t h e p e r f e c t recipe Making kitchen magic with salt pork chops } 66 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine. c om The Adventurous Kitchen by chef ken frank There is no single ingredient in every kitchen that is more useful than salt. We may take it for granted, but salt is essential to life and has played a fascinating and vital role in our history. Before the modern era of refrigeration, salt was the most reliable way to preserve food. Nutritional fascists like to harp on salt, and there is too much in processed foods, but the vast majority of us have no reason to fear salt. Learning to use salt properly is one of the most fundamental lessons in the kitchen. It’s not difficult, but takes practice to learn to taste and season food correctly, both highlighting and bringing flavors into balance. One of my favorite tricks in the kitchen is brining, not to be confused with marinating. It is very simple, though rarely done outside of professional kitchens. A little bit of chemistry makes brined foods very moist without being too salty. The brine penetrates the tissue through osmosis, and once inside the cells, it reacts with the proteins in a way that traps the moisture inside. Voilà: super-juicy, moist pork chops. While pork chops are my favorite item to brine, we also brine chicken and frogs’ legs to great effect. The method is simple; you can tweak it to your fancy once you learn how to do it by adding different flavors and spices. Larger pieces take a little longer, but not nearly as long as many people claim. Brining too long does more harm than good; it changes the texture of the meat and makes it potentially too salty. Bon appétit! 2 cups cold water 2 Tablespoons table salt (non-iodized) 2 Tablespoons sugar, white or brown Optional: Garlic, pepper and other dried spices such as juniper berries, herbs, citrus, etc. Mix together all of the ingredients in very cold water until thoroughly dissolved. Place the pork chops in a shallow non-reactive container and cover with brine. Turn them over after 15 minutes. After another 15 minutes, remove them from the brine and pat dry. Discard the brine. Without any further seasoning, cook them in a sauté pan or grill them as you normally would, but note that they will now color up more quickly, thanks to the sugar, and cook more quickly too. Simple brine for
NVLife_MayJune_2013
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