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Brine Chicken

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Engine6
Engine6 Posts: 32
in Forum List
I usually just marinade my chicken before I throw them on the Egg. Is brining worth the extra time? Thx 

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  • XLentEGG
    XLentEGG Posts: 436
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    The reason that I brine my chicken is because I tend to cook chicken to a very well done state to avoid anything that may be too red inside. Brining helps keep it moist when cooked that much . I would like to think that it may help bleed out the pieces some also .
    More meat please !! :-)
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  • ColtsFan
    ColtsFan Posts: 6,342
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    Two things I always brine... Chicken and pork chops. It just makes it better. Please note, already injected chicken can result in saltiness, I try to avoid buying that 
    ~ John - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven, King Disc 
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

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  • MeTed
    MeTed Posts: 800
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    @XLentEGG if you add 1 teaspoon of pink curing salt to 1 gallon of your brine it will draw that red myoglobin out of the bones during the brine and you will not get those nasty red spots.
    Belleville, Michigan

    Just burnin lump in Sumpter
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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
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    Engine6 said:
    I usually just marinade my chicken before I throw them on the Egg. Is brining worth the extra time? Thx 

    How long are you marinading to get the flavor you want.  When I have the time I brine my chicken for 24 hours.  The mix I use is a couple whole chickens is a gallon of water, 1 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 cup of kosher salt and my choice of BBQ rub.  Mix well and place in a Ziplock or sealed container.  If you are just doing a few pieces you can cut the recipe in half or a quarter.  It make flavor all the way through that way.


    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
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    I would do one or the other not both, seems like overkill imho 
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
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  • Engine6
    Engine6 Posts: 32
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    Thx all! I will try that! Hey Lade...does a whole chicken fit in a gallon bag?
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  • tikigriller
    tikigriller Posts: 1,389
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    Spatchcock......I have done a few whole chickens now, and personally, with doing it spatchcocked, I have not felt the need to brine.   Chicken came out extremely juicy still.   It will ultimately be your own preference.  try it...you may like it better, and you may not see enough of a difference to do the brine.

    How special.....my first chance to give my own personal experience....based on both when I asked the question of the board, and my own actual experience.

    here is a link to when I asked...there is a ton of good responses in there.

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2027079#Comment_2027079


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  • Engine6
    Engine6 Posts: 32
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    Thx Tiki
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  • OhioEgger
    OhioEgger Posts: 903
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    Chicken parts I always brine. They need it.
    Whole chicken I don't bother, the difference is slight.
    Cincinnati, Ohio. Large BGE since 2011. Still learning.
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    MeTed said:
    @XLentEGG if you add 1 teaspoon of pink curing salt to 1 gallon of your brine it will draw that red myoglobin out of the bones during the brine and you will not get those nasty red spots.
    this doesn't make sense to me.  can you explain how this works?

    in order to get to the joints, you'd need to let the chicken sit in the pickle/cure for a good long while.  days.  unless you are injecting along the bone. the nitrite isn't going to make it to the joints of the thigh, for example, during a quick brine

    this may be a reference to injecting the cure along the joints of a large ham, to avoid bone taint, which is common for large hams.  this gets the cure to the bone quickly, rather than the bone having a chance to "taint" the meat during the long wait for the cure to make its way through the meat to the bone

    nitrite is always going to bind to any myoglobin and actually make the meat pinker.  it's why ham is pink, actually, as opposed to white and grey like a green ham.  it doesn't "draw" anything anywhere.  or bleach it in any way

    something feels "wive's tale-ish" about this , but if someone can explain exactly what is happening (as opposed to "a guy told me..." :) ) i'd love to understand it
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  • Engine6
    Engine6 Posts: 32
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    Ok Darryl, you're talking waaay over my head...haha
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