Categories: LIFESTYLE

How to Sweet Brine a Holiday Beef Brisket

Are you thinking about preparing a beef brisket for the holidays? If so, you may want to consider soaking it in a sweet brine solution for 5 to 10 days prior to cooking it. In my experience, doing so will help to make the beef brisket tender, moist and flavorful. Here’s how to do it:

Sweet Brine Supplies

In order to create a sweet brine solution, you’ll need to purchase table salt (1 cup) and brown sugar (1 cup). You’ll also need 1 gallon of water, some cheesecloth, a Jaccard meat tenderizer tool and heavy duty, re-sealable plastic bags. Keep in mind that you will need enough sweet brine solution to completely cover all sides of the beef brisket. Therefore, you’re apt to need 1 gallon of sweet brine solution for every pound of beef brisket.

Preparing the Beef Brisket

Start by cutting your beef brisket into manageable pieces. Ideally, the pieces should comfortably fit inside a large, re-sealable, plastic bag. Once that is done, use your Jaccard to puncture holes into the beef brisket. The holes will help the sweet brine solution penetrate the meat.

Preparing the Sweet Brine Solution

Afterward, grab a large stock pot and place it onto your stove top. Next, pour the water, sugar and salt into the stock pot and turn on the heat. Allow the mixture to come to a vigorous boil. Then lower the heat and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Afterward, remove the sweet brine solution from the stove top. Next, strain it through a cheese cloth and into a glass bowl. Let the sweet brine solution cool down to room temperature before attempting to use it.

Creating the Sweet Brine Bag

Continue by placing your pieces of beef brisket into re-sealable plastic bags. Then pour the sweet brine solution into the bags until the beef brisket is fully submerged. Afterward, seal the plastic bags and place them into a shallow baking pan. If you prefer, you could use a plate instead of a shallow baking pan. Personally, I like placing the fluid filled bags into a shallow baking pan just in case one of the bags springs a leak. That way the pan can catch any fluid before it has a chance to run all over the inside of my refrigerator. Of course you could also soak the brisket inside a large, covered, non-reactive bowl instead of plastic bags. The choice is yours. Once that is done, continue the job by placing the submerged beef brisket into the refrigerator.

Finishing Touches

Leave the refrigerated beef brisket soaking in the sweet brine solution for 5 to 10 days. Each day, turn the bags over and check the meat. You will want to make sure that the meat doesn’t get too mushy. Once the beef brisket is done soaking in the sweet brine solution, remove it from the refrigerator. Then submerge it into a bowl of cold water. Cover the bowl with a heavy plate and then place it back into the refrigerator for one hour. Afterward, remove the beef brisket from the refrigerator and cook it as you normally would.

Source: Personal Experience

Killeen Gonzalez has a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She is a former special events planner.