Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Maple-Brined Pork Loin - Water Has Never Tasted So Good

I've always thought that more home cooks would try recipes that call for brining the meat, if it were simply referred to (incorrectly, by the way), as a marinade.

Marinating sounds easy, brining sounds complicated. When people see "marinade" they think oil, vinegar, and a few spices rubbed on some meat. Mmm… marinade.

But, when
they see "brine" in a procedure, I think they anticipate formulas, ratios, and percentages. Mmm…math?

For all practical purposes, a brine is really nothing more than a water-based marinade. Molecularly-speaking there are big differences between brining and marinating, but as far as cooking skill, or amount of prep work, there is no difference.

This video recipe for maple-brined pork roast is a delicious way for you to experience just how easy a simple brine really is. What a brine does that a marinade doesn't do is force moisture and flavor into the roast. I love the way the meat gets infused with that subtly sweet maple flavor.

I paired this roast pork loin with the rocket beans side dish, which just recently aired, and it was perfect match. By the way, the leftover pork loin, sliced thin and served cold, makes a sandwich that's to die for. Enjoy!



Video won't play? Check out the Youtube version of Maple-Brined Pork Loin instead.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 lb boneless pork loin roast
1 quart cold water
1/4 cup salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3-4 slices fresh ginger
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
For the glaze:
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp Dijon mustard

48 comments:

Steffen P said...

I'm so going to make this!

Very good..

So when is the FoodWishes DVD vol 2 coming out?

Anonymous said...

just like alton :D lol

Chef John said...

thanks, hopefully the next DVD will be the cooking course.

Chef John said...

alton who?

Anonymous said...

Alton schmalton! Chef John rules!!!!

Steffen P said...

Oh, yes.. Let it be the cooking school!

CollegeGourmet said...

FoodWishes cooking course, eh? That's awesome!
By the way, I'll be making this recipe tomorrow night since I have some guests coming over.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that looks very tasty. I can`t wait till sunday.

Let me just say thank you John for your inspiring and funny videos. Your videos and recipes are top stuff.

-Chris , Norway

PS. By Kosher salt do you mean flake salt, like Maldon? We don`t have anything called Kosher salt over here I think.
Cheers

Chef John said...

yes, flake salt will work, but if it's really large crystal add another tablespoon extra.

blogagog said...

Holy smokes, wait a second! Where is that rolled up chicken thing you promised us yesterday? We bought a bunch of stuff that we are guessing is in it and need directions to make the thing.

Help!

Chef John said...

sorry, but you should have probably check the comments on that one!

and I quote...

"the shot is from raw footage from a video assignment for About.com so I'm not sure if and when it will air. So this is a real tease."

Scott - Boston said...

Looks great!

Hey Chef, was it your night to do the dishes?
For all of y'all keeping score, I think this is the first appearance of a paper plate on Foodwishes.

A real milestone!

Scott - Boston

Chef John said...

yes, that was a paper plate, good catch. You have a great eye for disposable dinnerware.

Anonymous said...

Never thought brining was this simple! Can I brine say, salmon fillets, and then bake them inthe oven?

- yt

Online Healthy Diet Menu Plans said...

nice blog n link shared with all. Thanks man.

Bill W, NH said...

I can't get these Vimeo videos to play for some strange reason, any ideas?

Chef John said...

not sure, maybe a flash thing. I just added a link to the Youtube version you can watch.

Chef John said...

not sure if if would work for salmon. may be a weird texture. salmon is already moist and tender.

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

I just so happen to have a pork loin in the fridge. I'll definitely give this recipe a try!!!

Josh Cantrell said...

That was really great. My family loved it. I get a lot of great how-to ideas on Wacanai.com(http://www.wacanai.com/intro). You should post this one there. I think a lot of people would like it. You can link your webpage to the website too. It is has some great articles on it and when people search for things with similar items or ingredients your article will pop up.

Yubi Shines said...

*eyes youtube comments*

Chef John, only you could get religious controversy over a video about soaking meat in water.

Chef John said...

Yeah, it's crazy... and all I said was that God was made of pork.

Amelie said...

For some reason I always thought brining was complicated but your video convinced me otherwise. I made the Maple-Brined Pork Loin today and it was DELISH!!! I am now a brining convert!

Anonymous said...

I made it. It's easy and awesome. very juicy pork!!!!

Bill W, NH said...

