GatorNutz

Recipes 

Hello, first time poster. I'm new to brewing, but am a seasoned griller/smoker (pardon the pun).

Anyway, I smoke a lot of pork shoulders (Boston Butt) and typically brine them with Molasses and Pickling Salt. Well, I finished my 2nd homebrew yesterday (A New Belgium Fat Tire clone...one of my favorite beers and not available in Georgia) which used Alexander's Pale LME, and I thought, "hmm, I wonder what would happen if I used LME for my brine instead of Molasses."

So, has anyone out there used LME in a brine? If so, how is it? I'm thinking about using an Alexander's "Kicker" of Pale LME (1.4lbs) for a 6-8lb shoulder. Possibly trying some Dark Belgian Candi Syrup as well.

Thanks!

Matt_G

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Hey, did you ever try this?

I had the same Idea myself and just wondering how it might work.

Melana

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The molasses might impart a more complex flavor to the brine vs. LME

GatorNutz

Recipes 

I did, and it turned out very well. I could definitely catch a hint of malt flavor in the outer surface areas of the smoked shoulder, which was my goal (I prefer Malt over all other things ). I would recommend using a darker malt extract (DME if necessary). The Pale worked well, but I think the dark may have more complexity.

Molasses works well too, and is probably more "complex", but I like Malt.

One thing...dry to let the shoulder dry out for about an hour or two after removing it from the brine. I found this allows the shoulder to accept more smoke flavor.

Matt_G

Recipes 

Thanks for the responses.

Molasses is a great flavor in brines (alone or in brown sugar), but the flavor can get little muddy or overpowering too.

I'll try DME when I get a chance.