Tried a slow oven dry brine on pork shoulder and it was night and day

I usually just salt my pork shoulder right before smoking, but my buddy told me to dry brine it uncovered in the fridge for 18 hours. The bark came out way crispier and the meat was juicier all the way through. Has anyone else tried a long dry brine on tough cuts like this and noticed a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_logan27d ago

Night and day" is a stretch, I've done both and barely noticed a difference.

victorclark27d ago

Honestly @the_logan I think a lot of it comes down to the exact surface prep. I tried it on a 1970s oak table that had like five layers of old varnish and the gel stripper barely touched it after a full hour. Switched to the liquid stuff with a metal scraper and it came off in patches in ten minutes. But on a cheap pine shelf from Target I did last year, the gel worked great and the liquid just dried out too fast to be useful. So it really depends what you're working on more than anything else.

the_morgan27d ago

Oh man @the_logan I gotta disagree with you there! The longer dry brine really changes things on something fatty like a pork shoulder. I used to be in your camp, thought it was all hype, but then I did a side by side last summer. The one that sat uncovered in the fridge for a full 24 hours had this deep, salty crust that was almost like a crackling, while the one I just salted and threw on came out good but the bark was way softer and less flavorful. The interior moisture difference was subtle but real too, the dry brined one didn't dry out as fast on the cooler part of the smoker. Next time try pushing it to 24 hours, the extra time lets the salt really work deeper into the meat.