Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
The reason I brine poultry
Comments
-
RRP,RRP said:JRWhitee said:We did the gargle with salt water too, I am from Rockford maybe it is an illinois thing.
LOL - could be! Born in Iowa, moved to Missouri and lost my first set of teeth in both states!I'm from Missouri and I remember doing the same thing when I lost a tooth.Now I have only brined one bird and I did like the different flavor profile from not doing it. Next time I may add some wine or port for even more flavor. I may doing some this weekend, so I will let you know how it goes again. Good topic.XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas GrillKansas City, Mo. -
+1 on brining. Always. For flavor, juiciness and more leeway on the cook.
In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating -
I have a question about brining. Does it have to be cooked to a boil and simmered first? Many of APL's recipes call for making a simple brine but he does not include the boil and simmer part... I thought the boiling/simmering creates a chemical change that is needed for the brine...Southlake, TX and Cowhouse Creek - King, TX. 2 Large, 1 Small and a lot of Eggcessories.
-
I think the best way to improve the flavor of chicken is stop buying & cooking breast meat.. Thighs, legs and wings have good flavor without brining. And you save a lot of money as a bonus.
-
I have a complex brine recipe from John Ash that we like for Thanksgiving turkey that has to be boiled, but me personally I never boil my routine kosher salt brines.smbishop said:I have a question about brining. Does it have to be cooked to a boil and simmered first? Many of APL's recipes call for making a simple brine but he does not include the boil and simmer part... I thought the boiling/simmering creates a chemical change that is needed for the brine...Re-gasketing America one yard at a time. -
I think boiling and simmering is to dissolve the salt and sugar more than anything.
Duncan, SC -
I don't boil my brine. All you need to do is stir the salt (and whatever else you are using) into cold water until disolved.LBGE, Marietta, GA
-
+1 and distribute the added flavorings evenly too.Mross said:I think boiling and simmering is to dissolve the salt and sugar more than anything.Tony in Brentwood, TN.
Medium BGE, New Braunfels off-set smoker, 3-burner Charbroiler gasser, mainly used for Eggcessory storage, old electric upright now used for Amaz-N-Smoker.
"I like cooking with wine - sometimes I put it in the food." - W. C. Fields
-
what is the effect of the clean water soak?Grillmagic said:I always brine pork chops, pork loins and roasts and spatched chicken and turkey, I typically brine for 8 to 24 hours. I also do a rinse/soak after I brine, I generally rinse the protein and re submerge in clean water for 30 minutes. It's extra work but it works for me and always taste great.
Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD. -
They are also higher in saturated fat and sodium if that matters to you. I never brine chicken (or anything else) and my chicken, breasts and all, tastes great. As long as it is seasoned well and is not overcooked. In fact, breast meat is my favorite part! Except maybe the liver!Cowdogs said:I think the best way to improve the flavor of chicken is stop buying & cooking breast meat.. Thighs, legs and wings have good flavor without brining. And you save a lot of money as a bonus.To each his own.I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
Tony in Brentwood, TN.
Medium BGE, New Braunfels off-set smoker, 3-burner Charbroiler gasser, mainly used for Eggcessory storage, old electric upright now used for Amaz-N-Smoker.
"I like cooking with wine - sometimes I put it in the food." - W. C. Fields
-
Especially chicken! We are in the minority though.HDumptyEsq said:I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
-
Anyone here try the dry-brine?I think it trumps traditional brines for taste, but that's all subjective.
New Brunswick, Canada
-
A local steak and seafood restaurant of some renown (Ced-Rel) serves breaded deep fried chicken livers on their appetizer tray. Very mild flavor and there is often a competition to get them before others.
A poor widows son.
See der Rabbits, Iowa -
Sea salt is all salt but all salt isn't sea salt.tarheelmatt said:
Isn't all salt, sea salt in reality?nolaegghead said:5-7% salt, half that in sugar. Generally 5% but if you want a quick brine closer to 7% or more. Regular salt - sodium chloride. Sea salt is a waste of money.
Sea salt is mostly sodium chloride but it has a myriad of other salts that you don't need, and it costs more than pure salt.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
And if you're watching your sodium intake, it helps not at all. Sodium is sodium.nolaegghead said:
Sea salt is all salt but all salt isn't sea salt.tarheelmatt said:
Isn't all salt, sea salt in reality?nolaegghead said:5-7% salt, half that in sugar. Generally 5% but if you want a quick brine closer to 7% or more. Regular salt - sodium chloride. Sea salt is a waste of money.
Sea salt is mostly sodium chloride but it has a myriad of other salts that you don't need, and it costs more than pure salt.I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
what is the effect of the clean water soak?Ragtop99 said:Grillmagic said:I always brine pork chops, pork loins and roasts and spatched chicken and turkey, I typically brine for 8 to 24 hours. I also do a rinse/soak after I brine, I generally rinse the protein and re submerge in clean water for 30 minutes. It's extra work but it works for me and always taste great.
