Butt Brine Question

hayhonker

My Thermapen tells me that the fridge is 37 degrees.
Any reason why I shouldn't brine a pork picnic for a week at that temp?
I have zero experience with brines. I found a good post about one where the cook brined for 48 hours yet the brine only got through about an inch and a half of pork.
I know veggies dry out if brined too long but what about a nice hunk o' piggy?
Thankies!

thirdeye

hayhonker,[p]Here is a cut and paste from the Bill Wise online BGE cookbook, which is an excellent resource manual. It has a huge section on brining and flavor brining and explains all the basics. The link below will take you to WessB's site. Click on the cook section to download it and several others.[p]~thirdeye~[p]Basic Meat Brine
This much brine will take care of a 3 or 4 pound piece of pork loin, a chicken (or chicken pieces),
a 3 or 4 pound beef, lamb or veal roast. How long to leave the meats in the brine? Depends. [p]For poultry, at least 24 hours. Up to about 36 hours. Roasts benefit from 3 days or more.[p]Ingredients:
1 qt water
4 TBS sugar
3 TBS kosher salt
1 TBS black pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp oregano
4-5 bay leaves, crumbled
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 TBS vinegar
Directions:
Heat the water and add the remaining ingredients.
Bring to a low simmer, stir a few times and remove from the heat.
Let cool.
That's the brine. How to use it? One very easy way is a gallon freezer bag. Put the meat in the bag and
pour the cooled brine over it. Squeeze out much of the air, put the bag in a container and refrigerate.
Just in case of leaks.[p]Variations: Well, for the basic brine, you can add or subtract any flavorings you want. The amounts of
water, salt and sugar should remain fairly constant, but the other ingredients are variable. For duck,
goose and other oily birds, add 2 tablespoons ground ginger, a cup of soy sauce and 1/4 cup orange
juice concentrate. Stick the duck all over with a fork and brine for 3 or 4 days. Roast in a 400 oven for
about an hour.[p]Chicken pieces benefit from the juice of a lemon and a tablespoon of rubbed sage added to the brine.[p]Bill Wise

[ul][li]WessB[/ul]