Brine advice for chicken

GJ · February 2003

I am planning on cooking up some spatch cooked chicken tomorrow and I thought I would try brining the chicken first. The chicken will just be fryers so I don't think they would need much brining time. Any suggestions would be appreciated.[p]GJ

Marvin · February 2003

GJ,
I'm a big fan of brining, but spatchcocked chicken does not require that process. Generally, I reserve brining for thick, non-fatty meats; turkey and pork loin are good examples. But if you want to try, I would limit the time to 6-8 hours using 3/4 cup of salt and 3/4 cup of sugar per gallon of water. The other flavors and spices are fielder's choice. If you use a sweet liquid instead of water (like cider), back off a little on the sugar. Let us know how it turned out.

SSDawg · February 2003

GJ,[p]I agree with Marvin. I am a huge fan of brining, but I don't bother with butterflied poultry. Cut into a spatchcocked chicken last week, and the juice shot almost a full foot into the air. Funniest thing I've seen in a while.

BlueSmoke · February 2003

GJ,
I'm with SSDawg & Marvin. I brine poultry for low & slow cooks; cook butterflied birds at higher temps.[p]Ken

BluesnBBQ · February 2003

"I'm a big fan of brining, but spatchcocked chicken does not require that process."[p]It doesn't require it, but it couldn't hurt. I've brined spatchcock chickens, chicken parts, boneless skinless breasts, etc. and it always turned out great.

The Naked Whiz · February 2003

BluesnBBQ,
I've tried spatchcocked chicken both ways, and didn't think brining was worth the effort. My two cents...[p]TNW

The Naked Whiz · February 2003

The Naked Whiz,
Oops, hit the button too soon. However, having tried it and thinking it isn't worth the effort, I think anyone who hasn't tried it ought to at least once. It was fun, just not worth it to me.[p]TNW

GJ · February 2003

Marvin,[p]Thanks for all the responses. I have done spatch cooked a couple of birds and both times there has been some red between the joints. My wife says the chicken tastes good but she wants it cooked longer. I was hoping thta the brining process would remove some of that blood.[p]GJ

BlueSmoke · February 2003

GJ,
Gotta side with your wife on this one. I don't like the red either - don't care what anybody, or my thermometer, says. Try this whole, butterflied, or "parts": clean the bird thoroughly under cold running water. Dissolve a cup of kosher salt in a quart of ice water (or enough to submerge the bird) and hold it there for 30 to 45 minutes. Rinse and pat dry before proceeding. (My shortcoming - because the bird is there so short a time, I call it koshering rather than brining.)
Ken

The Naked Whiz · February 2003

GJ,
Just out of curiosity, what time and temps did you do the spatchcocked chicken at? I tend to do mine for an hour at 350-375 on a raised grid and the bird is always throughly done. And thoroughly juicy, so if you want to cook longer or higher, you probably won't be hurting anything.[p]TNW

Marvin · February 2003

BlueSmoke,
Not quite, Ken. You have to bury the bird in piles of
salt - no liquid - in order to call it koshering, and then say a prayer (I think the prayer is to keep it from gettin too salty).

JodyMo · February 2003

GJ,
I have found that birds that have been frozen tend to be discolored arounf the joints / bones. I tried a fresh bird from a Whole Foods source and could not believe the difference. It really is worth a try, and a couple of extra bucks.[p]-JodyMo

BlueSmoke · February 2003

Marvin,
Would you believe... Presbyterian kosher???[p]Ken

Brine advice for chicken

Comments

Categories