Brine vs Marinade

[swinefan]

All right.  I have had medium success with chicken and want to knock some legs out of the park this weekend.

I usually marinade my wings in Italian dressing and they always turn out great. 

I always brine my turkey legs/wings and they usually turn out very good. 

I can never perfect the chicken legs.  I am torn between brining in salt/water or marinading in an Italian dressing (or other seasonings).

Do I smoke the whole time?  I usually do it on the weber instead, cooked off-heat until they hit 170 then I hit them on the coals to crisp up the skin.

I always attempt Jerk legs but I cannot get a good sauce.  

Any advice at all appreciated!! 

 

[daveomak]

I like injecting chicken and turkey with hopped up chicken stock...   use your imagination...  Gently roast some spices in a fry pan until you can smell the oils warming up...  add to the injecting liquid and simmer for a bit on the stove top...    cool and refrigerate...   filter out the stuff that will plug your injector and inject...  If you are planning on smoking at low temps for awhile, add cure #1 at 1 tsp. per 5#'s of stuff or 1.1 grams per 1# of stuff...

 

[jstx]

Why not both? I would inject with some lightly salted water and then marinade as you normally would. Getting flavor into the meat is tricky.