Non Inflamatory Brining Question

Mikey

I knew that other one was gonna get ugly.<g>[p]Anyway, why the heck should I brine my chicken? What the heck is brining anyway? Does it make it taste better? More juicy?[p]C'mon, gimme the skinny on brining, techniques, recipes, whatever you got![p]Mike

Char-Woody

Mikey, lemme put it atcha this way in no uncertain terms..yuppers..the salts (kosher salt) helps the water (h2o) penetrate da fiber (muscle tissue) and lays in da other tasty's like garlic along with it. And taste test after taste test brine wins.
(I did this uptown a month ago in a demoand the winnah was da brine birdie) ...In short. It works..for pork and other meats too..!
The BGE alone will make a more tasty moist bird..brining just enhances that.
Try it and see.
C~W[p]

djm5x9

Mikey:[p]Some brine overnight with success, but I seem to taste too much salt when I brine this way. I have better results placing two or three birds in one compartment of a double bowl sink with enough water to cover the birds and a cup of kosher salt dissolved in boiling water. In this order: Hot salt water added to clean sink, run cold water, add chicken(s), top with ice and let sit two or three hours before preping for grill. I brine all chicken, quail, rabbit, and similar lean meats with good results.

Mikey

Char-Woody,
I ran a search in the archive and came up with one hit. Unfortunately, it wouldn't let me open the post, kept giving me an error. However, there was a clue in the summary and I found the website you referenced and here's the link to the brining section:[p]http://www.3men.com/allabout1.htm#Brining[p]Interesting reading, but I think I will look for a different recipe for the brine.[p]Mike[p]
[ul][li]Brining Explained[/ul]

Char-Woody

Mikey, also check out our recipe files..I believe there are several good ones..Brants, and Cats from memory. Basic brine is 1 cup of Kosher salt..If regular cut to half cup. 1 cup of brown sugar, I gallon of water, several bay leaves, and two or three garlic cloves crushed..Boil, cool..(I leave out a quart of water and add that much ice later) Add to bird (turkey) and then add enough to cover the bird. 12 hours is sufficient..Remove..rinse, rinse, rinse, inside and out if a full bird, and squeeze out all the water you can from the skin. Then refrigerate 12 hours bare necked in the fridge before annointing with your oils and rubs.
Takes the external moisture out of the outer skin and it will crip up better (Courtesy of Cooks Illustrated)
Hope this helps..
C~W[p]

mollyshark

Char-Woody,
This month's Cook's had a new brine that, albeit was for fried chicken, still sounded like a good idea. It was a buttermilk, salt combination. I'll fish it up and post it. (I love the ideas in that magazine, but the writing is so horrible and over-the-top it makes me laugh).[p]MShark

Gretl

Mikey,
I brine chicken; I usually use a salt and sugar solution, leaving the bird in the fridge for overnight or 24 hours. Two things that are important here are that you rinse all the brining solution off the bird thoroughly and that you're careful not to buy a bird that's been injected with any solution. I made that mistake once and didn't like the flavor. If you brine an injected bird, the result is too salty. On my soapbox for a moment, I don't like anything injected into poultry. Just give me a dead bird, please. I'll figure out on my own with what to do with it!
Cheers,
Gretl

RhumAndJerk

Gretl,
Hear! Hear! I love the “just give me a dead bird” line. [p]Because of my three kids, I have been getting concerned about hormones and steroids that are in our meat supply. I am just concerned, but not fanatical. I try to buy Amish Raised Chicken. This is part of the reason that I do not buy meat in a grocery store. The best thing that I have found is Free Range Organic Brown Eggs. They have a wonderful flavor. However, I will venture to say that there is more of injected stuff in the milk supply than the meat supply.[p]I know that you were referring to brine injected birds, but I just wanted to bring up the other injected stuff.[p]Stepping off soapbox now,
RhumAndJerk

Earl

Mikey,[p] In most cases, you should boil all the contents so in will disolve fully. Let the water cool totaly before you place the food into it. I have read that some one did not let it cool down totaly, & as a result, got a little ill. Good idea to use ice cubes as suggested. I cook lots of chicken & one can never be two carefull.[p]Earl

Mike Oelrich

MollyShark,[p] Interesting idea because buttermilk is regarded as a very good way to tenderize meat. Mixing it with the salt should have interesting results. I've experimented quite a bit with flavoring things with brine. Made a great chu8ck roast once by substituting Guinness for half the water in a brine recipe![p]MikeO

Mike Oelrich

Mikey,[p]Take a look at:[p]Link 1
and
Link2[p]MikeO

Char-Woody

MollyShark, my subscription has lapsed but I pick em up off the shelf..thanks for the reminder..and I think that one could/should wind up in our recipe section. Kudos to CI of course..:-)
Thanks Molly!!
C~W[p]

Brant

Earl,[p]I usually fill up a big Zip-Loc bag with ice cubes, seal it up, and put the bag in the brine to cool it. It probably is more trouble that it's worth, but it does keep the melted ice from diluting the brine solution.[p]Brant

Bobby Que

Mikey,
Here is a link to a sort-of explanation of the brining process

Bobby Que

OOPS! The link did not show up. Here it is again![p]http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40552-2000Apr18.html[p]
[ul][li]Brining Explained[/ul]

Char-Woody

MikeO, good ones, they cover all the basics.
C~W
BTW..Danny is an ace of a BBQ guru..!!

YB

Brant,[p]Where in the world have you been,you have really been missed.[p]Larry

Char-Woody

YB, I second, third, and fourth that one..Welcome back Brant, your recipe legacy lives on..!!
C~W[p]

Brant

YB,[p]I'm around and check in every now and again. I know I should stop by and speak more often, but life is busier than ever. I miss you guys, too. I'll be around whenever I can be. Thanks for noticing![p]Brant

Brant

Char-Woody,[p]I wouldn't go on too much about my recipes, because everything I know about grilling and barbequing came from this forum, and quite a bit from you personally. Those simple little Boston butt and brined chicken recipes I posted for the first EGGtoberfest still result in several email messages a month. If I didn't like the attention, I'd have them edited to explain what a chicken sitter and what a Polder are. [p]Brant

Char-Woody

Brant, your one of a kind!
Hey, I can send pics of my failures now! :-)
Hope your e.mail is still as per last time.
Happy to see you on board again..!
C~W[p]