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(to maintain a sub-40° temperature). Let it brine for at least 8 hours and up to 48. Remove the meat from the brine, pat dry with paper towels, and cook as desired.

Software:

1 quart vegetable stock, chilled

½ cup kosher salt

¼ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

1 quart orange juice, chilled

2 quarts ice water

Hardware:

Medium stock pot

2-gallon plastic bucket

Thermometer

Paper towels

A Dip For Mr. Dennis

Mr. Dennis is an old New England euphemism for the family pig. This brine is excellent for pork, especially chops, which can soak for as little as ½ hour to nice effect.

Application: Brining

Combine spices in a tea ball or tie them securely into a paper coffee filter and place in pot with salt and molasses. Add water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Remove the tea ball and discard the spices; pour the liquid into the bucket and add the meat. Allow the meat to brine for at least 6 hours or as long as 12 hours. Remove the meat from the brine, pat dry, and immediately cook as desired.

Software:

1 tablespoon juniper berries

1 tablespoon whole black

peppercorns

10 whole cloves

1½ cups kosher salt

½ cup molasses

2 quarts water

Target cut of pork

Hardware:

Tea ball or paper coffee filter

and string

Medium stock pot

2-gallon plastic bucket

Shrimp Soak

Brining improves both the flavor and especially the texture of shrimp—after a soak, these crustaceans are completely plumped up with moisture. I recommend broiling them right in their shells on a sheet pan.

Application: Brining

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Add the salt and sugar and stir until the crystals have dissolved.

Pour the mixture into the plastic bucket and add the ice. When the ice has melted, add the shrimp and allow to soak—½ hour for 21/55s, or up to 1 hour for the really huge shrimp that some people erroneously call “jumbo.”

That’s 21 to 25 shrimp per pound

Remove the shrimp from the brine, pat dry, and cook immediately.

Software:

1 cup water

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup sugar

1 pound ice

1 pound shrimp, unshelled

Hardware:

Small sauce pan

1-gallon plastic bucket

Grilled Mahi-Mahi, Ceviche-Style

This mahi-mahi is a winner. It retains a super fresh-fish flavor and the sauce is tangy and spicy with a clean finish from the herbs.

Application: Marinating, Grilling, and a Sauce

Rub the filets with kosher salt and set aside. In a non-reactive bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except ¼ cup of the cilantro and the olive oil. Mix to dissolve the sugar, and add the filets to the bowl. Marinate for 2 hours, turning the filets once after 1 hour. Remove the filets from the marinade and set it aside. Pat the filets dry with paper towels and lightly coat with the olive oil.

Heat the charcoal and grill the filets over direct heat until they are just cooked through—opaque at the center but still moist. While the fish is grilling, add the reserved marinade to a saucepan and heat until it is reduced to about ⅓ cup. Using tongs, remove the filets to serving plates and divide sauce equally among them. Top with remaining cilantro.

Yield: 4 entrée servings

Software:

4½ pounds skinless mahi-mahi

filets

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup diced red onion

¼ cup freshly-squeezed lime juice

¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon minced jalapeño

pepper

½ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed

¼ cup tequila

1 tablespoon olive oil

Hardware:

Non-reactive bowl

Charcoal

Charcoal starter

Long tongs

Saucepan

Marinated Vegetable Salad

Application: Marinating

Cut each vegetable into uniform pieces: trim the ends of the beans; trim the bottoms off the asparagus; floret the broccoli and cauliflower; cut the carrots into rounds; and peel the beet and cut it into wide matchsticks. One kind of vegetable at a time, drop them into a large pot of salted boiling water and blanch until crisp-tender. Pull a piece out every few seconds and