Purpose of putting chicken in a brine ?

[Barb L.]

So many recipes for frying chicken, say to put it in a brine ,I have never done this - alot of ppl soak in buttermilk (which I never buy) and do not care for egg wash on chicken. Could you use just the egg white ?Love my fried chicken !!!

 

[Chopstix]

Brining meats (for at least 8 hours) before cooking them in whatever way makes them unbelievably moist. It makes the meat more forgiving too in case you overcook them. I do this for chicken breasts and pork chops. They always turn out so good

 

[Barb L.]

What do you brine in ? Thanks for the info.

Brining meats (for at least 8 hours) before cooking them in whatever way makes them unbelievably moist. It makes the meat more forgiving too in case you overcook them. I do this for chicken breasts and pork chops. They always turn out so good

 

[Gretchen]

Just for clarification you can brine poultry, pork and shrimp--NOT beef (as in "steak" referenced above). Brining red meat is not done--for tenderness as we are talking about here.
I dislike brining poultry and I know I am in the huge minority, but I think it makes the meat mushy. And I will put my moist unbrined thanksgiving turkey up against ANY!!
As for brining chicken for frying, I prefer to marinate in buttermilk for a couple of hours (no longer--again, mushy) and then batter and fry.

 

[GB]

Soaking in buttermilk is not the same as brining. To be a brine it needs to be water and salt at the minimum. Well actually you don't even need the water, and liquid would do, but salt is essential. The salt water (or liquid) is soaked into the meat thus making it juicier and more flavorful.

I agree with Gretchen that brining can make meat mushy, but only if you brine for too long. I find 2 hours plenty for my boneless skinless chicken breasts. I am a huge fan of brining. I think it greatly improves the taste, texture, and juiciness of certain meats.

Do a search here on Brining and you will find a ton more info.

 

[lulu]

This is very interesting. I have used butter milk, I most often leave chicken breast in natural yogurt to soften, and then heavily spice rub then to grill. I also often leave them in cheap sherry.

 

[GB]

This is very interesting. I have used butter milk, I most often leave chicken breast in natural yogurt to soften, and then heavily spice rub then to grill. I also often leave them in cheap sherry.

Most of those would generally be considered marinades, not brines.

 

[lulu]

Yes, I can see that. Its just that it is the experience closest to brining I have and I am trying, in my slow way, to relate to a new method! I am presuming than brining leaves no taste but a succelent meat, by way of osmosis?

 

[GB]

Osmosis is exactly right. It does leave a taste though since you are using salt. Also you can add other ingredients to further flavor the meat. Herbs are a great thing to add. Also things like sugar, peppercorns, seasonings, soy sauce, and things like that will contribute to adding flavor.

 

[Sephora]

What do you brine in ? Thanks for the info.

I brine in course salt, warm water to start with because it will delute the salt, and chicken stalk. It's my SIL's recipe and it's worked for me with turkey. Haven't done a chicken yet as cooking a whole chicken is somewhat of a waste with just two people at our house.

 

[GB]

I hope you are not putting the meat in that warm water Sephora. That can be very dangerous. If you need to use warm water to disolve the salt then make sure to cool the water down below 40 degrees before you put the meat in.

 

[Andy M.]

You don't need egg at all for fried chicken. If you marinate it in buttermilk, then jut pat it dry and dredge it in well seasoned flour and fry. For extra crispy, dip the dredged chicken in buttermilk and back to the flour a second time then fry.

 

[Sephora]

I hope you are not putting the meat in that warm water Sephora. That can be very dangerous. If you need to use warm water to disolve the salt then make sure to cool the water down below 40 degrees before you put the meat in.

I've always (all of three times) used warm water and a frozen turkey. That's just how my SIL taught me to do it. I guess the temp of the frozen turkey immediately drops the water temp because it's usually cold.

 

[GB]

As long as the temp drops down below 40 degrees then you are ok, but if it doesn't then you are playing with fire. Just be careful. I would hate to see you get sick!

 

[Sephora]

How do I know the water is cold enough? I know that my water out of my tap is definitely not that cold except maybe in the dead of winter during an ice storm. Do you normally ad a bag of ice. Personally I have a cast iron stomach, it takes a lot for me to get sick, my mom was the queen of the last day to buy discount meat, but I would hate for my guests to get sick. I actually already know it's my year to do Thanksgiving so I would like to try this on a chicken this weekend.

Another question. Can you brine a chicken that you are going to use to make beer can chicken?

 

[Andy M.]

To insure 40F temps for brining a turkey or chicken, you make the brine, cool it and put the bird and the brine in the fridge.

When I make a gallon of brine, I start with a half gallon of water and add all the salt and sugar, all the seasonings and bring it to a boil to dissolve the salt and sugar and to extract some flavor from the herbs and spices.

Then I add a half gallon of ice cubes and stir to dissolve the ice and mix the whole mess. The temp is good and it can all go into the fridge. A half gallon if ice cubes weighs about 4.2 pounds.

You can and should brine a beer can chicken.

 

[jennyema]

How do I know the water is cold enough?

Yet another use for a kitchen thermometer that goes from 0 to 500.

Brine in the fridge. If your turkey for Tgiving is too large, brine it in a cooler lined with a plastic bag in the basement or outside. Also, you can put blue ice packs sealed in ziplock bags into the brine to make sure it stays below 40.

 

[CookSource]

This is a good thred, lots of stuff I didnt know thanks

 

[Sephora]

We do the turkey in a round cooler in the shed when we do it in November at least here. My fridge wouldn't even hold a chicken it's so small and over filled. We've always brined and defrosted at the same time so chilling wasn't ever an issue I guess. I'm definitely learning things here.

 

[VeraBlue]

If you love your method, why change it?

Personally, I always soak chicken overnight in a buttermilk bath with assorted seasonings. I believe it makes the flesh softer. Conversely, I always soak my thanksgiving turkey in apple cider, kosher salt and other seasonings 2 days before thanksgiving, too.