Basic Brine for Smoking Meat

I added some Brine Spice and ground ginger and the smoked Pork butt came out juicy and flavorful

Followed the Basic recipe, added my favorite herbs and spices as instructed. Recipe is great. I will definitely use it again. Thanks

I followed this recipe as is, only increasing the quantity it to cover a roaster chicken. I brined the chicken overnight and added a container of fresh poultry herbs to the cavity before putting it on a rotisserie spit on my BGE grill . The chicken turned out perfectly and is my new go to for all rotisserie/ grilled/ smoked meats . I can’t wait to try it for the smoked Thanksgiving turkey

My smoked beef roast turned out moist and juicy! Very tastey

Very quick to make and love that you can add flavoring to your own taste! Came out great!

I will use this on every bird i cook

KEY STEP: RINSE OFF THE MEAT BEFORE COOKING/SMOKING! otherwise it will be too salty. The ratio is correct, according to Cooks Country, of 1 cup salt to 1 gallon water. My family doubles the brown sugar, 2 cups per gallon, or half cup in this recipe. If you’re doing fish, like salmon, quadruple the sugar. You can add any kind of spice you like to the brine. We often add a generic “pickling spice” with great results. We’ve brined whole pork butts for a week before slow cooking or indirect grilling = best ham you’ve ever eaten! Bonus: this is how brisket becomes corned beef.

I added a small amount of soy sauce. Next time I think I’ll try some apple juice. I’m still pretty new at smoking meat, but this is the best chicken I’ve smoked yet. I’m sticking with this recipe.

Added my own extra spices and converted the salt. It is a good base!

Excellent pre – smoke brine for pork or beef. Only soaked for a few hours. Overnight might be tool long. Really tenderizes the meat.

First time smoker and this worked great. I will use this many more times in my adventures in smoking meat.

I used this for my first time smoking a brisket. It turned out perfectly moist and flavorful.

I substituted 1/2 of the amount of water with Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. I added a few Tbsp of both garlic powder and onion powder along with a few Tbsp of black and cayenne pepper and cut the salt content in half. I smoked a rabbit and a few steelhead trout fillets and the results were amazing. Even people who werent fans of smoked foods loved these. I have eaten rabbit many ways but this will be the only recipe I use from now on. Doing a duck and a few squirrels this weekend.

Easy and delicious. Had to double the recipe to cover a 5lb roast. Turned out great. Thanks.

Brined and smoked pork chops. FAMILY loved them. Me, not so much. Guess I don’t like smoked meat very much.

way too salty.

This made my chicken so juicy. I added four cups of apple juice, slices of oranges and threw in some fresh herbs wonderful smell. I grilled the chicken using the beer can chicken recipe from this site. Fantastic!!!

I used a similar recipe to brine 1″ pork chops I got from Costco! Wow! What a difference the brining makes! You have to work at it to over cook them! Supper start..turned them often in my gas grill for browning, then into my smoker. added a molasses-mustard glaze and voila! Perfect! Pork can wind up dry without brining, but this flavors and keeps the moisture in so the chops are delectable.

Great basic brine! You really can’t go wrong, and brining is the secret to moist meats. I put a cheap pork butt in the brine overnight and slow smoked it the next day on the grill. Even after 10 hours on the grill, the meat was super moist. One suggestion: remember, when removing the meat from the brine, to rinse the meat under cold running water, pat dry with paper towels and then apply your rub.

Perfect, basic brine.

This is the only brine I will use for smoking my meat. The chicken breast were so juicy and delicious.