I actually do have some pink pickling salt, as well as some brand new, commercial grade plastic food bins to do the pickling in. Got them at my favorite restaurant supply store.
I’m doing 15-20lbs total (using the commercial CB) for St. Patrick’s Day, to be divided between 5 households. After that, I’ll start experimenting with the brines. The only thing I don’t have is a decent gin.
They don’t know it yet, but I’m going to ask my north side neighbors to be part of my taste-testing team. The father is a big fan of my CB, the mother recently launched her commercial pie baking company, and they have 2 growing boys to feed.
The one thing I’m doing for certain in the recipe development process is I’m going to use Shiner Bock as the braising beer for each test. While I’ve found that I get great results regardless of the beers I’ve used, there’s always noticeable differences. My Kirin, Shiner Blonde and Blue Moon ones have a lighter, more herbal overall flavor, while the darker beers tend to elevate the beefy flavors.
After I settle on a brine recipe, I might do a secondary round of tests with one of the lighter flavored beers.
