BRINING CHICKEN
Source of Recipe
EMAIL
List of Ingredients
One of the best ways to cook a very juicy, tender, and flavorful
chicken is
to soak it in salt water, also known as brine, before cooking. To
create
good brine, dissolve a half-cup of salt and a half-cup of brown sugar
in a
gallon of water. Immerse the chicken completely in the solution and
place it
in the refrigerator right away. You may want to weight the chicken with
a
plate to keep it completely immersed. Let the chicken soak in the brine
for
3 to 12 hours. Before cooking the chicken, make sure to rinse off the
excess
brine with fresh water and dry completely with paper towels. Brine
works by
allowing moisture to pass through the meat more easily. This process
adds
moisture to chicken, infuses the meat with more flavor, and shortens
cooking
time. It’s important to note that brined chicken will cook faster than
chicken that has not been pre-treated, because water is a better
conductor
of heat than meat.
Recipe
To brine the chicken, dissolve 1-1/2 tablespoons of unionized table
salt (or
1/4 cup of kosher salt) with 1/4 cup of sugar in 8 cups of cold water.
This
will make enough brine for 4 chicken breasts. If you are making more of
less
adjust the amount of brine accordingly. The sugar in the brine will
caramelize on the surface of the chicken as it cooks, giving it a good,
grilled coloring. To help dissolve the sugar and water you can add it
to 1
cup of boiling water, stir until dissolved and add to the remaining
water.
Make sure the brine is cool before you add the chicken. You can brine
in a
shallow, covered baking dish or a large zip lock bag. Brine for 30
minutes.
It is important that you give the brine enough time to work, but that
you
don't over do it.
ARTICLE 2 of 3
BRINING ARTICLE FROM WEB PAGE
http://www.sirius.com/~evanc/brining.html
All of us know of the benefits of Brining, especially for today's
leaner
meats. No longer are there old hens running around on grandmas farm
like one
of my former instructors used to talk about. The pigs are eating grain
cooked to 136%. I for one am completely sold on the benefits of
brining,
everything from whole chickens and pork loin to fish and seafood. This
is
how brining works.
Because there is more salt in the brine than in the meat, the muscle
absorbs
the salt water. There, the salt denatures the meat proteins, causing
them to
unwind and form a matrix that traps the water. And if the brine
includes
herbs, garlic and other seasonings, those flavors and trapped in the
meat
too. Instead of seasoning on the surface as most cooks do, brining
carries
the seasoning throughout. Even a couple of hours in a brine will
improve
bland Cornish game hens, and give chicken breast , pork chops, fish or
even
seafood a flavor boost. Brines vary considerably from chef to chef, as
do
recommended brining times. But generally speaking, the saltier the
brine,
the shorter time is required.
And the brine will penetrate a chicken breast or pork chop much faster
than
a large thick muscle like a whole pork loin or turkey.
Meat left too long in a brine tastes over seasoned and the texture is
compromised, producing a soggy or mushy quality, By playing around with
the
liquid base, you can give your brine some personality. Some chefs use
apple
jucie or beer for some or all of the water. A mixture of orange juice,
cider
vinegar and rice wine vinegar is an excellent base for brining turkey.
Seasonings can run anywhere from thyme, rosemary and garlic to star
anise,
cinnamon and vanilla beans. Many chefs put some sugar in their brine to
sweeten the meat and make it brown better when cooking. This is good
for
pork, but it tends to make everything else taste like ham. Brining
chicken
parts before frying using salted buttermilk will give you the benefits
of
the brine plus the tenderizing effect of the buttermilk. Whatever you
choose
to use, brining is a very effective tool for dealing with todays leaner
meats.
How Long to Brine
The thickness of the muscle, the strength of the brine and your own
taste
will determine how long to brine for an item. 1 gallon of liquid to 1
cup
Kosher salt is a happy medium. If you cant use kosher salt, cut the
salt by
half. Obviously, brined meats do not need to be salted before cooking,
because they are already salted throughout the meat.
Preparing the brine
Bring your liquid to a boil. Add your salt and sugar (if you are using
sugar) and dissolve completely. Add your herbs and seasonings. The
seasonings are added to the hot liquid to extract the flavors,
therefore
better flavoring the meat. ====> COOL the brine completely. When * COOL
*,
put your meat into a non-corrosive container and pour the brine over
it. The
meat must be completely covered, so use a plate to weigh it down if you
have
to.
shrimp - 30 minutes
whole chicken (4 pounds) - 8 to 12 hours
chicken parts - 1 1/2 hours
chicken breasts - 1 hour
Cornish game hens - 2 hours
whole turkey - 24 hours
pork chops - 12-24 hours
whole pork loins - 2 to 4 days
*********************************************
(C) ARTICLE 3 of 3
"BRINING" From The Boston Glove - 1998
(Contributed Thanks To Garry Howard)
BRINING - A Curing Solution
Brining Keeps Meat and Fish Tender and Full of Flavor
Do you ever wonder why your home-cooked roast chicken or pork chops
never
taste as irresistibly moist as what you get in fancy restaurants? Well,
there's a sneaky little technique that chefs use to turn out succulent
cuts
of meat, poultry, and fish. Their secret? Brining. It's easy and
economical.
