Time to come clean on brining...

The Naked Whiz · August 2002

Well, the experiment is over. The results are mixed. [p]The brined chicken had better texture than the unbrined chicken.
The brined chicken and unbrined chicken were equally juicy.
The brined chicken skin shrunk and tore during cooking, while the unbrined chicken skin stayed intact. [p]So, what's the conclusion? I think my feelings remain the same. I wouldn't brine for juiciness. I thought it was more work than it was worth for the difference in texture, and of course, the skin tearing ruins the presentation. I might brine for flavor (the next experiment! hee hee!) but not for juiciness. Which is what I have said all along, so I guess I lucked out! Whew![p]TNW

Frozen Chosen · August 2002

The Naked Whiz,
Dittos. I have found brined turkey sloughs its skin with enthusiasm, and if not very careful, takes on a pastrami or teriyaki overtone which is just weird. My take on all this is to use the simplest of brines and keep it short.

fiver29 · August 2002

The Naked Whiz,[p]I have been brining food on a regular basis for about a year now. I find as far as juiciness goes meat is always juicy when brined. Sometimes when I don't brine meat it is still juicy. But not always. So for me I will brine if I really want juicy meat for sure. Because I know if I don't brine about 10% of the time it won't be as juicy. Thats still not bad, though. But I'd hate to have that 1 out 10 piece of meat come out when I cook for others.[p]I haven't really noticed any real change in texture when I brine unless I overbrine. And I've only done that once. There is a learning curve there and I found that out the hard way when I first started![p]And I brine for flavor. Two pieces of meat I have brined over the past year really came out with added flavor the brine imparted. One was an apple brined turkey. I'll be doing that one again this fall when fresh apple cider starts to come out. The other was a pork roast I brined using fresh ground thyme as an ingredient. When I sliced the roast it had a green tint throughout. And it wasn't overpowering. It added a nice flavor to the meat.[p]For me, when I brine I go for 2 things. Juiciness and flavor. I really enjoy reading why others brine and why some don't brine at all. It keeps me thinking about brining again as I haven't brined in a while! Thank you.[p]

The Naked Whiz · August 2002

fiver29,
Thanks for the info. I found the unbrined chicken breast to be a bit stringy and just a bit tougher. The brined breast was more uniform, less stringy and all in all, nicer. But if that were the only benefit, I don't think I'd bother. Like I say, next time, I'm going to use a brine with some herbs and spices. I've done 25 spatchcock chickens so far and not one has been dry or less juicy than the others, so I don't worry about that part. Of course, all 25 chickens have been the same brand from the same store. Who knows, if I get a Winn Dixie Chicken it might not be as good. One thing I will definitely do is brine a turky breast. Turkey breast meat is (in my experience) more likely to be dry and stringy, so I think even a plain brine should make a big difference. I have a reputation for smoked Turkey breast at my daughter's college student ambassador program annual pot luck dinner, and I want to wow them again this year. Thanks again![p]TNW

Unknown · August 2002

The Naked Whiz,
How long did you brine and what recipe?[p]bob

The Naked Whiz · August 2002

spongebob,
I used 1 gallon of water, 3/4 C turbinado sugar and 3/4 C kosher salt. I let the brine cool overnight in the fridge and then soaked the chicken about 8 hours.[p]Darryl suggested I brine for only an hour. I may try that next time.[p]TNW

sdbelt · August 2002

The Naked Whiz,[p]I've found that brining turkeys is definitely worth it, but I agree, it isn't for chicken. Chicken just cooks too quickly to worry about losin the juiciness.[p]Enjoy![p]--sdb

Marvin · August 2002

The Naked Whiz,
I don't know what happened to your chicken's skin, but every turkey, wild turkey and chicken that we have done has had all the good attributes of brining: flavor, juiciness, AND crispy, magazine-cover skin quality. Maybe it was the time in the brine; our chickens stay 4-8 hours.

The Naked Whiz · August 2002

Marvin,
I brined the chicken 8 hours. Next time I'm thinking about going shorter along with the use of brine with spices, etc.[p]TNW

Freak · August 2002

Hey y'all-[p]My brining experience was different. I used the full recipe and left the chickens in the brine for 24 hours. Based on my dinner guests' comments this evening, I'd say it was success. I tend to agree with you, TNW. I don't know that the extra effort is worth it for every yard bird I cook. The texture was nice and very smooth to carve. Not stringy - and the brine added a nice subtle flavoring. A hint if Dave's insanity sauce in the skin added a nice touch. Skin stayed intact on both.[p]Butterflying birds is the way to go. Hens are cheap, (I used Butterball this time), and it only takes a minute to prepare them for the grill. Brine or no brine you can't go wrong.[p]BTW: 2 birds - 375 degrees - indirect - 1 hour 10 minutes to hit 175-180 internal temp in thigh and breast. I went direct for the last five minutes to crisp the skin.[p]I like using brine, but that's a lot of prep time for yard bird![p]-Freak

Unknown · August 2002

The Naked Whiz, we're a bit slow up here in Canada (perhaps out of the loop) but I do not know what turbinado sugar is.
Appreciate knowing.[p]Thanks,[p]Bully

Time to come clean on brining...

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