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By Root 1125 0

As soon as we try to commit our palates to one of them, the other flavor appears, wiping its predecessor away. This phenomenon of taste perception, called layering, is a golden opportunity for anyone who cooks. Because we perceive flavors sequentially, rather than all rolled up together, it is possible to concoct highly sophisticated flavor juxtapositions, crusting a spicy rub over a steak that has been infused with a savory brine and then lacquering it with a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce at the table.

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C. Mops

A mop is a flavorful fluid that is a cross between a marinade (see page 86) and a brine (see page 85). By balancing sour and salty flavors, mops have an effect on meats similar to that of brines and marinades, but they minimize the risk of skewing the flavor too far in either direction. Typically, mops are brushed or drizzled onto meats as they grill; hence the name.

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D. Brines

The primary role of brining is to add moisture to food. The intense heat needed for direct grilling tends to dehydrate foods like pork chops and chicken breasts that have delicate fibers and little interior fat. That makes pork chops and chicken breasts prime candidates for brining. Soaking in a brine that is around 5 percent salt by weight for as little as 1 hour before grilling can make meat noticeably juicier and preserve its tenderness.

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Brine works in two ways. Salt dissolves the protein in contracting muscle filaments, making them looser and therefore more tender. It also increases the capacity of muscle cells to bond with water, causing them to absorb water from the brine, which increases their weight by as much as 10 percent. As the water infuses into the meat, any flavor components from herbs, spices, or flavorful liquids are also absorbed, making brines an effective way to season meats beneath the surface. When meat cooks, it naturally loses moisture (about 20 percent), but by bulking up the moisture in meat through brining before it goes on the grill, you can effectively cut the net loss of juices by half.

The biggest disadvantage in using a brine is that the drippings from the meat tend to be too salty to use as a base for a sauce. This is a problem only when you are grill-roasting a turkey or other large poultry for which you might want to prepare gravy. Otherwise, a separate sauce, salsa, or chutney works beautifully with brined meats.

The best meats for brining are those that tend to dry out on the grill. Lean cuts of pork, chicken, and turkey benefit greatly from brining, but so do some fattier cuts. Spareribs, for instance, which have a good amount of fat but tend to toughen during grilling, are transformed by the tenderizing effects of brine.

Since brining works from the outside in, the meat fibers closest to the surface are the ones that reap most of the benefits, and since these are the parts that tend to dry out most during cooking, even a short period of soaking can produce noticeable benefits.

Incomplete brining will give you less than optimum moisture retention, but prolonged brining can oversaturate a food with brine, especially when the muscle tissue is delicate, like that of fish. Optimal brining time depends on a number of factors, including the density of the ingredient, its size, its shape, and the strength of the brine. Use the following chart as a general guideline.

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BRINING GUIDE

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E. Marinades

Marinades are similar to brines in most ways: They are liquid, they are flavorful, and they infuse their flavors into solid ingredients by opening up tightly wound proteins. The big difference is that their active ingredient is acid, rather than salt. The acid can be almost anything—vinegar, citrus, fruit juice, wine, buttermilk, yogurt, tea, or coffee—and although each brings a different flavor to the mix, they all work in the same way.

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Keep in mind that the atoms of all substances are in flux. The formula for water is H2O, and most of the molecules in a cup of water are in that form. But at any given moment, there is a small percentage