I seen Alton Brown do it on TV and he said it was to assure that it rinsed away any chance of it being too salty, I have done it this way ever since and never had a salty after taste. Give it a try, I'm brining two Turkey thighs for tonight right now.
Charlotte, Michigan XL BGE -
I brined my liver last weekend. ..Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN
-
I think pickling is different than brining. If you were drinking salty Margaritas or Bud Light with Lime, then you were brining. Drinking your usual beverages is pickling.henapple said:I brined my liver last weekend. ..
Flint, Michigan -
The roast chickens from SAMs club are some of the most flavorful birds I have ever had, and they brine. I wish I knew their recipe.
-
I brine my chicken with a kosher salt/buttermilk/herb mixture. No water. Comes out juicy and with a great flavor.
-
Awesome post @ rrp I agree with you 100%.
-
I do the same salt thing with freshly butchered alligators. Meat cut from the carcass is placed in a cooler and layered with salt and ice. When the cooler is full it is tapped off with water and the lid closed. Each day the water is drained and fresh ice and water is added. After 2 or 3 days the meat is trimmed and packaged for freezing.RRP said:I know this subject may seem out of season when most eggers are discussing whether to brine or not, but I wanted to bring up why I brine. Fact of the matter I never heard either my Grandmother nor my Mother ever use the word brine. Just the same I grew with soaking raw poultry in a salty solution for no less than 24 hours. The reason I was told - was to draw the remaining blood out of the dressed bird. Granted, as a kid we ate fresh killed yard birds so maybe it is more necessary then, but even last Saturday when I cut open the previously frozen Cornish Game Hens I wasn't surprised when I saw the residual blood, and residual red gut traces inside. Once brined those parts and traces have become the pink in the brine I throw out and rinse off. Guess I will always brine - it's just the way I was brought up!
-
I posted the same question on greeneggers.com where I have been a member for 14 years now. This reply made a bunch of sense to me from "Austin Egger" whose opinion I respect. I hope I didn't PYO, Joan for carrying this over here. Joan posted...I have read a few Posters (at the Ag School) dealing with this issue.
The current theory is chickens are being slaughtered at a very young age and their bones have not had time to ossify completely. The heat from cooking forces the blood out of the bone and into the meat, ergo, blood is seen in the cooked-to-temp meat.
The salt in the brine breaks down the red blood cells resulting in the pink color seen in the brine. The end result is you will not see the traces of blood in the cooked chicken.
Why didn't we see that in the yard chickens grandma fed us? My guess is we ate yard hens that had a chance to run around and harden their bones. That is my theory until a better Poster comes along.
Joan
Austin TXRe-gasketing America one yard at a time. -
@CarolinaCrazy,CarolinaCrazy said:
Through the wonderful power of osmosis, the brining solution is drawn into meat, replacing the water with salt water. It makes the meat jucier, and distributes salt all the way thru. It is a great technique for enhancing meats that could otherwise be dry or tough, especially if over cooked. That is why it is commonly used on chicken and turkey.Nanook said:I've never brined before. Is there a noticeable difference in your end product when you brine? If so , what is it? I'm not opposed to trying it, I'm just wondering if the extra step in prep is worth it.......If you do have high blood pressure, are salt sensitive, or your doc has told you to cut salt, then brining probably isn't the best technique. But if you don't have these conditions, brining is a great way to enhance flavor. I always brine chicken breasts and I continually get comments from people that they are the moistest, best tasting that they have had.I hadn't thought about @RRPs point about it cleaning the bird, but that definitely is an added plus.For clarification and not to mislead.....it is diffusion, not osmosis, as the method of transport. Watch this video for rationale. Better yet, watch all 4 of Jake's videos. Have yet to see anyone give a better explanation.BrandonQuad Cities
"If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful." -
I didn't think it was osmosis. I was leaning toward mitosis or halitosis.Flint, Michigan
-
My bad, it's cirrhosis.BrandonQuad Cities
"If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful." -
Thanks Focker. I'll watch them. Just finished up a big development project at work today and celebrating so I'm in no condition to gain knowledge through osmosis, diffusion, mitosis or halitosis (eww, that's gross). But I'm bookmarking for later.
Fred, here's a scooby snack for ya!
Ya'll have a good night, I'm too impaired to post anymore.
:-*______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
Come on man! You're best stuff is a fifth in. hahahahahaBrandonQuad Cities
"If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heGtIrRihMwCategories
- All Categories
- 182.7K EggHead Forum
- 15.7K Forum List
- 459 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.3K Off Topic
- 2.2K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9K Cookbook
- 12 Valentines Day
- 91 Holiday Recipes
- 223 Appetizers
- 516 Baking
- 2.4K Beef
- 88 Desserts
- 163 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 30 Salads and Dressings
- 320 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 543 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 121 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 35 Vegetarian
- 100 Vegetables
- 312 Health
- 292 Weight Loss Forum