Brining a chicken

[mudbug]

I am going to try brining a chicken (3-pounder) for din-din tonight. I have taken note of the tips under the Brining thread in Gen Chat.

Do I hafta start roasting immediately after the brining, or can I brine now and cook (much) later?

 

[Alix]

Brine now cook later.

 

[mudbug]

thanks, Alix. I was hoping you'd show up early today to educate me. I will use the brown sugar too. so -- brine for a couple of hours with 1/2 cup each kosher salt and sugar and cover the boid with water?

 

[Alix]

I do mine overnight in the solution, but if you start now, I think you should be ready to go by later in the day. I do about 1/4 cup each of brown sugar and salt to about 6 liters of water...gallon and a half?

 

[mudbug]

Okey doke. Will report results later.

 

[Alix]

Excellent. Keep us posted

I am going to try doing a chicken on the BBQ tonight. We get our farm chickens today.

Here is my issue, my BBQ is too small to close the lid on a chicken. What should I do? Put the chicken in a covered dish a leave the lid up? Close the lid as best I can? Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[mudbug]

One more thing -- after brine created, chicken submerged, in the fridge or out on the counter?

 

[Alix]

Is the chicken frozen at all?

 

[mudbug]

Is the chicken frozen at all?

nope, it's a whole chick, thawed, about 3 pounds. I have a lid for my "briner" - it's one of those metal blue-speckled stockpots.

p.s. I just threw in a couple of bay leaves because...well, just because.

 

[Alix]

I would go with the fridge then for most of the time, and then pull it out and leave it on the counter for about the last two hours. I know that is not supposed to be the safest way to do it, but it works for me. Never had any complaints or salmonella (that I know of! ). The bay leaves sound yummy, someone told me that rosemary is nice too, or lavendar. Haven't tried that one yet though. Too much of a purist I guess.

 

[mudbug]

I may throw some rosemary in too. Got a boatload growing right outside my front door. How those two little plants turned into such monsters I will never know.....no help from me.

OK, I'll throw it in the fridge for a few hours and take it out around 3:30-ish my time (EDST). I'm not too worried about salmonella either, and I figure roasting at a high temp is gonna kill off any buggers anyway.

 

[Alix]

My thoughts exactly.

 

[GB]

I always brine in the fridge. Salmonella is not something I want to mess with and there is no benefit to leaving it on the counter (other than space issues in your fridge). For a whole bird I would go longer than a few hours, but I personally would not go overnight. I would probably try 4 or 5 hours. The rosemary addition sounds wonderful!

 

[mudbug]

Thanks for the input, GB. I knew you were a "briner" too and was hoping you'd chime in.

What I will likely do is leave bird in fridge until 3:30-ish as noted, but maybe let it stand for only an hour instead of 2 before roasting. How's that for a compromise?

 

[GB]

I don't think that is a bad plan at all. Once you try this technique you will be hooked I am sure. You will then tweak it to make it your own. Some people like to brine longer and others like it less. Some like more salt and some like sugar as well. Everyone is different and as long as the brine has salt, there is no right or wrong, just personal preference. Please make sure to let us know how it turned out

 

[mudbug]

Excellent. Keep us posted

I am going to try doing a chicken on the BBQ tonight. We get our farm chickens today.

Here is my issue, my BBQ is too small to close the lid on a chicken. What should I do? Put the chicken in a covered dish a leave the lid up? Close the lid as best I can? Suggestions would be appreciated.

Alix, just saw this one after reviewing all of my instructions. Does your bbq lid come all the way off? If yes, you could try placing some bricks or something around the rim of the kettle for the lid to sit on. It would then sit evenly and still -- mostly -- cover your bird.

 

[Alix]

Oooooo mudbug...you are so smart! I happen to have a handy stash of bricks. I think that is just the ticket!

 

[mudbug]

kewl. report back!

 

[Alix]

Will do!

 

[mudbug]

Alix, Gb left the board before answering another Q for me:
should I be stirring this brine at all? you know, to rev up the juices and herbs or something?