Brining meat - mainly whole chicken

[Cathy_H]

Bought a Ronco rotisserie...... Looking at brining a whole chicken before cooking it. Anyone here brine their meats before they cook? Have done some internet reading & see the main solution is kosher salt, water, sugar, spices optional. Seems if your solution is too strong, the end result will be salty. Anyone have any personal experiences on what not to do or what works best for you. Seems the meat is really tender if done correctly.

 

[keeperofthehorses]

I brine all chicken now (whole, cut and fillets), and it makes a world of difference. So tender and moist... MMMMM.... I just use a really giant glass mixing bowl (I've heard that plastic or metal are no-no's) and put the chicken in a mixture of kosher salt and cold water (about 1 cup to 1+ gallon) and put it in the fridge (sometimes for 20 minutes, sometimes longer, sometimes for a really long time if I forget what I'm doing). Basically I soak it until the fat turns 'pretty'. I do rinse it off afterward (we are on a low-sodium diet around here) and rub it with a salt-free seasoning called "Chef Shake". I started doing this after seeing it on one of the cooking shows, I think Ming, but I can't remember.

My mom got a brined and seasoned turkey for thanksgiving and WOW! It was great!

 

[nootka]

I have done this with turkeys and it's GREAT.

Make sure that your chicken is completely immersed in the brine solution and refrigerated.

I would look up recipes/brine mixtures for the size of chicken you are going to use and go with that for starters. We have never had one be too salty.

Make sure to also use the correct type of salt as not all salt is the same, and some have more salty flavor if that makes sense.

We have used a couple different brines and I like them all for different reasons.

Food Network is a great place to look, first off. I think Alton Brown and Emeril both have great brine recipes.

My husband brines the salmon he smokes, and he learned from an old guy he used to work for that the right amount of salt was when an uncooked egg would float in it. It works for that use, not sure about others....

Good luck!

Liz M.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

Cathy,

Long ago, my grandmother soaked all chickens in brine. Any wild game such as squirrels, rabbits, fish, and etc. also soaked. I used to do the same when I was a younger housekeeper, but have failed to do it lately. Her reasoning was that it made the meat more tender, and took out the "bad" flavors. I know that part of the reason I liked doing it was that the brine soak kept my hands from smelling like the chicken. She just used a big bowl, put in water, sometimes ice, and salt. Couldn't begin to tell you how much, but we never had salty tasting meat. When I do it, I just guess at the salt.

 

[hhpminis]

I made the best turkey this year. The whole family claimed it was the best they had ever had as well. My brine had a different ingredient (ginger) and it gave the meat a wonderful subtle flavor. I did rinse the bird by the way before cooking it. Here is the brine recipe It is an Alton Brown recipe.

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 gallon vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1/2 tablespoon allspice berries

1/2 tablespoon candied ginger

1 gallon iced water

Then I stuffed the cavity with

1 red apple, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

4 sprigs rosemary

6 leaves sage

Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

 

[justaboutgeese]

Brining used to be a nesessity when meats were smoked for preservation. After brining they were set in the smoke at temps of less than 140 degrees F. The low temps made the brining necessary to prevent bacteria. These days brining is done more as a marinade just for the flavor as the cooking temps are high enough to kill the bacteria. Trivia from the back of my muddled brain.

 

[Cathy_H]

Thanks for all of the replies. I found several recipes on the web but as usual which one do you choose.

Seems I have put my big pot in the barn (inside of a trash bag) because of lack of space in the kitchen. Guess I will just throw this bird on my new Ronco rotisserie. I should find my pot by spring

......................... Annette I may try your recipe when I find my pot.

 

[hhpminis]

I used a plastic bucket with a lid that I asked for at the bakery at the local graocery store. They get frosting in them and they work great. I know some said not to use plastic but my recipe actually said to use a bucket so plastic must be OK.

When you are done you can use it for a water bucket in the barn!

 

[Sue_C.]

I get the 5 gallon buckets left over from my friend's restaurant; the ones that the oil comes in. As it is food grade plastic, I don't think it matters. I have corned beef and pork in them, with no problems, so I think it would work for this. I am going to have to give this a try...I think it would fit in the spare fridge in the basement.

 

[Cathy_H]

Well the chicken is brining. It fit into my new oval crock pot.................. If the bucket had food in it to begin with then it should be safe for brining as instructions say food grade plastic. Can also use big plastic bags (food grade)........... Companies a coming so I hope I didn't ruin the bird.