by Sara Schewe

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

On the first warm day of spring, many men and women eagerly fire up their grills and throw a few chicken breasts or pork chops over the coals. The smell of barbeque is in the air, and they are excited to sit down to their meal, only to discover the meat has completely dried out while cooking.

There is an easy solution to help prevent this disappointment: brining. Brining meat is a simple process that is especially useful for leaner meats that tend to dry out when cooking, such as poultry or pork. The simplest of brines includes two ingredients: salt and water in a general ratio of one cup of salt to one gallon of water. The salt allows the meat to absorb more water, which later helps to keep it moist. To impart more flavor and offset the taste of salt, sugar and various aromatics can be added.

Here's what you'll need to brine a 15 pound turkey:

1 large cooler

1 gallon of water

1 cup of kosher salt

3/4 c brown sugar

1 gallon of cold water with ice

1 tsp peppercorns

Optional aromatics include:

1 apple, quartered

1 medium onion, quartered

1 bulb of garlic, cut in half to expose the insides of the cloves

Sage leaves (8)

6-8 sprigs of thyme

butter or peanut oil

1. Bring the water, salt, and brown sugar to a boil in a large pot. Stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved; remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until 12-24 hours before you plan on serving the turkey.

2. 24 hours before serving the turkey, pour the brine mixture, ice water, and aromatics over the turkey in a large cooler. Be sure the turkey is completely covered with the brining solution. Refrigerate or keep in a cool place for at least 10 hours, and turn the bird over at the halfway point.

3. Remove the turkey from the brine, reserving the aromatics. Pat the turkey dry, tuck the wings under, and coat the bird with some butter or peanut oil. Stuff the cavity with the reserved aromatics.

4. Roast at 325 F (163 C) until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the breast reaches 155 degrees, about 2.5-3 hours. Tent the turkey with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes to let the juices redistribute.

For chicken breasts or pork chops, the brining process is even easier. After all, they take up much less space in your refrigerator, so you don't need a large cooler, and you don't need to plan ahead as much. You'll still need salt and water, and you'll likely want to use some sugar. Here's a simple brine to use for chicken or pork:

1/2 cup salt

1 quart water

1/4 c brown sugar

Bring the salt, water, and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Submerge the chicken breasts or pork chops into the brining solution in a large bowl. For the chicken, brine the meat for 30 to 90 minutes in the refrigerator. Because pork takes longer to absorb the salt, you'll want to brine it for about three or four hours.

At this point, you can pan-fry, bake, broil, or grill the meat as usual. Once you experience the juicier, more flavorful meat you get from brining, you'll never cook these meats without brining again.

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