# Chicken Brine? Season? Cook.



## Chef Maloney (Dec 2, 2012)

I have never brined a chicken. I usually just roast, rotisserie or BBQ with a seasoned salt.  
I have a 5 Lb. chicken I would like to brine. 
I would also like to know how you season the chicken for cooking after you brine. 

Please share your brine recipes with me.

Please share your seasonings and what method of cooking you use after the chicken is brined.
Thank You.


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## salt and pepper (Dec 2, 2012)

Brine: 1 gallon water
1 cup salt
1 cup honey or maple syrup or brown sugar
1 tblsp pepper corns
2 bay leaves
1 tblsp mustard seed
1 tblsp fennel seeds
mix well and keep refrigerate for 24 hours before brining. Pour over chicken and brine 12 to 24 hours.

Here is a personal rub I use as an all pourpose, goes good on beef chicken fish and eggs.


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## salt and pepper (Dec 2, 2012)




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## Addie (Dec 2, 2012)

Just make sure you rinse the chicken after brining.


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## Chef Maloney (Dec 2, 2012)

salt and pepper said:


> Brine: 1 gallon water
> 1 cup salt
> 1 cup honey or maple syrup or brown sugar
> 1 tblsp pepper corns
> ...


 

Thank you very much Salt and Pepper, I appreciate it. I will do this


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## jennyema (Dec 2, 2012)

The only real rule about brining is in the salt:water ratio.

Everything else you add is about your taste.  I always use sugar but not too much.  You don't want the brine to taste overtly sweet.  I also use done soy sauce for the umami factor.

No need for other seasoning with brined poultry.

Here's a good recipe:  Chicken Brine Recipe | Michael Ruhlman

Here'


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## Chef Maloney (Dec 2, 2012)

*Thank you all :>)*

Thank you all so much!


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## no mayonnaise (Dec 2, 2012)

Try the dry brine method.  It has many pros vs. wet brining, not the least of which is ease of use.
Simply salt the surface all over and lightly sprinkle a small amount of sugar, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let sit for 2-3 days in the 'frige.  Rinse/pat dry before cooking.  You can find specific recipes online but that's the gist of it.
You'll notice a substantially better texture and more concentrated flavor; wet brining tends to introduce too much water weight which dilutes the flavor of the meat (water has no flavor) as well as making the texture generally not as favorable compared to the dry brine method.

Not to mention there's no big mess with a bunch of water and what not with the dry brine method.

Lastly, volatile flavor molecules are generally too large to filter through muscle fibers and cell membranes in brining, so adding things like peppercorns, herbs, other spices, etc. to the brine (wet or dry) is literally a waste.  And that's assuming they're water-soluble which many aren't, especially without heat.  Save the extra flavors for seasoning before cooking.


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## Chef Maloney (Dec 2, 2012)

Thank you no mayonaise for that info. I appreciate it much


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## no mayonnaise (Dec 2, 2012)

Oh yeah and if you're brining with any method hold back on the salt when seasoning before you cook it.  Same if you use the drippings for gravy; the chicken is absorbing salt molecules into the meat so the drippings and meat with both be seasoned with salt already.  You can always add more salt later if needed since it's not a heat-dependent flavorant.

If you're brining whole chicken I'd recommend the spatchcock method and either grilling, smoking, or roasting it.  Spatchcocking will reduce cook time and result in a more moist chicken.


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## jennyema (Dec 2, 2012)

STANDING, WAVING HANDS AND SHOUTING!!

Try this recipe (skip the bread salad if you want to).  It's AWESOME!!

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/12/zuni-cafe-roast-chicken-bread-salad/


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## Chef Maloney (Dec 3, 2012)

jennyema said:


> STANDING, WAVING HANDS AND SHOUTING!!
> 
> Try this recipe (skip the bread salad if you want to). It's AWESOME!!
> 
> zuni cafe’s roasted chicken + bread salad | smitten kitchen


 
Thanks Jennyema for the link. I will do this it looks AWESOME


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## Kylie1969 (Dec 3, 2012)

jennyema said:


> STANDING, WAVING HANDS AND SHOUTING!!
> 
> Try this recipe (skip the bread salad if you want to).  It's AWESOME!!
> 
> zuni cafe’s roasted chicken + bread salad | smitten kitchen



That looks wonderful, thanks for sharing Jenny


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## Chef Maloney (Dec 3, 2012)

*back to no brine for me....*

I did the brine chicken per salt and pepper's recipe. The flavor was great, especially with the rub recipe provided. I was not a big fan of the texture of the chicken. Maybe because all my life I have never had a problem with getting tender chicken? I didn't over-brine either, I only left the whole 6 Lb. chicken in the brine for 4 hours. No salt taste or anything.
I think it was too tender for my liking, maybe a better description would be too 'soft'. I have always gotten a tender chicken when I use the rotisserie. I think I got bored and was wanting to try something different after reading so much about brines on the ww web and here on DC. I don't think I would care for the texture no matter what method of brining I tried, I just don't like my chicken that 'soft'. We like a bit more texture and some crispness up in there. My family asked me to 'make it the way you used to' hehe
I may try the 'dry brine' method suggested by no mayonnaise sometime in the future. *Thanks everyone* for your suggestions I really do appreciate it very very VERY much.


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## salt and pepper (Dec 3, 2012)

Chef Maloney said:


> I did the brine chicken per salt and pepper's recipe. The flavor was great, especially with the rub recipe provided. I was not a big fan of the texture of the chicken. Maybe because all my life I have never had a problem with getting tender chicken? I didn't over-brine either, I only left the whole 6 Lb. chicken in the brine for 4 hours. No salt taste or anything.
> I think it was too tender for my liking, maybe a better description would be too 'soft'. I have always gotten a tender chicken when I use the rotisserie. I think I got bored and was wanting to try something different after reading so much about brines on the ww web and here on DC. I don't think I would care for the texture no matter what method of brining I tried, I just don't like my chicken that 'soft'. We like a bit more texture and some crispness up in there. My family asked me to 'make it the way you used to' hehe
> I may try the 'dry brine' method suggested by no mayonnaise sometime in the future. *Thanks everyone* for your suggestions I really do appreciate it very very VERY much.


 
Sounds like you cooked it low and slow? I like to cook my bird at a hi temp, (475) for twenty mins, then 350 til done.


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## jennyema (Dec 3, 2012)

Cook the dry brined high heat chicken recipe I posted. 

Zuni Cafe chicken

It's just particularly awesome.


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## Chef Maloney (Dec 4, 2012)

salt and pepper said:


> Sounds like you cooked it low and slow? I like to cook my bird at a hi temp, (475) for twenty mins, then 350 til done.


 
I cooked it at 375 for around 90 minutes. Do you think that would have changed the texture of the meat itself?
I REALLY LOVE your seasoning recipe. I am definitely keeping that. You should bottle it and $eLL it. I'll buy it!!!
You are way KOoL for sharing that. You should post that in a recipe thread 




jennyema said:


> Cook the dry brined high heat chicken recipe I posted.
> 
> Zuni Cafe chicken
> It's just particularly awesome.


 
Thanks SO MUCH Jennyema. It looks awesome, I AM doing it next week


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