Dry-brine spatchcock chicken?

Wrapping is nonsense and would only prohibit the dry skin you're seeking. Even when dry-brining other cuts like beef I wouldn't wrap in plastic as I feel it leads to that dreaded overly firm "cured-like" texture.

It's not really nonsense at all, it keeps the liquid brine generated when the salt pulls moisture out of the meat against the meat so...

You can air dry it in the fridge afterwards, I've found that 425* of radiant heat tends to do a pretty good job at drying off the surface of the bird quickly though :thumb:

Dry brined, wrapped in plastic, still got crispy "deep fried" skin without drying in fridge



Why would a wet/immersion brine not create a “cured like” result but just keeping the salty liquid pulled out using a dry brine against the meat would?

The reason I see for wrapping, is because brining pulls moisture out and the wrap will help to keep the juice and flavor against the meat instead of in the bottom of the pan. Yes, it definitely keeps thee skin from drying.

Any "juice" in the bottom of the pan is minimal (we're talking a teaspoons) and not worth the hassle and waste of wrapping in plastic. You want evaporation on the surface of the skin in tandem with the salt working it's way into the flesh. Trying to save a minuscule amount of "flavor" by wrapping the bird in plastic is silly.

You do you bruh

SonVolt said:

Any "juice" in the bottom of the pan is minimal (we're talking a teaspoons) and not worth the hassle and waste of wrapping in plastic. You want evaporation on the surface of the skin in tandem with the salt working it's way into the flesh. Trying to save a minuscule amount of "flavor" by wrapping the bird in plastic is silly.

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Thanks for the info. I was thinking that the juice mixed with the salt and then brined the bird, so you would lose some flavor if it ran off. I will try my next dry brine chicken without wrapping and see how it goes!

sudsandswine said:

Why would a wet/immersion brine not create a “cured like” result but just keeping the salty liquid pulled out using a dry brine against the meat would?

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I was specifically talking about beef in that context. Anyway, wrapping a 3-4lb chicken in plastic for 24 hours isn't going harm anything other than blocking evaporation. I just don't feel there's anything to gain by doing so. Now, if you're brining something like at turkey for MORE than 24 hours I would probably drape a sheet of plastic over the breast just to minimize excess evaporation.

Here's a good discussion on it - https://blog.thermoworks.com/turkey/how-to-dry-brine-a-turkey/ Seems Cooks Illustrated recommended wrapping. Kenji and Thermoworks recommended against it.

I worked for almost a year developing our dry brine product Harvest Brine and did quite a few tests on this very subject.

Here is what I discovered..


The internet articles suggesting it not be wrapped are on the right track, but some are on the wrong train.

If you are dry brining smaller proteins that are quick to dry brine (I.e. a steak), then leaving them unwrapped will help to dry out the exterior and help provide a nice crust.

If you are dry brining something larger or something that is rounded (like a whole chicken or turkey) that will dry brine for hours (2-3 hours per pound minimum for a dry brine), then wrapping it with plastic wrap helps to hold salt and the moisture it pulls from the bird against the skin.
This is a critical step and without it the end product suffers.

We still like to have the moisture pulled away from the skin before we smoke it though. So simply unwrap and put back in fridge for a few hours prior to smoking. The bird is already brined at that point, so no harm, no foul and you get the best of both worlds. A well brined bird and drier skin going in the smoker.

Use the method above. It works

^^^^^^
i approve of the above message