'Que question - brining

[G.]

OK. I have heard many great things about brining poultry before you cook it. So Friday, I take some chicken breats, rinse them, put them into a non-stick pot (all of my other large pots are aluminium - not non-reactive) filled with H20, a cup of salt and a bit of brown sugar. I soak this in the fridge for 24 hours. This process is supposed to break down lactic acid or some such chemical thing.

Break out the 'que. Rinse the bejesus outta them. Toss onto hot grill. The breasts cook up significantly quicker than normal.

So far so good. Start cutting up the chix for the little ones. Very juicy. Looking real good.

Take a bite. Tastes like chicken jerky. :cry:

This was pure salty chicken, which is not supposed to happen with brining. "Well gee, G., what the hell do you expect when you soak chicken in salt water for 24 hours", you may ask. No, that's the rational, common sensical question. Brining doesn't fit into that paradigm. It is not supposed to infuse the meat with salt.

Any clue as to what I did wrong?

[SteveH]

Years ago (20+), I used to get fried chicken at Aunt Bea's in Noblesville (had a huge fiberglass chicken in front), was the best chicken I've ever had. They soaked it in salt water over night, as well. But it was deep fried, not grilled. Could that be the differnce?

I'm sure if you google for it, you'll find some directions somewhere on the net. If so, post them.

Also does anyone know if Aunt Bea's is still in business?

[nrc]

The place RaceGrrl and I worked together as teens used to soak their chicken in brine overnight and then "broast" it. Broasting is basically high pressure deep frying. It gives the chicken a salty flavor all the way through that a lot of people love. I wouldn't call it jerky because it was always tender and juicey but if you left it too long it could get pretty strong.

I'm not sure what scientific principle you're applying that suggests that if you soak chicken in a salt water solution it won't become infused with salt water. :/

[Don Quixote]

I brined our turkey for thanksgiving last year and it was great, and not salty at all. The instructions said to brine for 6 to 8 hours, and no longer, or the turkey will get salty. I think maybe you overdid the soaking bit. Try it again and report back to the class. :)

[JoeBob]

One thing to look at is whether or not the meat was already injected with a salt solution prior to packaging. It is very common with pork, and becoming more common with poultry, and I've even spotted some "enhanced" beef at the local megamart.

Usually, you can identify the "enhanced" meat by some very fine print the package about the meat being, "Enhanced with up to XX% of a patented solution containing..."

That "patented solution" is pretty much the chemical equivalent of brining the meat. If you then brine that meat, you'll end up with something way too salty.

[KLang]

From one of my cookbooks:

'For each pound of chicken breasts, dissolve 1/4 cup kosher salt (or 2 tablespoons table salt) and 2 tablespoons sugar in 1 quart cold tap water. Submerge chicken in brine and refridgerate 45 minutes. Remove chicken, rinse and pat dry.'

Sounds like your problem was a combination of too much salt and too much time. Also note the difference in strength between kosher and table salt.

Good luck!

[devilmaster]

Take a bite. Tastes like chicken jerky. :cry:

Any clue as to what I did wrong?

mmmmmm.

Why do you think you did something wrong when you got chicken jerky?
;)

Steve

[oddlycalm]

G. - I don't much care for brined chicken because I think it goofs up the texture. It may well make poor quality chicken more moist, but I don't buy poor quality meat and it seems to make good meat rubbery. Best thing is that it kills any surface bacteria (and attendent off flavors), but there are better ways to do that IMO. The following is a good basic recipe you can build on. I got if from a cook at the King Ranch in Texas who used it for steaks.

First, I always use 1 gallon ziplocks for marinating unless it's whole briskets or pork shoulders, then I use a 2 gallan bag. The less mess to clean up the better. For a couple breasts, dump in the following:
3-4 tbs of olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1tbs of kosher salt and an equal amount of
1tbs fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, smashed or chopped (a pinch of granulated garlic will work)
optional
1 pinch of cayene
or other 1tbs ground chipotle
or 2tbs spice rub like Swamp Venom

Squish it around to mix it up and put the chicken in, squeeze the air out, seal the bag, work it around to make sure the pieces are coated, then stash it in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. The acid and the salt kill any bacteria present, the oil prevents the meat from sticking to the grill, and the spices add flavor.

Grill large breasts around 20 minutes per side covered @ 350-400 turning only once, slightly less if smaller, preferably 12"-18" from the flame or coals.

I always either add a pinch of cayene, tsp of ground chipotle to the salt & pepper or substitute a dry spice rub which contains salt. For chicken my rub of choice is currently Swamp Venon. I know several competition cooks that use this stuff, and once I tried it I understood why. Chris grinds each order himself right before he ships it. Swamp Venom rub (http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/rubs.html)

When the fire is ready to go, use some tongs to take out the chicken and put it on the grill then dust it with a little more of whatever seasoning you used in the bag. If you use Swamp Venom or something else spicy, don't overwhelm it, just a nice dusting. You want enhanced flavor not searing heat for most folks. If you have people that want more heat, add more spice once it's on the grill.

Hope you enjoy your next cook a lot more G. :thumbup:

oc