It requires no special cookware. And it guarantees juicy, tender meals.
Brining is a form of wet curing, explains George Opalenck, associate
professor at Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island. "When we wet
cure
we put the food in a brine, which is a solution of salt, water,
something
sweet - such as sugar or honey - spices, and herbs. The salt draws the
liquid out of the food, but then the brine goes rushing back in. The
sweetener cuts the harshness of the salt and rounds out the flavors."
"It's amazing what brining does," says Andy Husbands, chef-owner of
Tremont
647, who discovered the technique when he worked at the East Coast
Grill
with pal Chris Schlesinger. "Pork, chicken, and tuna can easily become
dry
when cooked on the grill or in the oven. But brining is like a marinade
- it
keeps food moist and tender."
"Brining and curing originated as a preserving method and has been
around
since the seventh century," says Rudy Smith, who teaches charcuterie at
the
Culinary Institute of America in New York. "What chefs are doing now is
brining foods for the benefits of flavor and moisture, not perserving."
A traditional brine contains 2 pounds of salt for every 3 gallons of
water;
the new-wave brines are considerably less salty and have a milder
taste.
"The brines we do are pretty light," says Joe Simone, executive chef of
Tosca in Hinghan, referring to the ration of salt to water in his
brines.
If the brine is too strong, it will break down the meat too quickly and
give
it too strong a flavor. The brine should taste mildly salty." Simone
brines
everything from pigeon an capon to salmon and pork. "It all started
with
pork," he says. "When I worked with George [Germon] and Johanne
[Killeen] at
Al Forno, they brined pork, which was an idea they borrowed from Alice
Waters," chef-owner of Chez Panisse in California.
"We've been brining for 17 years," says Germon. He and Killeen, his
wife,
are chef-owners of Al Forno in Providence and the newly renovated Cafe
Louis
in the Back Bay. "Alice Waters was the inspiration for brining, though
I don
t remember why," he muses. "The reason I like it is because it cooks
the
food a little. Brining cuts down on the cooking time and makes the
foods
juicier."
At both restaurants, Germon and Killeen server their signature
brine-cured
pork chops, which are lightly charred on the outside and pink and juicy
inside.
"We've noticed that brining works best on meats that don't have much
fat on
their own such as chicken and pork," notes Germon. "I use it with
turkey and
I have also experimented with lamb and beef."
Duck is another food that takes nicely to brining. At Bok Shoy in
Brookline,
chef Benjamin Nathan steeps the birds in a spicy Asian brine of soy
sauce,
mirin (sweet rice wine), garlic chili paste, ginger, and oranges. "I
got the
idea for the duck as a takeoff from Peking duck," says Nathan, who also
soaks chicken in brines based on tea rather than water. "I first
started
brining while working at Providence in Boookline, when Bob Sargent [now
chef-owner of Flora in Arlington] was sous-chef. We'd brine veal
breasts,
veal shanks, chickens, and ducks. Brining is a great, great way to get
flavor into meat, poultry, and game."
For entraining, you can brine meat or poultry several days in advance,
then
grill or broil it at the last moment. With fish, shrimp, or scallops,
set
the seafood in the brine for a few hours before cooking.
"I absolutely love brining," says Simone. "You can really broaden the
flavor
of a product without taking away from the original taste. Don't be
afraid to
try it. I even have my dad hooked on brining."
Some Practical Tips for the Home Cook
Brining is an excellent way to create juicy, flavorful meat, poultry,
and
seafood. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- When brining for flavor and moistness (not preserving), it is fine to
use
less salt than the standard measure. Consider using soy or fish sauce
to add
a salty taste.
- Instead of sugar or maple syrup, try sweetening the brine with honey,
molasses, or even caramelized sugar.
- Consider substituting some of the water in the brine with
stock, tea or wine. Adjust the salt and sugar to taste.
- Poultry and meat require longer soaking times than fish and shell
fish.
From the Boston Globe, May 13, 1998
By Victoria Abott Ricardi - Globe Correspondent
Compliments of Garry's Home Cooking
http://cooking.netrelief.com
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