Dry vs Wet Brining?

[jpowell]

I've been using DM's wet brine recipes for over a year now with great results. However, I was reading that the guys at amazingribs discourage wet brining in favor of dry brining http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/dry_brining.html
I'll try the dry brine in the near future, but was curious if any of you have done any dry vs wet brine testing? I would miss the faux smoke ring though ;-)

 

[santange11]

I am curious how this would turn out for larger cuts of meat like a full pork butt or brisket. It works great for small cuts, like chicken parts or a steak, and it the way I usually bribe those things. The chicken always comes out jucy be it pan fried or baked.

 

[curegeorg]

I only dry brine my briskets.  It's great and easy.  Did I say it's great and easy, yep because you are salting based on weight, so you can't over salt even if you let it go a bit longer cause you are too busy to cook it!  Equilibrium baby.  Also, I don't have room for a container large enough to wet brine a packer brisket.  I use .5tsp of coarse Kosher salt per lb of trimmed brisket.  Let it sit in fridge with loose cling wrap on it for about 2 days (til liquid reabsorbs) then you do whatever you want to it but don't add any additional salt!

Ironically I wet brine chicken because it's faster and I want the brine flavoring to go into the meat more.  On brisket I just dry brine and "rub" with a 3 pepper mix, no extra flavors.  Chicken, to me, needs every bit of help it can get! 

 

[es1025]

i have dry brined port butts and ribs using meathead's recipe and rub.  I typically put the rub on overnight for all pork/beef products. Wrap in plastic wrap put in fridge and let the magic happen.  I may re-apply the rub lightly. I prefer the dry brine over wet brine.  The only wet brine is poultry.

 

[SconnieQ]

No need to miss the faux smoke ring, but you'd need to rinse off the dry brine. Right before you are ready to smoke, rinse off the dry brine, apply a dusting of Morton Tender Quick. Allow to sit for 30-45 minutes. Rinse off the Tender Quick. Apply your binder/rub, and into the smoker.

Certainly leaving the dry brine on is more convenient, but there really is no down-side to rinsing it off once it's done it's job, if you want the faux smoke ring.