Brining

if you feel the need to brine, always do your work first...tooo messy otherwise

Definitely trim and then brine (especially if you're doing this for a competition).

I'm usually in a hurry to brine so I just soak everything and trim later.
We don't brine for comps, so I'm only talking about home cookin. If you're talking about competition, then I'd probably trim first.

Personally I have stopped brining thighs – I just don’t see the benefit to moisture as I see a difference in the skin. I brine breasts and whole chickens and marinate the thighs – esp. in comps.

But to answer the question directly - I would trim then brine.

If it's not a big hassle (or for comp), definitely trim before brining. The brine does not result in better skin, unlike what it does to the meat. Since you're trimming it and putting it back on, you may as well scrape that skin too!:thumb:

Keep in mind that most chicken available for purchase at most stores is already in solution, so you don't need to brine it. This means that skin has been in solution too, unfortunately.