Cornish Hens: Work -In-Progress

wdan

I've got 6 Cornish game hens thawing out in the fridge. 22oz each,no giblets, Tyson.[p]I made a brine tonight:
2 Tbl Butter
2 Tbl EVOO
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 med onion, chopped[p]Sweat until onion is clear. Then add;
1 tsp blk peppercorns
1 Tbl whole allspice berries
1 tsp dried tarragon
Sweat them all a bit.[p]Add in:
2, 12oz. cans Guava necter + enough water to make 1 gallon total.[p]Bring all to simmer. Add:
1 Orange, halved, juice squeezed into pot, both halves throwed in too.
2 Tbl candied ginger[p]Bring all back up to simmer. Stir in and dissolve:
1c. brown sugar
1c. kosher salt[p]Cover, simmer 20 minutes.
Chill. For brine use, add up to 1 gallon more of ice water to desired vessel depth.[p]Currently, I'm chilling the base brine "broth." Tomorrow I will add the extra gallon of water when I actually put in the hens for a 3-hour bath before their sauna experience. [p]

Unknown

WDAN,[p]Be careful with adding more liquid as if the ratio of salt to water is more than about one cup of salt to each gallon of liquid, it won't brine. You now have a marinade. [p]Dave

Nature Boy

Howdy Dave!
Do you happen to know what that point is of salt to water to make it a brine? Been using less than a cup (2/3) and getting good results... but I am not sure of the actual point that it becomes a brine. I wonder when a marinade becomes a brine? Will 1/2 cup of salt and a longer soak actually get the osmosis thang goin?? Or do you need a full cup? If you add sugar does it change things?[p]Just curious. Been wondering about that.[p]Watchin any football today? Do or die for the Redskins. Rodney is going to be in the red coca cola seats behind one of the benches on the field. He won tickets from a radio contest! If you get the KC game, keep your eye out for him. The skins will be out in St Louis!
Cheers
Chris

Unknown

Nature Boy,[p]You sure have a lot of nerve asking any Hoosier if they are watching any football today. COLTS!!![p]I didn't see this note early enough to watch for Rodney but I did watch some of that game. [p]There are a many recipes for brinning and probably at least 75% of them will call for the ratio of 1 cup of salt to one gallon of water as this ratio works in every case but I am sure using a little more or less shouldn't have much effect on the outcome. However, I don't think any recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of salt (even table salt) will work very well with one gallon of water or other liquid. Adding any sweetner should't change anything with the brine. [p]I would think if you are getting good results with what you are doing, I sure wouldn't change anything other than the sugar if you want to try something diffferent. You might want to give real maple syrup or some good clover honey a try for the sweetner but add it to the brine on the cool down when the temp is under about 150 degrees. [p]Dave[p][p]