Never brined a chicken... Give me your best brine recipe

[16Adams]

On edit re: garlic/onion powder in cold water. That chicken was grilled seasoned with S&P and what I'm guessing glazed with mustard and worchestishire as it was being grilled-not smoked.
May have been mustard/molasses regardless it was dark
In a CO-OP can with a wired on grate. That ol man could cook

 

[Doog]

I'll tell ya what has worked great for me. I use a brine I got off this site and it gives great flavor to the chicken.
2 quarts apple juice
2 quarts water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2cup kosher salt
1/2 cup real maple syrup
Usually brine overnite rinse and dry then sprinkle with your favorite rub.

Paul I also have been messing around injecting chicken with good results.

 

[gmag]

Oakridge Brine + Apple Juice

 

[TedW]

I reading a lot of folks feel the brine is bringing in flavor. It's not just about moisture. There is a flavor brought in.

 

[ShadowDriver]

+1 for PatioDaddio's brine above. Did it with a 4-5lb whole chicken this March... let it sit overnight before pulling out to dry in fridge for a bit. Really nice flavor and additional moisture throughout.

Whatever you choose, I'm sure it'll be tasty.

 

[airedale]

All you need to know:

https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-...cience-behind-brining-four-part-video-lecture

 

[robert-r]

I've done both. I prefer the dry brine. It's EZ. Although I rinse the salt off & dry the bird before adding a rub. I like salt & realize it's a necessity, however over salted food is a "no-no" as far as I'm concerned.

 

[IamMadMan]

I'm another fan of Patio Daddio's Bird Bath for a general purpose use on chicken....

Sometimes we brine for flavors, not just for moisture or tenderness. This is one of those brines. My favorite commercial brine is Oakridge Game Changer Brine. Easy to mix, great flavors, and lots of moisture in the breast meat.

 

[landarc]

I use two rather distinct methods to treat a bird.

1. My actual preferred method for teriyaki chicken, is to take the birds, lay them in a plastic tub, and layer the chickens with coarse sea salt. Allow to sit for 12 to 18 hours. After that, you can soak the chickens in a marinade for a couple of hours, or dry rub and cook. Soaking in a marinade actually leads to a very moist chicken.

2. I buy Italian dressing, for each large bottle, you can soak up to 4 chickens in a bag. You can go the Costco route with the Italian dressing, and soak dozens of chickens in Italian dressing overnight. The salt levels are high enough to draw out some moisture and you will end up with a tasty chicken.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

I use two rather distinct methods to treat a bird.

1. My actual preferred method for teriyaki chicken, is to take the birds, lay them in a plastic tub, and layer the chickens with coarse sea salt. Allow to sit for 12 to 18 hours. After that, you can soak the chickens in a marinade for a couple of hours, or dry rub and cook. Soaking in a marinade actually leads to a very moist chicken.

2. I buy Italian dressing, for each large bottle, you can soak up to 4 chickens in a bag. You can go the Costco route with the Italian dressing, and soak dozens of chickens in Italian dressing overnight. The salt levels are high enough to draw out some moisture and you will end up with a tasty chicken.

So you are right firmly in the middle.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Russ, Smokin' Okie, is a brethren and prolly one of the foremost experts on brining. I think you can find some good info in his teachings.....http://www.cookshack.com/store/Smokin-Okies-101-Series/Brining-101

Moderators, if this is not appropriate please remove and I'm sorry.

 

[BillN]

I'm guessing you are doing a bunch of chicken so it may be better in this case to dry brine as the chicken will take up less room in the fridge. If you got the room either will work and deliver a tasty bird. The main thing is keep the bird cold so if you wet brine pre-chill the brine or make a concentrate and dilute with lots of ice before the birds go in. Good luck.

 

[BillN]

Up O... I opened a can of worms.... Thank all of you for the replys and comments.... I'm sorta torn now as to what to do... My chicken is usually fine to me... But doing the halves I did not want the breast to get dry on me.. I might toss a coin... Both the wet and dry Brine has obviously worked...hmmm .. I will go back and read again tonite .... As I am sure there will be more post... I will say this the last thing I want is watery tasting anything... I as told that a wet brine infused taste and moisture... But now the dry brine has me thinking... What is the difference from a dry brine... And rubbing the bird down with olive oil and my favorite rub the day before and putting in a zip lock bag.....

I would stay with what is tried and true. Basically what you do now, olive oil and rub has a similar effect of dry brine the salt/flavor will be brought into the meat and aid in retaining moisture, plus you are all packed into zip locs and ready to go the next day...

 

[TedW]

All you need to know:

https://stellaculinary.com/cooking-...cience-behind-brining-four-part-video-lecture

People should see this-

If your product is less than you desire with a wet rub, maybe you're not doing it right. Maybe. The video presents it as a standard culinary science. Very impressive.

It details how diffusion allows sugars, and flavors to get into the flesh

It describes the role of an acid or base in a brine - something that some avoid.

It details how a wet brine makes for a moister meat. If you're creating mush then your calculations are off. Too much salt for too long. You didn't rinse and then let it rest. Again, all very interesting.

Seems evident that a dry brine isn't allowing a much flavor to enter the flesh.

You create a brine a little like a sauce or bone stock. Heat it, let it simmer, stay hot /warm for a while to extract flavors. Then filter, cool and drop the meat.

A dry brine is fast. Both are great.

 

[TedW]

Russ, Smokin' Okie, is a brethren and prolly one of the foremost experts on brining. I think you can find some good info in his teachings.....http://www.cookshack.com/store/Smokin-Okies-101-Series/Brining-101

Great assortment of what look to be effective brines.

 

[mytmouz]

I LUV Patio Daddio's wet brine, and it has several votes ahead of mine...

 

[IamMadMan]

Now if you want to try something different, other than a brine, two outstanding products with recipes available on the web. Just a few more ideas to confuse you....

The first suggestion would be Chiavetta's Marinade.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2939719&postcount=86

While technically a marinade because of the acid, it also contains enough salt to penetrate the muscle tissue to act like a brine as well.


My second suggestion would be the famous Cornell Chicken Sauce

http://cornell-classic.univcomm.cornell.edu/xsearch/?id=132&q=&tab=facts

This produces a very moist, yet crispy chicken. It is best soaked overnight in bags, hotel pans, or bus bins, depending on what your refrigerator will hold.

And lastly as Landarc mentioned Italian dressing, it also works great for something different.

.

 

[Durangutan]

I'm a big fan of wet brining chicken (so are a lot of our guests including some who otherwise don't care for poultry) in a simple mix of 1 cup each of kosher salt and brown sugar to a gallon of water -a quarter of this mixture is ample for 1 whole chicken. I usually halve the bird and let it brine for at least 24hrs in a zip-lock before rinsing, rubbing and putting on the smoker. I do the same with chicken parts for big cooks for a lot of guests.

Coincidentally, I am wet brining a whole turkey as an experiment for a smoke this weekend as I've not been satisfied with dry brining the big bird and the chicken turns out so well wet brined.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I won't not brine my poultry anymore. I can't find the recipe on my work PC, but it has

salt, paprika, cayenne, bay leaf, thyme, black pepper, roasted onion, garlic powder

I don't know if it adds moisture, but it sure does impart a lot of flavor

 

[Right on Q]

I use a simple Alton Brown brine. I use it for competition and do ok in chicken too.

1 QT water
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup kosher salt

Put it all in a gallon zip lock bag and shake to dissolve. Brine for 1-2 hours ( no more than 2)

Easy Peasy