On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 306

6% salt by weight for anywhere from a few
hours to two days (depending on thickness)
beforebeingcookedasusual.Theycomeout
noticeablyjuicier.
Brininghastwoinitialeffects.First,salt
disruptsthestructureofthemusclefilaments.
A3%saltsolution(2tablespoonsperquart/30
gmperliter)dissolvespartsoftheprotein
structurethatsupportsthecontracting
filaments,anda5.5%solution(4tablespoons
perquart/60gmperliter)partlydissolvesthe
filamentsthemselves.Second,theinteractions
ofsaltandproteinsresultinagreaterwaterholdingcapacityinthemusclecells,which
thenabsorbwaterfromthebrine.(Theinward
movementofsaltandwateranddisruptionsof
themusclefilamentsintothemeatalso
increaseitsabsorptionofaromaticmolecules
fromanyherbsandspicesinthebrine.)The
meat’sweightincreasesby10%ormore.
Whencooked,themeatstilllosesaround20%
ofitsweightinmoisture,butthislossis


counter-balancedbythebrineabsorbed,sothe
moisturelossiseffectivelycutinhalf.In
addition,thedissolvedproteinfilamentscan’t
coagulateintonormallydenseaggregates,so
thecookedmeatseemsmoretender.Because
thebrineworksitswayinfromtheoutside,it
hasitsearliestandstrongesteffectsonthe
meatregionmostlikelytobeovercooked,so

evenabrief,incompletesoakingcanmakea
difference.
Theobviousdisadvantageofbriningisthat
itmakesboththemeatanditsdrippingsquite
salty.Somerecipesbalancethesaltinessby
includingsugarorsuchingredientsasfruit
juiceorbuttermilk,whichprovideboth
sweetnessandsourness.
Shredding Even if a tough roast has been
cookedtothepointthatithasbecometender
but unpleasantly dry, the cook can restore a
certain succulence to the meat by pulling it
apartintosmallshredsandpouringoverthem