This recipe should make enough brine for half a pig’s head weighing 6 pounds; half the recipe will be enough for a beef tongue weighing 3 pounds or the equivalent weight of pork or lamb tongues.
All-Purpose Brine
- Yield: 1 Gallon 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
8 oz. Coarse Sea Salt
1 c. Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Toasted Coriander Seeds, crushed
1 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns, crushed
1/2 tsp. Allspice Berries, crushed
1/2 tsp. Juniper Berries, crushed
4 Cloves Garlic, crushed
4 Large Sprigs Fresh Thyme
4 Fresh Bay Leaves
1 gallon Water
Instructions
- Place the salt, sugar, coriander, peppercorns, allspice, juniper, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves in a saucepan.
- Add 8 cups of water, then place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Pour into a glass container, add the remaining water and leave to cool completely.
- Now the brine is ready to use. Thoroughly rinse the odd bit to be brined, pat dry, and place in the brine following the recipe instructions.
Notes
See information about brining here.
The information and recipe, contained within, is excerpted from Odd Bits by Jennifer McLagan and can be purchased here.