Brine or not to brine, that is the question


 
Thanks for the followup.

The recipe had the amount of salt listed by weight, but then a parenthetical equivalent by volume (the 3/4 cups).

I've read about dry brining, but thought I'd give the AB recipe a try.

Still, my question is - does a salt based brine impart a salty taste to the meat?

If so, then it ain't gonna work for my family.
 
Erik Tracy said:
The recipe had the amount of salt listed by weight, but then a parenthetical equivalent by volume (the 3/4 cups).
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The one I found was the same, listing both weight and volume. If you went by weight you'd get the exact concentration desired. If you went by volume, you ended up with way more salt than intended unless you used Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

Erik Tracy said:
Still, my question is - does a salt based brine impart a salty taste to the meat?
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In short, yes. Put salt on meat, it's going to taste salty, particularly to someone who doesn't typically add salt to their food. That doesn't mean it should taste overly salty. To most people, a properly brined piece of meat tastes like it's properly seasoned. But the taste is going to depend on what you're used to.

If you do this again and use all thighs or thighs and drumsticks, skip the brine. Just go right to the seasoning step. You might want to add a little salt to the rub since you skipped the brine.
 
My 'usual' chicken thigh method is no brine, homemade rub - done and grin.

And...that's what I'm sticking to. Tried the brine, it ain't mine.
 
Erik Tracy said:
And...that's what I'm sticking to. Tried the brine, it ain't mine.
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Like lots of other techniques, it's best when used with specific cuts. Chicken breasts can usually benefit from brining since they tend toward the dry side. At the very least, the extra fluid gives you a little more time between properly cooked and dry as a bone. Thighs don't need the fluid and already have a huge leeway between "done" and "overdone". If you're doing very lean cuts they'll benefit from the brine, but the cuts/pieces with a lot of connective tissue don't need it.
 
I'm not always big on brining, usually it's because I've lost track of time and haven't left myself a "brining window" open so to speak but, I have had good results with turkey. If you are not salt users my suggestion is a bit of a follow up to Jay's. Make sure you use the right salt and cut it in half.
If you used iodized table salt you will add an iodine taste which can become very pronounced in a brine. That's why I use Morton kosher unless it's out of stock, I tried "Diamond Crystal" and it is different, requiring adjustment as Jay advises.
Just one mans opinion.
 
I've never brined a chicken, or anything else for that matter. We're another 'don't add salt to hardly anything' family, so a salty brine doesn't sound good to me.

But buttermilk? Well...now I'm intrigued! May try that on the next one.

We usually spatchcock our birds, and they come out SUPER moist - over flow the moat on my cutting board moist. We recently picked up a rotisserie, and the first bird wasn't that good, did direct heat with the coals directly under the bird - skin was black. Meat was great, but we peeled the skin off. The 2nd one I put a bank of coals on either side of the grill with a drip pan below the chicken (and it dripped a lot more than I realized!) and this one turned out beautifully!

The good spun chicken. It was a big one.

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A spatchcocked bird.

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I've used buttermilk as a prep for frying, why not for spinning!? I love the idea! That will happen soon.
I'd bet it would be interesting on a spatchcocked bird too, next time I make waffles....
 
I don't normally brine chickens for "beer can chicken," but I may just have to try one with/one without the brine at the same time to see if it makes a difference.
 
I know some folks cringe at the thought of enhanced anything, but I've been buying enhanced whole chickens at Aldi for 95 cents per pound, and they cook up super tender and moist, plus they save me the time and effort of brining.
 
Erik Tracy said:
My 'usual' chicken thigh method is no brine, homemade rub - done and grin.

And...that's what I'm sticking to. Tried the brine, it ain't mine.
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One of the biggest chicken problems for me in the past was grilling split breasts. They usually came out dry and tough.

A few days ago, I seasoned a pack of them with Slap-Yo-Daddy rub and let the meat air dry in the fridge for a few hours. Cooked them hot & fast on the 14.5" WSM, and the breasts were sensational.
 
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Bob Correll said:
I know some folks cringe at the thought of enhanced anything, but I've been buying enhanced whole chickens at Aldi for 95 cents per pound, and they cook up super tender and moist, plus they save me the time and effort of brining.
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I guess that's sort of like comparing an enhanced turkey to a non-enhanced bird. The enhanced bird tastes better, but I haven't smoked an enhanced chicken yet. Ever tried organic chicken? I think they taste better than non-organic.
 
Rusty James said:
A few days ago, I seasoned a pack of them with Slap-Yo-Daddy rub and let the meat air dry in the fridge for a few hours. Cooked them hot & fast on the 14.5" WSM, and the breasts were sensational.
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If there is salt in that rub then it was basically a dry brine. The salt migrates into the meat and causes the muscle fibers to better hang on to their natural moisture. Or that's what they say on the cooking shows.
 
Here's the recipe, Jay...

1 TBSP Lawry's Seasoned Salt.
1 TBSP granulated sugar.
1 TBSP McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning.
1-1/2 tsp mild chili powder.
1-1/2 tsp paprika.
1-1/2 tsp granulated garlic.
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.
 
I know Montreal Steak has kosher salt in it and I can only assume Lawry's Seasoned Salt is called that for a reason, so definitely salt in that rub. I'll count that as one vote in favor of dry brining. :)

BTW, McCormick has a chicken seasoning in the same line as Montreal Steak. It's quite good too, though I use it on pork as much as I do on chicken.
 
JayHeyl said:
I know Montreal Steak has kosher salt in it and I can only assume Lawry's Seasoned Salt is called that for a reason, so definitely salt in that rub. I'll count that as one vote in favor of dry brining. :)

BTW, McCormick has a chicken seasoning in the same line as Montreal Steak. It's quite good too, though I use it on pork as much as I do on chicken.
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Yep, as a matter of fact, my version of slap-yo-daddy has no McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning at all. We used their chicken seasoning instead - although I would have used the former, but we had none on hand. I guess I should have mentioned that before hand. :rolleyes:

EDIT: Found some Montreal Steak on sale today and picked up two bottles.
 
Just remember,
"Organic" carries real regulation, "Natural" is virtually meaningless. There is no oversight on "Naturally raised" fowl.
Just a reminder.
 
I've been dry brining everything lately, won't go back to a wet brine, to me it's too much of a hassle, especially turkeys.
Last chicken was dry brined, refrigerated un covered on a rack over night, hit with pepper, garlic powder, gave it a little smoke on the WSM, no pan, and finished hot over the coals.
Simple, fast and tasty. ;)
 
Geo S said:
I've been dry brining everything lately, won't go back to a wet brine, to me it's too much of a hassle, especially turkeys.
Last chicken was dry brined, refrigerated un covered on a rack over night, hit with pepper, garlic powder, gave it a little smoke on the WSM, no pan, and finished hot over the coals.
Simple, fast and tasty. ;)
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Sounds good, George. Are you buying an un-enhanced bird?
 
Good question, been getting legs and thighs cryovac'd from Costco. .79/.99/# I have some thawing right now and will see if it says on the package. Well, still not sure, all it says is Fresh chicken, "not a sodium free product", sodium is 120 mg. I don't know what the sodium level is in natural chicken. No wording on "enhanced" or with sugar as an ingredient.
Last batch was dry brined as I said, just a dash of salt with the rub and they weren't salty at all. So.....?
 
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