Wich me luck (yeah, still drunk for last night), I've got a 3 lb loin sitting in this brine in the fridge and will bbq/mesquite smoke it this evening!

RedNeck Beef and Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients
2 slim jims
1 pack of potato chips

Directions: DO NOT cook on the stove, you are too drunk and will burn the trailer down, and, more importantly, you haven't gotten around to fixing the stove anyways.

Chef John said...

wow, didn't know they had rednecks in NH

Donna Marie said...

Hi, Chef John. Is brining really that easy? I never did try brining, and I'm not sure how much salt to use. I fear that if I make a mistake on the ratio of measurements per ingredients, the brine would not turn out as good at it should.... Any tips? Does the size of the salt granules affect the saltiness of the brine???? Thanks. Pardon the somewhat stupid questions. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to cooking.

Chef John said...

first of all, there is nothing worse than a perfectionist in the kitchen. Stop it. There is no such thing as perfection in cooking.

Secondly if you use the amount of salt I list in the ingredients there is no way to mess up. I use kosher salt which is sold in every grocery store, so get that if you are concerned. good luck!

Donna Marie said...

Thanks for the tip, Chef John. Hopefully, I'll muster enough courage do to the brining thing.

Chef John said...

you're confusing courage for curiosity! Just try it and enjoy the experience... it's just dinner.

maitino said...

A-Ha! So thats how those hotel people do this? I feel like I have been to culinary school! U r one of a kind. I hope u will always find time for this site even when u get busy with BNE. Where would I learn so much? Coz I know down here we wont have access to that channel.Be blessed.

Joshua said...

Hi Chef John,

I want to use this brining mixture but I'm planning on taking the pork out and then BBQing it in a crock pot for 8-12 hours on low heat. Do you think the brine is a good idea for this or should I do something else to compensate for the amount of time it's going to slow-cook.

Chef John said...

i see no advantage to brining and then slow cooking. I also would never slow cook a pork loin, pork shoulder yes, but why a lean pork loin?

Joshua said...

Sorry, I meant to say I'm thinking of brining the pork shoulder. So if I'm using a pork shoulder, do you think the brine is a good idea for this or should I do something else to compensate for the amount of time it's going to slow-cook.

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Delish, Delish! Thanks for letting me blog about this pork loin.

http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2009/08/maple-brined-pork-loin.html

Anonymous said...

Looks wonderful, I can't wait to try it.

My husband is not a fan of maple flavor. Could we sub the maple with apple juice, honey or a different flavor?

Thanks

Jackie said...

Hi Chef John

I was wondering what type of Maple Syrup did you use Grade B, Grade A etc. Also where are the instructions for this recipe.

Chef John said...

I don't do written recipes, that's what the video is for. I just give ingr and you can take notes from the clip. I'm too busy doing free recipe videos to type! ;-)

Chef John said...

I used Grade B, but any real maple syrup will work.

Maui said...

Why is it bad to "over brine"? 'Cause I plan to leave it overnight, which will probably take about 12 hours. And yes, over sleeping is bad. ;p

Chef John said...

should be ok, some say extra long brine hurts the texture

Anonymous said...

This is a great recipe-made it and it was oh-so-juicy and wonderful!
I was just wondering, what is the type of tub that you used to brine the pork in?

MrsAmyHardy said...

What about under-brining? I was planning to make it tonight and only have about 3 hours to brine.. is it worth doing if it can only be in that long?

Chef John said...

Never tried, but worth a shot!

MrsAmyHardy said...

Thanks.. I did it for 3 hours and thought it was great. Thanks for posting. It was really good!

Jasen said...

This was might tasty and the dijon/maple as a sauce was excellent

Unknown said...

This is an older post, but pork loin hasn't undergone any major changes in the last 5 years. WOW, this came out great. I ended up marinating much longer, contrary to Chef John's advice, probably closer to 20 hours. I found other blogs that said that was ideal, so I guess it's subjective. Anyway, didn't notice any issue with the texture, like you might have with overmarination or something. This was phenomenal. Absolutely delicious and tender meat, the brine flavors don't overpower the pork itself.I ended up roasting the pork in a separate pan and making a quick pan sauce with some stock, miso paste, dijon, cider vinegar and a splash of dark rum (I was all over the place). Cooked down and strained.

Another 5 star recipe for Chef John, you are the man! Someone give this man a show on Netflix.

Timmeh said...

This was surprisingly delicious, I made even more of that mustard glaze to kind of dip it in and I was in pork heaven!