# Store-bought chicken is too salty...



## Anonymous (May 26, 2003)

Has anyone else noticed that the chicken purchased in the grocery store is now very salty?  Last week, I was excited to see Butterball breasts on sale........I purchased them and baked them in a favorite recipe.  The meat was so salty, it made us feel "icky".  When I examined the packaging, I noticed a saline solution on the label.  Then.........another day, I purchased breasts that were just the store's name brand.......again it was breasts on sale............and we barbequed them outdoors this evening.  They looked so yummy!  We were very disappointed when we found that, they too, were salty!  I think they are being processed with saline solution to tenderize them, but we don't like this.  Does anyone know how to avoid the problem?  Thank you!


----------



## carnivore (May 26, 2003)

hi Gwen,
I'm probably not the best person to respond to your post, especially since I've never experienced the problem you're describing, but I thought I'd reply anyway.
My girlfriend & I eat chicken breast a lot--probably 3 or 4 times a week.  We buy all our chicken breast frozen in 3 pound bags, and the brand is usually Tyson or Kroger, and I have never found these salty.  We've also bought Butterball chicken breasts, but never noticed a salty taste with these either.
I've even brined chicken several times (marinated it with a mixture of water, salt, and a couple other things) and never found it "salty".
The only question I know to ask is are you sensitive to salt, or are you seasoning the chicken differently than normal?  Basic questions, I know, but it always helps to elimate the simple answers    
Unfortunately I can't help more, but surely someone else on this forum can.
Hope you find the solution,


----------



## kitchenelf (May 26, 2003)

I'm not sure either gwen unless you have possibly developed an intolerance to this solution.  I know exactly the ingredients you are talking about and all I can think of is maybe something is going on internally and you have just become more sensative to it???  I'm with carnivore, I don't really know, other than to start eliminating things.

The way I would avoid it, but it will be more expensive, is to start buying free range chicken or go to the health food store and buy there.  If you ever find out what it is please let us know.

Are you on any different meds?  Well, I guess you said you weren't the only one that could taste the difference!  Now I really don't know - clueless here, sorry.


----------



## Anonymous (May 27, 2003)

*salty chicen con't.*

To all who have kindly replied............thank you for your opinions.  I would like to note that I did not mention to my husband the fact that I noticed the salty taste.  However, both times........HE commented on it.  And both times I have recently cooked chicken, it has been by baking and by barbequeing it.  So, I really haven't used a recipe or added any ingredients other than bottled barbeque sauce on the second one.  So, if anyone else has ideas, I am "all ears"!   Thanks again!


----------



## oldcoot (May 27, 2003)

There is a "brining" fad going on for poultry.  What darned fool started the idea of brining poultry overnight before cooking I don't know.  But most of the cooking shows on TV have been pushing it.  They claim if ensures the meat will be moist and tender - but brine extracts water from meat, so that makes no sense. 

 So, Gwen, I suspect you have fallen prey to suppliers' reacting to that fad.

I bet that, by checking labels, you can find chicken that has not been brined - (lots of low-sodium" folks out there, so it is surely available).

If not, yell at the store manager - loudly!


----------



## leigh (May 27, 2003)

You've got it, oldcoot!  Brining is _everywhere _these days, and boy does it taste awful. :x   

Gwen, around these parts, i.e. northeastern Kansas, free range chicken is harder to find than a doc who makes house calls.  However, we can get a brand of chicken called "Smart Chicken" - logo is (what else??) a chicken sporting a mortarboard.  Anyway, this chicken not only is unbrined, it is also chilled in cold air rather than water.  It's absolutely delicious, with none of that chemical taste or water-borne "soaked too long" flavor.  I also find that it keeps longer in fridge and the package NEVER leaks!!  Keep looking: free range chicken is the best of all possible worlds--and by all means follow oc's advice and holler loudly and incessantly at your supermarket.  Good luck!  Let us know what you find.


----------



## Earlene (Jan 25, 2004)

*Salty poultry*

Gwen,

I have noticed that some chicken has been salty and turkey has become so salty that I have given up even trying to eat it for over a year.

I wondered if it were just my aging taste buds or if somethings were becoming overly salty.  

This seems crazy with the push for low salt diets.  

Earlene


----------



## ChrisF (Jan 25, 2004)

Have not seen what you are describing Gwen, but thanks for the heads-up. Like Carnivore, I also buy the frozen chichen breasts in the bag Tysons or Giant Eagle brand.  

And I am the first one to notice too much salt in my family, I add very little if any to my cooking. I always say "you can always add, but you can't take-away." As I place the salt shaker on the table.


