Brining Meat

Does anyone brine their game before cooking. My last batch of ducks i let sit in a bag of mild salt water for 3 or 4 days. I changed out the water a couple of times. The first time i changed the water it was solid red, the last time it was nearly clear with a pinkish tent.

The meat seemed to taste a bit better than usual but i dont know if i let it sit for long enough or had enough salt in the water.

i always brine my meat, especially pork.

even fish I "brine" in milk

I think equal parts sugar to salt, basspro has some ready mixes. I have done a turkey, but I could not tell one from the other

I do mine as well. I will take all the meat from the deer, put them in a cooler full of ice water and lots of salt. Let sit for 3 days changing the brine once a day.

The wife likes the deer much better now. She says alot of the gamieness is gone and the meat is much more tender...

+1 for brine.. I try to always soak my game in salt water. before i cook it or freeze it for later use.

Nope never. I will marinade just about anything if I want to achieve a certain flavor, but I never soak anything in salt water or any water at all unless I'm trying to thaw some out in a hurry.
You don't want to soak your venison in water unless you want to hydrate it because it soaks up anything like a sponge. If you soak it in water before trying to marinade it for jerky you won't get the flavor your looking for because it won't soak any of the marinade in, it's already full of water.
My fish don't soak in anything besides corn meal and hot grease!

stupid question what is brining?? never heard of it so i guess iv never done it lol

dartfreak75 wrote:stupid question what is brining?? never heard of it so i guess iv never done it lol

there is only one stupid question Dart and that is the one not asked.
brining "Brine" is just soaking in salt water.

I dont ever brine my meats.

Out of recognition for duck and goose hunters, I have heard that brining duck/goose breast takes out some of the strong flavor. Because some species can be quite over powering. A friend of ours who duck hunts gave me a woodie and a malard last year and I didn't soak them, I just cut the breast up into skewer sized chunks and marinaded them overnight in my own recipe. Then the next day I put them on skewers and grilled them.............Boy where they delicious!!
I didn't notice any strong or gamey flavor at all, just plain mouth watering good.

I brine most small game and fish but not deer. Over night up to 2-3 days changeing the brine every 24hr. workes well. Marinaded in dressing or seasoning will do wonders just don't over do it. Save the brine off of peppers, pickles or any other thing you like add spices and play with a recipe the worst you can do is ruin a batch just keep them small to start with.

Try this simple yet mouth watering little marinade/glaze next time you grill chicken, venison, pork, or duck/goose, or any other wild meat you would usually put on the grill.

Equal parts of Worchestershire Sauce and Honey. Marinade in it and use the rest as a glaze when you grill by brushing it on the meat to keep it from drying out. It's so good you will slap your Grandma!

Here's my own personal favorite and one of my home brewed concoctions.

Dale's Steak Seasoning Marinade
Liquid Hickory Smoke
Brown Sugar

This one is so good it'll make you kick your Dog!

both brining and marinating have their purposes. you wouldnt take a rifle duck hunting if you wanted any great deal of success.

brining is done to increase the moisture of the meat while marinating breaks down tissue (tenderizies) due to citris and/or vinegar and flavors.

Pros of Brining:
1. if you plan on freezing any game meat, brining will make it last longer and freeze better.
2. helps prevent meat from drying out while cooking.
3. removes (doesnt mask like marinating) "gamey" taste on certain animals and/or animals taken from areas such as swamps or sage brush who tend to have a taste to them, even on animals that are normally delicious.
4. most "gamey" meat is due to the testosterone in the blood that permiates the meat of male animals. brining removes this.
5. some people say brining also removes toxins in the meat. for example, pigs do not sweat therefore cannot release the toxins in their system like all other animals. milk supposidly removes mercury from fish.

Pros of marinating:
1. citris and/or vinegar breaks down the tissue (tenderizes) of the meat, which is a must for certain game meat.
2. helps seal in the moisture by carmelization on the outside due to the sugars.
3. flavors or spices the meat

Reload3006 wrote:

dartfreak75 wrote:stupid question what is brining?? never heard of it so i guess iv never done it lol

there is only one stupid question Dart and that is the one not asked.
brining "Brine" is just soaking in salt water.

oh iv heard of that but never heard it called that we call that "soaking in salt water" lol j/k iv never done it!!

Most "Gamey" meat especially venison is from improper care after the animal hits the ground. If it's taken care of respectfully and put up within a certain time frame and never allowed to get too warm, it doesn't taste any stronger than beef or pork when prepared.
I've seen deer hanging in trees for at least a week even when the temp climbed into the upper 50's and lower 60's, you couldn't have forced me to eat any of that crap.

I love the taste of wild game and have never tried to remove that flavor. Afterall, if I wanted it to taste like beef or pork, I'd just go to the grocery store. That's why I chose to hunt and go out to get the good stuff myself.

I gotta tell ya, I elk steak blood rare with a little pepper some mashed sweet potato and some creamed corn. No brine, no marinade just properly harvested meat and some kingsford. Now thats a good way to end the day.

RichBirdHunter wrote:I gotta tell ya, I elk steak blood rare with a little pepper some mashed sweet potato and some creamed corn. No brine, no marinade just properly harvested meat and some kingsford. Now thats a good way to end the day.

That's the way it was meant to be prepared. Of course I like my A1 and I get criticized for it, but I love the taste of A1 steak sauce. I don't use it to try and mask the flavor of a good steak, just as a compliment because if I don't have any A1 I can do just fine without it.
There's just something about grilling over charcoal that adds so much to the meat, gas isn't quite the same either........it's gotta be hardwood charcoal for me.

a trick i use when grilling on a gas grill. (wish i could take credit for it but it wasnt my idea) cut you some green hickory and wrap them in aluminum foil. poke a few holes in it and put it on your lava rock. it will smoke and give your meat the charcoal flavor. I didnt believe it either. but was shown it works.

Now I'm hungry.

sdsviper wrote:Now I'm hungry.

The special at Granny Shafer's Restaurant tomorrow will be.......
10oz. T-bone with baked potato or home fries, side salad, Texas toast, and a drink for $14.95.......

Mohunter wrote:

sdsviper wrote:Now I'm hungry.

The special at Granny Shafer's Restaurant tomorrow will be.......
10oz. T-bone with baked potato or home fries, side salad, Texas toast, and a drink for $14.95.......

Thanks Mo, had to work through lunch today, and dinners looking like a stop at some garbage fast food spot.

I'd punch a kitten for a steak dinner right now

That would be a great deal. I'm thinking eggs,hash,buscuit & gravy and hashbrowns or French toast or maybe A hot beef sandwich.
Remember I do this for a living. LOL

[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]

MMMMMMM, MMMMMMMMMM, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, Now that's some stick to your ribs finger licking good food right there.

Oh dang it, you done gone and did it. I already have one plate of eggs and toast this morning, now i gots to go gets me some mo fo sho now.

In the famous words of my neighbor, infantryjohn, that right there will make you tounge smack your brain!!!

Dang it.. First Pathfinders venison & pasta video gets me hungry and this just pushed me over the edge. I am going to have to go make something to eat.