What are the basics and options of brining meat, for example chicken? I ate at a restaurant in Santa Fe that specialized in brining and the chicken was amazing. Id like to know what the process is and how much variation there is.
Chicken – What are the basics and options of brining meat, for example chicken
briningchicken
Related Topic
- Chicken – How to ensure that the chicken meat is not over cooked or under cooked
- Chicken – Are there different grades of chicken in the US
- Chicken – What are possible substitutes for pineapple in sweet and sour pork/chicken
- Chicken – How to tell the freshness of raw chicken
- Creating a thanksgiving brine for a 7-8 lb Turkey
- Chicken – this really tasty part of a chicken found in a cavity in the hip
- Chicken – difference between chicken broth made with breast vs. leg meat and why
- The optimal way to remove salt from cooked meat
Best Answer
I suggest reading this Cook's Illustrated - The Basics of Brining (PDF) article. I use their basic brine all the time.
This article taught me two cool things I didn't know about brining.
If you aren't familiar with Cook's Illustrated, they bill themselves as America's Test Kitchen. They will take a recipe and beat on it with dozens or more variations tweaking and analyzing it as they go, until they come up with the "ideal" something or other. In this case, it's brining.
With this as a base you have a lot of opportunity for experimentation. I usually add very hearty aromatic spices to mine. Some possible additions and substitutions:
Another thing addressed by this article is what meats should and shouldn't be brined. The short version is lean mild meats are suitable for brining, fatty meats or those often cooked rare/med-rare do not benefit.
Suitable
Unsuitable