Star Anise Brine Recipe (2024)

I made the smothered chops using this brine. They were incredible! Falling off the bone, melt in your mouth tender. I've made a lot of pork and I'm convinced it was this brine. I made short work of the brine by dissolving the salt and sugar in a quart of hot water, then steeped the anise in it (with a lid on it to keep in essential oils) for 20 minutes. Top it off with ice and cold water to make a gallon. Instantly cold and ready for your pork! I brined them for a good 24 hours.

Since I cook for only two people I developed my own recipe/technique for this brine. It makes 1 quart.1. Dissolve 1/4c EACH brown sugar and kosher salt in 2c boiling water.2. Add 1 bay leaf and 1/2 star anise (cut with kitchen shears).3. Cover and let cool overnight.4. Pour the concentrate into a resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add 2c cold water and the meat. Refrigerate 12 hours max before cooking.Refrain from adding salt when preparing a recipe that doesn’t specify brining.

I've brined a lot of pork with a lot of different brines, but this is absolutely the best pork brine I've ever tasted. I never would have thought to use anise, but it gives a very fresh, fruity (but not sweet) flavor to pork. It adds a sort of Asian hint.

Since I cook for only two people I developed my own recipe/technique for this brine. It makes 1 quart. 1. Dissolve 1/4c EACH brown sugar and kosher salt in 2c boiling water. 2. Add 1 bay leaf and 1/2 star anise (cut with kitchen shears). 3. Cover and let cool overnight. 4. Pour the concentrate into a resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add 2c cold water and the meat. Refrigerate 12 hours max before cooking.

To hasten cooling, reduce the amount of water in the brine prior to heating. Once sugar and salt are dissolved, add ice.

See accompanying photograph - 2 "stars."

I’ve hunted with Jesse and have his book. His brine recipe calls for 6 ounces of kosher salt, not the 8 ounces listed here. No wonder it seems too salty.

The best pork brine ever. I haven't tried it with pork chops yet, but I've used it with pork tenderloin many, many times (I cut back on the salt a bit). Then I rub the tenderloins with a mixture of chile powder, fresh or powdered garlic, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Grilled or roasted, it's outrageously good. My 3 and 5 yo have declared it their "favorite meat."

Kosher salt is fluffier than regular table salt. A cup of table salt will be about twice as much as kosher salt, by weight.

What do you mean by a "pod" of star anise? Anise comes in stars made up of seeds attached at an axis. Do you mean one star? or one of the seeds?

NYT Notes: Jesse's brine recipe calls for 6 ounces of kosher salt, not the 8 ounces listed here. No wonder it seems too salty.To hasten cooling, reduce the amount of water in the brine prior to heating. Once sugar and salt are dissolved, add ice.

I would tell them to get over it and enjoy.

Don't let the mention of anise scare you....this brine is amazing. Easily the best brine I've tried for pork, and I've tried a lot. I brined for 24 hours on my first try, and the grilled chops turned out too salty, albeit still delicious. The second time I brined for just 10 hours and it was perfect. My picky 14 year old son has not stopped talking about those pork chops....so juicy and fragrant.

This definitely did not leave the pork chops overly salty and they were fantastically tender. I didn't sense the flavor notes of the brine in the final dish however--the smothered pork chops.

Awesome brine. I also add 2/3 cup of bourbon, just enough to come through without overpowering the anise. Recipe is definitely a keeper.

Excellent! If you’re not a fan of star anise, have no fear. When all is said and done, it’s just a subtle background flavor that lifts the recipe without being overbearing.

I've made it exactly as written, but my favorite version includes 1 pork rack from Costco that I cut into bone-in pork chops and replacing some of the stock with mushroom-infused broth and white wine (I use ~2 cups of chicken broth to rehydrate morels or other mushrooms and maybe 1 cup of white wine - ratios are flexible).Use Diamond Kosher salt in the brine (if using Mortons Coarse Kosher salt only use 3/4 cup or less & go lighter when salting the onions).

I made the smothered chops using this brine. They were incredible! Falling off the bone, melt in your mouth tender. I've made a lot of pork and I'm convinced it was this brine. I made short work of the brine by dissolving the salt and sugar in a quart of hot water, then steeped the anise in it (with a lid on it to keep in essential oils) for 20 minutes. Top it off with ice and cold water to make a gallon. Instantly cold and ready for your pork! I brined them for a good 24 hours.

Wait, why am I using kosher salt for a pork marinade?

This is a LOT of brine. I had wished the NYT had indicated approximately how much meat this brines. I probably could have quartered the recipe. I suppose it might be enough if you're brining a turkey

Highly recommend this brine! Haven’t made pork chops in decades because they never seem as good as those from our favorite restaurants -but our pork chops brined in this were fabulous. Combined the chops with David Tanis’s recipe with fennel. I thought our chops were a bit salty after brining for about 8 hours. Next time, I’ll reduce the salt a bit more.

What else would benefit from a nice long soak in this brine?

I only needed 1 quart of brine to cover 5 chops in a 9.5x13” glass baking dish.

Brined Justin’s thick pork chops for 36 hours. While a bit salty still tasty.

Too salty and not enough anise flavour. Try halving the salt and more than doubling the anise.

For those who want to know - the sugar is used to increase the osmotic pressure of the brine, so the salt can more easily and completely infuse into the meat without getting too salty (since "salty" is a personal taste, for those who think these chops are too salty, just use proportionately less sugar and salt in the brine).

Just thought I'd mention that I used this to brine three chickens for about eight hours before putting them on the rotisserie over my grill , with great results.

Since I cook for only two people I developed my own recipe/technique for this brine. It makes 1 quart. 1. Dissolve 1/4c EACH brown sugar and kosher salt in 2c boiling water. 2. Add 1 bay leaf and 1/2 star anise (cut with kitchen shears). 3. Cover and let cool overnight. 4. Pour the concentrate into a resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add 2c cold water and the meat. Refrigerate 12 hours max before cooking.

Kosher salt is fluffier than regular table salt. A cup of table salt will be about twice as much as kosher salt, by weight.

NYT Notes: Jesse's brine recipe calls for 6 ounces of kosher salt, not the 8 ounces listed here. No wonder it seems too salty.To hasten cooling, reduce the amount of water in the brine prior to heating. Once sugar and salt are dissolved, add ice.