Mastering Rubs and Brines

In the search for heightened flavor without fat, American chefs have discovered rubs and brines. Home cooks can adopt these savvy seasoning techniques, too. Both methods make meat and fish more savory, and in the case of brining, more juicy and tender.

A rub is a dry seasoning made from salt, ground spices and herbs. A lot of rubs contain sugar and dry seasonings like onion and garlic powder. The famous, fiery Jamaican jerk seasoning probably led the way in the rub renaissance, but specialty food shops now offer an array of rubs that can make anyone into a barbecue master.

Especially if it contains coarsely cracked spices, a rub can give an appealing crust to chops, steaks, burgers, chicken breasts and fish fillets. For slow-cooked cuts, like brisket and spareribs, that crusty surface contrasts appetizingly with the soft, succulent meat. Sugar in the rub also promotes good surface browning through caramelization.

You can apply a rub just before cooking or several hours ahead. It doesn’t really matter. Even with more time, the rub won’t penetrate much below the surface. Be careful when grilling meats or fish that have been coated with a rub as the spices and sugar can burn easily. Cook them over a slower fire than normal, or farther away from the fire.

A brine is the good cook’s answer to the leanness of so much modern meat—especially pork. Lean meats can dry out on the grill or in the oven, and they overcook easily. Brining helps prevent that by infusing them with moisture. That’s why lean cuts like pork tenderloin, pork chops, and chicken and turkey breasts benefit so greatly from brining. But even whole chickens and fattier cuts like pork shoulder and spareribs get a seasoning lift from this treatment.

A brine is a mixture of salt dissolved in water, typically with seasonings added. For light brining of most foods, the salt should be three to five percent of the water, by weight. (Three percent would be equivalent to 2 tablespoons salt in 1 quart of water.) Brines often include sugar or honey and can also include dried herbs such as thyme; spices such as juniper, peppercorns, clove and cinnamon; and aromatics such as onion and garlic.

As the brine enters the meat or fish, it carries the flavor of the seasonings with it, so brined meat is seasoned all the way through, not just on the surface. This process takes time—more for thick pieces like a whole chicken than for thin cuts like boneless chicken breast. You can definitely over-brine foods, causing the muscle fiber to break down, so follow package directions or recipes carefully. A boneless chicken breast benefits from as little as an hour in a brine, whereas a whole 20-pound turkey can spend a couple of days.

You won’t believe how much juicier a pork chop will be after spending a few hours in a brine. The technique works like magic. One note of caution: the drippings from brined and roasted meats can be salty, so be careful about using them in a sauce or gravy.