BBQ Recipes: Vanilla Brine

I found this recipe over at Matt Bites. It sounds very intriguing....

Vanilla Brine for Pork

Vanilla? Yes. Vanilla. It imparts a subtle intriguing flavor on the pork. This recipe comes from The Complete Meat Cookbook by Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly.

Ingredients

• 9 cups hot water
• 2-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
• 6 (1-1/4-inch to 1-1/2-inch thick) center-cut loin pork chops
• thermometer

Method
Stir the hot water, vanilla, sugar, and salt together until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Add the black pepper. Cool to below 45 degrees F. in the refrigerator.

Trim any excess external fat from the meat. Submerge the pork in the brine in a large bowl or small crock. Make sure the meat stays under the surface during curing by using a heavy plate to weight it down. Refrigerate the pork in the cure. The chops should take 4 to 6 hours in the brine.

To test flavor of brined pork, cut a small piece off the meat, pat it dry and pan-fry it. If the meat is sufficiently flavorful, remove it from the brine, let it come to room temperature and grill. If not, leave it in the brine and test again later.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings