Brining help


 
Jerry N.

Jerry N.

TVWBB Emerald Member
I did some boneless, skinless chicken breasts yesterday. I brined them per the instructions in the recipe from this site (Qt of H20, 1/2 of sugar and 1/2 cup salt). I brined two full breasts in a gallon zip lock bag for 1 hour. They turned out way to salty.

My question is how do I correct for this? Do I cut down the time in the brine or do I cut the amount of salt down that's in the brine? The breasts were moist and tender - just too salty.

BTW - I did have a rub that had salt in it which certainly didn't help, but as near as I can tell, the real salty flavor came from the inside of the meat, not so much from the rub.
 
Jerry, I think you used too much salt for the amount of water you were using. I go 1/2 cup table salt per gallon of water. If memory serves me correctly there's a table around that speaks to this. If I find it I'll post it.

EDIT: Just read the brine you refer to on this site and you did it right. Maybe cut it in 1/2 next time?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerry N.:
I did some boneless, skinless chicken breasts yesterday. I brined them per the instructions in the recipe from this site (Qt of H20, 1/2 of sugar and 1/2 cup salt). I brined two full breasts in a gallon zip lock bag for 1 hour. They turned out way to salty.

My question is how do I correct for this? Do I cut down the time in the brine or do I cut the amount of salt down that's in the brine? The breasts were moist and tender - just too salty.

BTW - I did have a rub that had salt in it which certainly didn't help, but as near as I can tell, the real salty flavor came from the inside of the meat, not so much from the rub. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jerry, were the chicken breasts enhanced? What kind of salt did you use? The recipe specifically states Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, which weighs 2.5 ounces per half cup (if you're using table salt, make sure you go by weight and not volume). If you made your own rub, next time omit the salt. If not, try making your own rub without salt. If you have to use that rub, next time I would go with around 1.5-2 ounces (by weight) of salt with the same amount of water and sugar and see if that works out.

Erik
 
I would think the time was too long. I would only go for about 1/2 hour. There is a lot of surface area on BSCB, so it soaks up the brine very quick.
 
Jerry
You did boneless, skinless chicken.
There is a big difference between whole chickens and what you used. The salt and sugar concentration was too high for this, I would recommend that you reduce both by half.
I would also rinse before cooking.
Typically I only brine whole chickens.

Regards
 
Thanks everyone. I'll cut the sugar and salt in half next time.

(fyi-I'm certain the breasts were not enhanced)
 
Just for fun, weigh the salt. Because sea/Kosher salts are flakier, they take up more volume for a given weight, so that may be where things went wrong. If you choose to halve the salt in the brine, make sure you do so by weight.

(A lesson learned the hard way.)
 
Jerry, The amount of salt you use is based on what brand and style you are using. All salts are not created equal. Read the post by Keri C for salt to water amounts. Link here for you.
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I would still argue that an hour is too long to brine BSCB. I have used that concentration of salt and sugar to water in everything I brine. I only vary the times, and the occasional additional herbs or spices. It's true though, that using different types of salt could lead to a stronger solution.
 
with larger pieces of meat, its a good idea to allow some time to rest after you remove it from the brine to allow the salts to evenly distribute themselves throughout the meat. although bscb are pretty small, a shorter brine and a little rest might help.

I've been playing around with brining bscb before breading and frying them into chicken fingers, so far I dont have much to report.

on a side note, I'm looking for any info anyone has regarding the use of phosphates in brining solutions. It seems common in the fast food industry (KFC), the original research that's online shows that a combo of sodium and phosphorous salts help retain internal moisture, and phosphates are present in the FAB products. Rather than hijacking this thread, I'll post a new discussion in this forum.
 
I think the phosphates are for a preservative effect. At least that's what I remember from a freshman college food science course.
 
Jerry,

I've done 2 whole chickens on my rotisserie - one brined and one not. The one I didn't brine was better by far. I just used melted butter to give the kosher salt and minced onion something to stick to - all just put on the skin. It went on the rotisserie for 1-1/2 hours and was great.

Boneless skinless breasts I just throw on the grill after the fire burns way down. A little seasoning, one turn of the chicken and they're good to go.
 
FWIW, I did use kosher salt. I also did not rinse, just patted dry like the recipe said. I think a rinse will help.
 
I think there is one key item that i didn't see anyone address and that is that chicken skin is not permeable it allows nothing through it, so when you brine a whole or half chicken with skin and bones on it the meat surface area exposed to the brine is greatly reduced. I used the same 1:1:1 (gal:cup:cup) mix with both a whole chicken and a boneless, skinless turkey breast and the turkey was almost to salty to eat. The key adjustment is if it's skinned or not. And brining does work. When you add salt to liquid it raises the boiling point which allows you to cook to a higher temperature without the liquid vaporizing away. Boy am I glad I didn't skip Chemistry class!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">When you add salt to liquid it raises the boiling point which allows you to cook to a higher temperature without the liquid vaporizing away </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

make sense, never heard it put that way.

I do know the meat sucks up both salt and water when brined, increasing the initial moisture content (and weight). Thats why supermarkets sell enhanced meats (they're selling you water). Your finishing moisture content, after cooking, will also be higher, because of this initial gain. Thats why restaurants do it, to increase yield.

I also read that salt denatures the proteins in meat, tangling them up with liquid. The liquid tends to stay in the meat throughout cooking better. Try slicing a non-brined turkey, its nothing like the stuff you get at a deli. Slice a brined turkey and you'll see that the protein has a different texture, more like a deli.
 
Don't know if this link will work but
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/printfoodscience.asp?foodscienceid=13&bdc=156
This is Cook's Illustrated's latest brining guidlines.
I brine quite a bit. Whole chickens,chicken pieces,pork tenderloins and pork chops. I normally use a standard recipe for all. 1 gt h2o+1/4 C Morton's Kosher+1/8 Ctrubanado sugar. Obviously if I ahve alot of stuff I amke a double batch but same proportions. I leave things in this mixture for up to 1-1/2 hrs. But I rinse everything a lot when I'm finished. My wife is salt sensitive because of high blood pressure and she hasn't complained. Plus the CBs come off the grill juicy. Just my method.
 
Pat, thanks for posting that. I would have missed it.

For the benefit of folks reading this thread in the future, it is not in the September print issue but a search in Cook's Illustrated website for "brining" will bring it up. The web article is dated September 2008.

Rita
 
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