enough to cover the butt by 1 inch)
• ½ Cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ Cup Dark Molasses
• 1 Cup Kosher Salt
• ½ Cup my secret rub (your favorite rub)
• 1 Small Handful Whole Black Pepper Corns
• 2 or 3 Bay Leaves
• 1 TBS Old Bay Seasoning
• 1Cup Jack Daniel’s Whisky
• 1 Large Spanish Onion Quartered
• 2 or 3 large cloves of garlic (lightly smashed)

I brought 2 quarts or so of water to a boil. I added the salt, brown sugar, dark molasses, favorite rub, Old Bay, whiskey, and pepper corns. I let everything that would dissolve, dissolve, removed the brew from the heat and added the garlic, onion and bay leaves. I let this steep while I filled a 5 gallon food grade plastic container about one quarter (1/4) full with ice and water. I then added the hot brine and continued to add ice until the brine was cold and the ice stopped melting. I then added my Boston butt and enough water to cover the meat by at least 1 inch. I place a heavy dish on top of the pork butt to help keep it submerged.

The entire bucket goes into the refrigerator (4:30 pm) and left overnight. I removed the Boston butt (5:30) the next morning (I wanted to start cooking by 7am the latest). Making sure to rinse it thoroughly I set it an aluminum pan and let it come to room temperature. I do my best to never put cold meat on the smoker. I also don’t like to apply seasonings and rubs to cold meats. The later is a personal preference its origins of which I don’t know. I may have read it somewhere or learned from a TV show.

I am always hesitant to call any of my recipes original or take credit for my methods and philosophies when it comes to cooking. I believe that every recipe is variation of another and every method is derived from a different source. When a person makes a recipe it becomes unique to that person. Foods mimic the style and tastes of the person who prepare them and if this is true all recipes are original.

There was a time (recently) the mom and I couldn’t afford a second refrigerator. Before we had one I would brine all of my meats in a cooler. Continually adding ice kept the solution from warming and the meat from spoiling. Once I used the cooler a few times I figured out how much ice I needed to keep it cold for extended periods of time. Eventually I was able to keep the temperature down for as long as ten hours, even though I rarely left it alone for more the 6. Meat can sit in brine for a little as 4 hours and a long as 72 hours. I usually shoot for overnight. When I am really thinking ahead I will start brining on Thursday night for a Saturday BBQ.

Well I think this is plenty for today and I'm getting hungry. What else is new? Next time I will tell you about our secret family BBQ rub and how to barbecue a pretty darn good Boston Butt. Tonight I think your mom is cooking, which usually means pizza…