adjust brine for breasts vs whole?

Hey all,

I normally brine my chicken over night when I do whole chickens, usually 6-8 pounds. I feel like cooking just breasts this weekend and am wondering if I should adjust the brine time/ingredient amounts for the breasts. It'll be the same weight but they will be skinless and I don't know if it will absorb faster. i could just be over thinking it...chicken is chicken and will absorb the brine the same no matter the form its in.


..gotta love them breasts

Thanks! Maybe I'll cut the brine time in half.

I've actually always brined my chicken so I dont know if it will make a huge difference for you. It always comes out tender and it is never dry so I just stick to it.

I personally use water for my brine but I have had a couple people recommend using vegetable stock as well. It sounds interesting but I haven't given it a shot yet.

here's a rough version of what i do now:

1/2 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup brown sugar (dark or light, i've used both didn't notice a difference)
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon oregano
2 bay leaves
2-3 garlic cloves (i'll usually crush 1 and leave the others whole)
1/2 lemon sliced up
1/2 orange sliced up

Adjust the salt level depending on the amount of salt in your rub. if it is heavy on salt use less..if not no need to adjust. I'v also been told not to go over board on the amount of citrus in the brine because it can make the chicken mushy. I've never had a problem using this amount so it should be fine.

Use cold water and generally around 1hr per pound

retired trucker said:

The thing to remember is to rinse the chicken off real good with cold water and place back in the fridge to dry before seasoning and cooking. Danger, it will spoil you to do all your chickens this way once you try it. They will come out much juicer even if you over cook them a little. My experience is that the brine does not effect the "saltiness" of the finished product. It causes a chemical reaction in the meat, but no added taste. YMMV

Blessings, ray:

Omar

Click to expand...

>.< thanks for catching that!! you definitely want to wash off the brine and let dry before you season/cook.