Brining meat is a tried-and-true culinary method to ensure the juiciest, most flavorful cut. But that doesn’t meat you shouldn’t use discretion, particularly when it comes to frozen meat. As Bob Bennett, head chef of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Michigan, told Tasting Table, brining frozen pork chops is a no-go. “I think it’s pretty important to brine thawed [pork chops]. When the pork chop is frozen, it really leaves no opportunity for the brine to season the internal meat. Which is kind of the main purpose.”
When you freeze meat, or any food item for that matter, the freezing temperatures effectively solidify its water content into ice crystals. The ice crystals create a barrier for the liquid brine, preventing it from penetrating the meat which, as chef Bennett states, is the way it seasons and tenderizes it. So, if you try to brine frozen pork chops without thawing them first, you’ll end up with a slightly more seasoned exterior and a bland, unseasoned interior.
You can thaw frozen pork chops in the fridge, microwave, or even in a cold water bath. Thawing pork chops in the fridge takes between 12 and 24 hours, but they’ll stay good in the fridge for another 3 to 5 days. If you use your microwave’s defrost setting, the pork chops will take under an hour to thaw, but you’ll need to cook them immediately. Thawing pork chops in a cold water bath could also take as little as an hour, but you’ll need to wrap them in plastic or put them in a sealable bag and change the water every 20-30 minutes.
Can you brine any type of frozen meat?
Chef Bennett thinks you should thaw pork chops before brining them so that they can actually absorb the brine. Since the barrier freezing creates to brining pork chops applies to all types of meat, can you brine any type of frozen meat? Brining frozen meat, whether it’s pork chops or poultry, won’t be nearly as effective as brining thawed or fresh meat. However, some recipe developers argue that you can use the brining liquid to thaw frozen meat while infusing flavor and moisture simultaneously. Brining thawed meat may well be the preferable option, but this two-in-one method could save a little time.
If you want to wet brine frozen meat, the issues are less about what type of meat to use than about size. Smaller cuts are ideal for brining from frozen. And you can put them in cold brining liquid to thaw and marinate at the same time in the fridge. After all, a water bath is one way to thaw meat, so removing the protective plastic covering, and adding salt, spices, and perhaps some aromatics will help you kill two birds with one stone. You can use Wolfgang Ban’s basic brine as a guide.
Alternatively, you can dry brine your meat while it’s frozen to expedite the thawing process. Just as we sprinkle salt over roads after a snowstorm to melt the ice, salting frozen meat before you stick it in the fridge to thaw can reduce thawing times by at least half. You can try this hack on frozen pork chops or chicken breasts before throwing them on the grill.
