Brining Chicken

Roasting chicken may end up with dry flavorless meat. This is one of the common complaints with the low-fat meat of poultry. One of the popular solutions for this problem is to brine the meat before roasting.

How to Brine a Chicken Properly

So, brining chicken is done to prevent the bird from getting dry after roasting or grilling. Brining makes the meat more tender and juicier, even after roasting. Brining is nothing other than treating the meat with salt solution. But, this has to be done properly, after preparing a brine solution. While, the basic brine solution is a mixture of water and salt, many other additives are included in it, so as to enhance the flavor of the meat. During brining, the meat is kept immersed in this solution, for a specific period of time. This time limit may vary with the type of meat, type of cut, thickness of the meat, etc. During brining, the salt and water in the brine solution are absorbed by the meat cells. The salt that enters the meat cells denatures meat proteins, which stick together and hold on to water molecules. Thus the moisture content as well as the flavor of the meat are enhanced through brining. However, for koshered chicken does not require brining. Even other marinated forms of poultry need not be brined, before cooking chicken recipes.

• The first and foremost part of brining is to prepare the brine solution. For a basic brine solution, you may use either table salt (without iodine), kosher salt or even sea salt.
• While, cup of table salt will be required for every gallon of cold water used to prepare the brine, in case of kosher salt (big granules), you have to use cup.
• Apart from salt, add 2/3 cup of sugar, which will balance the saltness. In order to prepare the solution, you have to dissolve the salt and the sugar in a cup of hot water, that has to be mixed with the required amounts of cold water. Add some black pepper and your brine solution is ready.
• If you are doubtful about the amount of water required for submerging the bird, you can add water to the container (which is supposed to hold the water as well as the chicken) and conduct a trial. But, the brine solution must be chilled before use and so, keep it in the refrigerator.
• If you wish, you may add other additives, like wine fruit juice, fruit pieces, lemon wedges, apple cider vinegar, beer, tea, soy sauce, garlic, herbs and spices. For brining chicken, all you have to do is to immerse the bird in the chilled brine solution for a specific time.
• Before that, clean the bird and remove the giblets (frozen birds must be thawed). Remove the trusses, if there are any. Pat dry the bird, before immersing it into the brine solution that is kept in the container. Cover the container and refrigerate for the required time limit. You may also replace the container with brining bag. Brining must be done at a temperature that is below 40 F.
• If you are brining whole chicken, the time limit is 5 to 12 hours. For brining chicken breasts, one to two hours will be sufficient. The same applies for chicken wings too. If you are a beginner, it will be always better to start with lower time range, because, over brining can spoil the dish.
• Once you remove the chicken from the brine, rinse it thoroughly, before use. Never use salt, while cooking brined chicken. As brined meat cooks faster, check the doneness, in between. You may use a meat thermometer for this purpose.

In short, brining chicken is one of the best methods to avoid drying up of meat, while roasting, smoking or grilling. The above said is only a brief overview about the procedure. So, try brining, before you roast or grill the bird, the next time.