a longer brine anyone?

[in. pred]

i usually brine chicken over night in a seasonings, salt, sugar brine i cook up. this time i brined it in a tender quick and seasonings mix. cooked up sugar 8c water pile of rosemary, onion, garlic, pepper, sage, old bay, cayenne. after cooking up the brine, i added 1/2c TQ. put all parts in a bag and poured in some brine(i saved 2 cups for a pork loin). then in the fridge for next days supper. so i thought. the wife brought home some dinner the next night. so it sat another 24 hr in the brine. i pulled it out of the brine and layed it in the sink to drain off. i didnt rinse it because the brine was so weak( imo) im glad i didnt! i tossed on some onion powder before i tossed it on the grill. grilled up as normal but wow the flavor blast! some of the best yard bird ive ever produced. i even took the temp a lil farther than i wanted on accident. i think the breast made it to 178 when i caught it. oops dryed it out. nope! they were super juicy inside. they shoulda been ruined at that temp. i guess the 2 day brine mite become a standard here!

anyone else normally do two day brines on chicken parts? i was always under impression chicken took brine easy. it didnt need that long of a soak. the extra time in the brine took my seasonings all the way to the bone. all the meat was infused with the brine. i was truly impressed with the results. next time its getting dried n fried. that has to be off the hook good! lol

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I do 2 to 3 days using pops low salt curing brine and take dark meat to around 190. Super juicy and tender. Dont do white meat very often though.

 

[akjeff]

Interesting. Haven't tried a wet brine on chicken. We cook it so often, I simply dry brine with Diamond Crystal salt, for 24 hrs. Fast, simple, and dries the skin out really well. Then season with whatever flavor profile we're in the mood for, when it goes in the smoker. Crispy skin, and moist inside.

 

[zwiller]

I post about this all the time but it never gets much traction. One of my fave moves. I routinely brine (dry) chicken for 5 days to a week. 24hrs is the absolute minimum for me. I run a TON of bird and have tested it at varying times. 3-4 days is about the same as injecting. I even hold 24hrs when injecting.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/wood-fired-yardbird.314837/

 

[thirdeye]

I don't mix strong (salty) brines and for immersion only, I could easily go 24 to 40 hours. However, I always inject some of the brine, so as a minimum I need 8 hours of time before the fire.

 

[in. pred]

I post about this all the time but it never gets much traction. One of my fave moves. I routinely brine (dry) chicken for 5 days to a week. 24hrs is the absolute minimum for me. I run a TON of bird and have tested it at varying times. 3-4 days is about the same as injecting. I even hold 24hrs when injecting.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/wood-fired-yardbird.314837/

i see in your thread you used a dry brine. do you always use dry brines and if so why? i miss too many good threads like that. lol

 

[in. pred]

Interesting. Haven't tried a wet brine on chicken. We cook it so often, I simply dry brine with Diamond Crystal salt, for 24 hrs. Fast, simple, and dries the skin out really well. Then season with whatever flavor profile we're in the mood for, when it goes in the smoker. Crispy skin, and moist inside.

when you do try it, cook the brine. dont boil the TQ though, add it after its cooled a bit. i feel that simmering 20 min.(lid on) really takes the brine to next level. it infuses the water with all the aromatics you introduced. that in turn takes the flavor deep into the meat. i been doing this with deer meat for years but not chicken. from here out, when i want top shelf chicken it will be brined 48hr!

your seasoning profile you speak of, will be all the way to the bone brother!

 

[Parshooter]

Interesting. Will have to try this next chicken. Never heard of Tender Quick. Is it crucial to the brine ?

 

[zwiller]

do you always use dry brines and if so why?

I do both but dry is definitely easier/faster and less waste so I do it more often. What happens on longer brines is that the meat reabsorbs the juice that is initially expelled in the first 24rs or so. Also, the spices breakdown and dissolve. Lastly, over the extra time the salt penetrates deeper into the meat which I think is the main reason it's better. Injecting does the same thing MUCH faster but it's MESSY and you gotta clean the syringe and injected spices look weird...

I did a run about once per week testing it over one summer. Sweet spot is 3-4 days. No real improvement beyond that but 5-7 days is typical for me as it jives with my schedule.

 

[indaswamp]

Yep-It's the salt that keeps the meat juicy, juicy ; even when pushing past 165-170*F in the breast. What salt goes, water follows so once the salt penetrates into the meat, the meat holds more moisture than an unbrined bird.

 

[zwiller]

even when pushing past 165-170*F in the breast.

YEP. It is EXTREMELY important on white meat chicken breast. Brining is like insurance for not overcooking.

 

[in. pred]

Interesting. Will have to try this next chicken. Never heard of Tender Quick. Is it crucial to the brine ?

yes like swamp said its the salt in the brine. i have always used just non iodide salt but the tender quick seemed to give this brine more flavor. my old way to ad salt was to toss in a hand full. lol the amount i used isnt much. if you used recommended amount it would be too salty imo. just dont treat the meat like its fully cured. too weak brine for that i think?

 

[in. pred]

i cooked up another batch this morning for some quarters for monday. if i can stand to wait. lol

i measured and wrote it down this time to see what comes of it.

4c water
1TBS each-paprika-rosemary-garlic pepper-onion pwdr-sage-oldbay
1/2TBS each-chilli pwdr-blk pepper-red pepper
2TBS sugar
1/4c TQ (ADDED AFTER COOLED DWN SOME)

ill post results on this mix.

 

[chopsaw]

Interesting. Will have to try this next chicken. Never heard of Tender Quick. Is it crucial to the brine ?

@Parshooter
Tender quick is a curing agent . Don't confuse with regular salt . Don't confuse or use as cure 1 or cure 2 .
When using it you should follow the Morton directions . Problem there is , the direction can be confusing .

If you get a bag , and want to try it , PM me if you have questions .

 

[thirdeye]

Tender quick is a curing agent. When using it you should follow the Morton directions . Problem there is , the direction can be confusing .

When Morton designed their line of curing agents, they targeted hunters and home cooks and even had a booklet of teaser recipes like Summer sausage, or a short cure on pork chops.