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Chicken soaked in lemon juice

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gdenby
gdenby Posts: 6,239
in EggHead Forum
Maybe 2 weeks ago, @RRP posted a beautiful pic of a Cornish hen roasted to deep red-black color.  Been messing around trying for something similar. Tried brined, fridge dried, Ragin' River rubbed, and cooked around 375 - 400.  Nothing near as nice as what @RRP showed. I've tried many variations, and the results have been all over the place as far as color and crispy.

Along the way, I tried soaking the fowl in fresh lemon juice. Like what I tasted. May not make the most beautiful crusty skin, but it makes really tasty  meat.



Some thighs soaked in lemon juice for about an 90 min. Cooked raised, direct, 380 - 410F  till internal at least 180. Sauced w. a 50/50 mix of honey and butter, and a good bit of cayenne. Cooked skin side down 5 - 10 minutes. Pic after flipping. Reasonably crisp.

The big plus, they were suffused w. lemon flavor, and more tender and moist than another batch done right after that were only rubbed.

If you care to, a soak in lemon juice appears to an easy way to infuse flavor.
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,897
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    Looks mighty tasty from where I sit! BTW there is one slight difference and I wonder if it makes any difference. You used freshly squeezed lemon, but I used RealLemon. The label discloses 4 sodium "somethings" which are preservatives, but I wonder if their presence has anything to do with the difference. OTOH subsequent posters dismissed my use of lemon juice as being a mere wetting agent no different than water on my bird dried for several hours. Thanks for your eggperimenting though! 
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    Thx. I didn't use RealLemon. Did try variants. No juice. No rub except sugar. No sugar rubs. Extra salt. Just plain skin w. baking soda. Lots of smoke wood. Just a touch. None got anywhere close to that deep mahogany crustiness your bird had. Surprisingly, the closest was using a rub from Penzy's, "Northwoods," w/o any sugar at all, unlike Ragin River w. is clearly sweet, and a bit of pecan wood.



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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,897
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    Interesting! I have a bottle of that Northwoods and only used it once - I think on fish and I was "under-whelmed". Guess I have another try in the future! 
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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