Chicken Brine


 
E

E Mann

TVWBB Fan
I'm looking for a new competition chicken recipe and thinking of brining legs & thighs and then smoking. I have a rub I like but need a good brine recipe and suggestions on how you smoke & finish. Thanks!
 
I find that a simple brine is the best. 1 cup of kosher salt one & cup of brown sugar to a gallon of water. The chicken needs to dry out after the brine to help prevent rubbery skin.

Al
 
If you are cooking chicken for bbq comps , you know a lot more about cooking chicken than I do , but I will echo mr Silverman and vote for a simple brine that won't distract from the flavor of the rub. Other than that , I can only wish you good luck at the comp , brother! :wsm:
 
A gallon is a lot of brine, so I normally cut that in half or less. But I've been keeping the brown sugar above the recipe level and people have loved it. Agreed with keeping it simple and let *us* know what you come up with.
 
What's your flavor profile? More sweet, or savory? A good savory brine is fresh herbs (I like basil, oregano and parsley for this one), about two to three lemons, juiced and zested, a cup of kosher salt to a gallon of water (I don't go cheap in comps, I use good chicken stock), a little white sugar to offset the saltiness (maybe, half cup?), a nice pilsner beer (can substitute for part of the gallon of water), about a quarter to a half cup of worcestershire, about 6 cloves of garlic mashed up to release essence, a few tablespoons fresh cracked black pepper, and an onion cut into about sixths. About 6 hours in that will yield a great brine that will complement chicken very well. It's almost a Tuscan theme in a way and I will typically cook on high heat for crispy chicken and use just a little olive wood chunks for smoke.

For sweet brines, I'll use water, salt, some of the rub I'll be using, brown sugar, honey or molasses, a citrusy beer like a hefeweizen or similar, oranges (lemons will still work fine in this one as well), etc. You're really limited by imagination and by what flavor component complements another.

Hope any of that helps...
 
A simple poultry brine...1 1/2 gallon of water, 1/2 kosher salt, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons each of garlic and onion powder, cajun spice, and celery salt.
 
Al Silverman said:
I find that a simple brine is the best. 1 cup of kosher salt one & cup of brown sugar to a gallon of water. The chicken needs to dry out after the brine to help prevent rubbery skin.

Al
Click to expand...

+1 for a simple brine.

These are the same proportions I use for chicken and turkey and lean cuts of pork. I've tried adding garlic and herbs, but I couldn't detect much of the flavor in the finished meat so I went back to the basic salt+sugar.
 
I use a very simple brine, honestly, I think it is called "Simple Chicken Brine" on Allrecipes. I just did thighs And drummies this weekend and brined them just for a couple hours in the above brine (water, sugar, salt, soy sauce. It calls for olive oil, which I never add...) and then applied a rub afterwards.

The above brines sound delicious, I'm thinking I'll try them as I'm interested in seeing how much flavor will infuse. One thing I've learned from experience is that cut up chicken really can't take a long brine. It will end up quite salty tasting, so I leave my overnight brining for a whole chicken.

I dry it by draining the brine off and then patting the pieces dry with paper towels.

I used a prepared citrus rub mix I've had on hand for a while then put the parts over direct heat to sear and crisp the skin, then indirect.

The resulting chicken was absolutely delicious, tender and juicy and the kids ate it like someone was going to snatch it away from them. :)
 
Due to the time constraints of a competition flavor brining will have minimal impact on your chicken. Remember you can not pre-brine for a comp. My most successful results were with simple brines of water, sugar (turbo) and salt. For flavor brines you need a lot more of the flavoring and a lot more time than a simple brine.

For normal brined poultry letting the skin dry for a 1/2 or full day in the fridge dries out the skin after bringing, but you won't have that luxury at a comp. There are several things you can do to help the skin, but we will focus on the brine

My high heat simple brine
Gallon of water
3/4 C Morton Kosher Salt (Or 1 C of Diamond Crystal)
1/2 C Sugar

Brine for as long as possible at the comp. Have your brine made & cooled at home prior. Once you get meat inspection, dump the chicken in a container & brine. You are probably going to get your meat inspected at noon or after on Friday and turn in is probably noon on Saturday.
 
Thanks Josh. We usually get to the comps pretty early & have our meat inspected by 10:00 or 11:00. What do you do to dry out your skins after brining at the comp since you can't have a fridge? Just dry with a paper towel?
 
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