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PREACH IT! Pre-Salting is Better Than Liquid Brine! Threre, I Said It Again!

leanza

leanza

Babbling Farker
Joined
May 26, 2007
Location
Southern California
In the Spirit of the Season, I once again share with you, a process that for some reason just hasn't caught on. But the fact remains it's simply the best way to brine any poultry. THE DRY BRINE.

Speed and ease, baby! It's so easy and simply better than a liquid brine in the final texture of the finished poultry. No spongy texture.

I add a portion of my favorite rubs and spices to one tablespoon of Kosher salt per five pounds of poultry. The (dry) brine takes salt and spices into the poultry during the osmosis process and infuses the bird with wonderful, juicy flavor. I then place the birds in sealed bags for about 24hrs, rinse, air dry in the fridge for some time then lightly re season with my rubs and prepare on the grill or smoker.

In my experience the bird is more forgiving, compared to non-brined bird, as it will stay tender and juicy if somewhat over cooked by a imbibed cook.

Simple and easy. Here is a pictorial of the process which includes one of two ways to Spatchcock poultry.

These birds are for a cook tomorrow and given the opportunity I will post pictures of the results.
 

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Thanks, Tom! Having room to brine in a five gallon bucket has been a problem. This should solve the "room for prep" problem for many folks. Gonna give it a whirl!!
 
I love this method also. Cooks Illustrated magazine swears by it for exactly the reasons you stated. I've only done it once (turkey), and it was quite good. The only downside IMO is that you don't get as much of a chance to add other flavors. A lot of debate regarding exactly how many other flavors can actually make it into the meat... I'm sure there are a million threads on the Brethren about that, and I have no intention on starting another ;)
 
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i have known quite a few people to do poultry this way, i still prefer the liquid brine approach myself...my question is this...instead of calling it a "dry brine" why dont you just say cure? I'm pretty sure brines are wet and cures are dry.
 
Once we (my lovely wife & I) discovered dry-brining we never went back. We've had nothing but good luck with it on turkeys. It requires a little planning ahead (which is normally a problem for me) but it turns out great.
 
I cook most of my chickens the way Tim, I mean Ted, nooo, Terry? I mean Tom does, except I like to wrap the bird tightly in plastic wrap, or suck the air out of the ziploc to keep the plastic close to the flesh. I am of the opinion that it keeps the liquid close to the meat.
 
Hmmm...I may just have to investigate this process a bit further...:cool: 24 hours you say? Would less time work...say 8-12 hours on thighs, breasts, legs, or wings?
 
My Granny did that and she called it either "koshering" or just "salting". And not just for chicken, but on rabbits too. I thought she added a touch of vinegar to the bag as well... I just don't recall. I have done it on chicken wings and leg quarters and like the results, but I need to give it a whirl on a whole breast. I routinely use a liquid flavoe brine (or injectable brine) on my white meat, so this might be a cool switch off.
 
JD, I have found I can 'salt' the chicken parts in the morning and cook it for dinner. Seems that would be 8 hours or less. I also do this for frying a bird or bird pieces. In that case, I sometimes rub the pieces with buttermilk.
 
I do under and on top. Peel the skin back, apply rub, flop skin back and do more rub on skin IF your going to eat the skin. Otherwise, just under the skin is fine.
 
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