# Whiskey based brine



## iso (Dec 29, 2007)

Just looking to do something a bit different using a whiskey based brine.  

Any pointers?  Looking to bring the flavor of the whiskey into the meat.


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## glued2it (Dec 29, 2007)

A flavor brine consists of water and salt. Other ingredients may include sugar, brown sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, fruit juices, beer, liquor, bay leaves, pickling spices, cloves, garlic, onion, chilies, citrus fruits, peppercorns, and other herbs and spices. Many recipes call for bringing the ingredients to a boil to dissolve the sugars and bring out the flavor of herbs, then cooling the mixture to below 40Â°F before use


Feel free to experiment as you like!


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## iso (Dec 31, 2007)

fwiw here is what I did:

1 Gallon clean water
1 Cup dark brown sugar
1 Cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1 Cup Jeff's SMF Rib Rub
Sprigs of fresh thyme twisted and bruised

Heat water to a full boil.  Add remaining pieces.

Cool to room temp, then overnight in the fridge.  I do this to keep the heat down around other food in the fridge.

Just prior to adding meat to brine add 1 to 1 1/2 Cups of Whiskey.  I did this once the brine was cold to prevent the alcohol from cooking off.  Figure that the smoker will take care of that for me.  I have what ever is left in the bottle to use for an injection.

Tomorrow morning I'll have 2 pork shoulders (~15 pounds total) and a chunk of corned-beef in the smoker.  1 shoulder is brined above and will end up as pulled pork.  The other is going to be unbrined with chipolete mustard and rub then sliced.  The CB is a piece of meat that was given to us when my wife picked up our Christmas ham.


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