----------



## BubbaGourmet (Jan 25, 2004)

My family and I have, over the course of years, greatly reduced the salt in our diet. We have become somewhat "salt sensitive". Most meat products that are "packed  in" or "injected with" or "enhanced by" any solution are, indeed, brined. However, the brine itself is NOT the problem here. The problem here is the time spent in the brine. 

Brining is a centuries old method for enhancing the flavor and juiciness of meat particularly meats that will be subjected to either very high or very low, dry heat cooking methods like smoking, grilling or roasting. Since these processes tend to leech out the moisture within the meat, it is necessary to increase the moisture content before subjecting the meat to these methods. 

Timing is an essential element for successful brining. It can take as little as 25 minutes (for shell-on shrimp) to as long as 12 hours for a 20 lb. turkey. If you are not careful and you let a particular cut of meat remain in the brine too long...it will start to become salty. Those enhanced cuts of meat may have been in the brine for several days and can taste ooverly salty to those folks who are salt sensitive.

Don't dismiss brining because of this. Next time you want to grill some center cut pork chops 1 1/2" thick, brine them first for about 1 hour. You'll see what I mean.
[/i]


----------



## ChrisF (Jan 25, 2004)

BG

So if we want to debrine the meat how do we go about it, I'm thinking a cold water soak ?


----------



## BubbaGourmet (Jan 26, 2004)

Chris,
    Well, we studiously avoid buying meats that are packed this way. if you cannot, then a cold water soak OVERNIGHT with a few water changes will reduce the amount of brine in the bird by reverse osmosis. I doon't think you can get it all though.


----------



## molly (Jan 27, 2004)

you may want to try organic or "free range" chicken meat. it's a little more expensive but they don't use chemicals or hormones at all in raising and processing the chicken. just an idea.


----------



## grammadee (Jun 24, 2004)

*salty chicken*

Hi, Let me introduce myself, I am grammadee and I am new on this site, I was looking to see if anyone else encountered a problem with todays trend to market salty chicken, I have reduced kidney function and am having a hard time finding chicken I can eat, and eating out, well forget it!  I found your discussion on the problem and want to know if anyone found and good way of removing most of the salt.  When I read the sodium level on Perdue chicken I went into a rage, who gave them the right to add all that salt, they just about put me into congestive heart failure, I am so angry about what the government allows those big companies to do with what nature gave us, it's hard enough to find unprocessed nutrition without them slipping it past us by labeling it "minimally processed" does that phrase allow them to put in whatever additives they want without requard to our health, it seems to me to be just a way of adding shelf life to their product, without requard for human health.  Sorry to go off, I told you it made me angry, so is there any hope to get all that salt out of the chicken, or do I have to go vegan to regain my health?


----------



## RAYT721 (Jun 24, 2004)

*GRAMMADEE ... WELCOME!!!*

I can't help to answer your questions but I *CAN* say that you are making excellent points. Also, I would like to welcome you to the board. Thanks for joining us!!!  /rayt721


----------



## Alix (Jun 24, 2004)

Would soaking in buttermilk help it out?


----------



## Barbara L (Jun 24, 2004)

Wow!  I never even thought about this.  I am supposed to cut back on salt too.  I haven't cooked with salt or salted anything at the table for several years (except corn on the cob and occasionally roast beef), even before the doctor told me to cut down on salt, and I try to find foods that aren't full of salt.  I have to cut way back on beef and pork, so I bought a ton of chicken at Aldi's yesterday, frozen leg quarters and boneless, skinless chicken breast.  After reading these posts, I checked the nutrition labels.  One leg quarter has 470 mg. of sodium (20% of the daily value).  I thought that was pretty bad.  THEN I checked the other.  One breast piece has 930 mg. of sodium (39% of the daily value)!!!  Yikes!  Just more proof of what some of us have mentioned lately, you have to pay through the nose to eat healthy foods.  I may have to start raising my own chickens!

 Barbara


----------



## grammadee (Jun 24, 2004)

Barbara

Just for the record according to www.nutritiondata.com a serving of chicken breast before cooking has a mere 46 mg of sodium, food for thought ... or is it?  I am hoping that the advice of a cold water soak will help.  I like the idea of the buttermilk soak, but I am allergic to dairy so for me that is a no go, but you might try it, if nothing else it will add wonderful flavor.


----------



## Barbara L (Jun 25, 2004)

grammadee,

Yes, I will definitely soak it in something from now on.  Buttermilk if I have it, water if I don't.  I figure, every little bit helps!

 Barbara


----------

