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How long to brine breasts ?

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barneypoo69

barneypoo69

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Dec 28, 2009
201
11
Kyle, Republic of Texas
I've got a frozen pkg of skinless chicken breasts. I've never brined. I'm going to use "MaSlaughterhouse Poultry Brine by Tip Piper" that I got off this forum. How long should I leave the 4 skinless chicken breasts in the brine ? If i can get my camera to work I'll take some pics of the smoke. I plan on putting a little of Jeff's rub & wrap each with bacon. Thanks
 
I usually brine my chicken for 12-14 hours. I would not go longer than 24hrs.

rinse them good and soak them for a bit ti be sure they arent too salty

I love the slaughterhouse brine and wont do smoked chicken without it
 
Thanks. But those two suggestions aren't near each other...12 hrs or 1 hr......remember, I've never brined, so I haven't a clue. I understand to rinse off real good & then soak in water/ice for a little while & rinse again. is that right also ? thanks
 
I've been to that website & I think 1 hour is a little short for breasts. We usually leave breasts & thighs in the brine or marinade for 3 to 4 hours. If you have a vacuum marinating dish then 1 to 2 hours would be plenty.
 
I have done them over night ( 8 hours) and some for 4 hours.
Didn't see any differents between the two.
 
I don't rinse mine off after brining, but then I don't use a lot of salt in the brine either. 
 
Thanks my friends. I thought 1 hr seems a little short. I just have a 2 gal plastic coverd container to soak 'em in the fridge. The brine is 1.5 gals of water & 1/2 cup of salt (coarse Kosher salt) along with garlic, onion powder, 1/2 cup of brown sugar & some cajun seasoning. I'll give it 4 hrs maybe a little longer but not 8 hrs....that scares me. Thanks again.
 
Last edited:
I do my chicken quarters 1.5 hours to 2 hours and have had great success.  I really haven't done just breasts so I am not sure if 1 hour is enough or not.  You could always do an experiment and do one for 1, one for 2 etc and see how they turn out.  I am pretty sure the amount of salt in your brine should affect how quick the brine works.
 
I brine mine for 24 hours, then rinse and soak in plain water for about 3-4 hours. Always juicy. I do alot of chicken, they are never mushy. I only use 1 cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar to 1 gallon water. Good luck. I started by going 12 hours, then one time I forgot about them and they stayed in for 24 hours. I thought they might end up being too salty so I did the plain water. Funny how screw ups turn out to be a good thing.

Since you are using a brine with more ingredients I would brine for 6-8 hours to start. It's trial and error with anything to do with brining, you have to find out what works for you and the particular brine you are using.

Here's the last one's I did. I stuffed them with creamed spinach and provolone cheese, made kind of a fatty. When I do something like this I don't want alot of competing brine flavors. Just me I suppose. I'm looking for a tender, slightly salted chicken breast. I want the yummies inside to shine through. Good luck!

f039cb7d_IMG_1841.jpg
 
wow that looks amazing do you have a recipe for that...would looove to try it thnx
 
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