Harvest Brine - What did I do wrong?

drallan81 · Nov 18, 2019

I think the answer is that I let the brine sit too long, but if so, how long should I let it?

Wanted to give the harvest brine a try this year for turkey day. Usually I do a spinoff from the Smokin Okies Wet brine with great results. But I figured I'd try something new, and it would be nice to not mess with gallons of brine.

So I did a test run on a batch of thighs and a standard roaster chicken. Both came out extremely salty. I guess flavor was alright, but I really couldn't get past the salt. I rubbed them up and put in a ziplock bag overnight then cooked in the morning. Maybe 12hrs max brine time?

Admittedly I did not measure the brine, I just sprinkled and rubbed. I did the thighs first and figure the overnight was waaay too long so I chalk that up to my fault. But I figured 12hrs for a whole bird would be good. I even rinsed it off and let it soak for a 30 min in a bucket of water after the thighs. Again, it was salty.

How long do you guys usually brine for? How much do you use? I guess I need to be a little more careful with it. Not sure I want to switch things up from a known recipe for the big day, but I'm willing to give another test run this weekend.

zippy12 · Nov 18, 2019

1 tsp per pound!

tom b · Nov 18, 2019

I don't measure but probably about what zippy says and 2-3 hrs per lb, never had a salty problem before

WilliamKY · Nov 18, 2019

I suspect you may have used too much.

IamMadMan · Nov 18, 2019

I agree, you may have used too much if you didn't measure / weigh.

Use 1 tsp per pound of meat, let sit 2 - 3 hours per pound per piece of meat.
IE: if you have 10 pounds of thighs, do not use that to calculate time, instead use the weight of a single thigh to determine dry brine time. The roaster would be calculated separately according to it's own individual weight.

If used properly, there is no need to rinse the dry brine, the residual maple sugar and salt residue on the skin aids in browning and helps to crisp.

I have always had a balanced flavor when using Harvest Brine.

SirPorkaLot · Nov 18, 2019

Bummer!
The key is to follow the instructions on the package.
It is a sea salt based brine, the salt is what does the heavy lifting, but not much is needed.
1 tsp per pound of meat is what the instructions say, you can even go a little heavier, up to 1.5 tsp per pound.

However if you treated the brine like a typical rub, it would indeed be a salt lick

Edit:
1 tsp per pound on a 12 lb bird is only 4 tablespoons. It won’t look like near enough, but it is.

Timmy Mac · Nov 19, 2019

Glad this come up. Cause I just ordered some.

drallan81 · Nov 19, 2019

Thanks for the replies. I may try again this weekend. I definitely went over the 1tsp per pound. Kinda just sprinkled on like a rub.

Besides additional moisture, does it add flavor? Maybe the salt was too overpowering, but I didn't get even a hint of something.

As another test run, I did another batch of thighs last night using my usual wet brine, and they came out great.

I'm always up for something new, but also have a hard time going against what works.

FWIW, I'll share my secret ingredient. I add some of the "McCorkmick Pickle Spice" to my wet brine, and it is a total game changer as far as flavor goes. Can definitely taste the "Holidays" in the meat. It is my equivalent of pumpkin spice for coffee with poultry.
I use a whole can for big batches, or just a 1/3rd for small. But it has that fall aroma without being over powering. Really takes things up a notch.

thirdeye · Nov 19, 2019

The many techniques involving curing, brining or salting (my Grandmother called it Koshering) have ancient roots. Now that we have all kinds of wonderful (and safer) techniques and products it's really important to follow procedures and instructions. I'm glad you are going to a give yourself a second run at dry brining, the results can be wonderful.

LordRiffenstein · Nov 20, 2019

Correct me if I'm wrong:

Curing time will not determine how salty something is, only how deep the flavours can penetrate. If something is to salty after curing, you just used to much salt to begin with.

IamMadMan · Nov 20, 2019

drallan81 said:
Besides additional moisture, does it add flavor? Maybe the salt was too overpowering, but I didn't get even a hint of something.

The idea of a brine or rub isn't the change or cover up the flavor of the meat, but merely to compliment the flavor.

Poultry has a mild delicate flavor, so you'll see that Harvest Brine adds subtle flavors of apple and maple while allowing the flavor of the tender juicy poultry to be the real shinning star in the meal.

drallan81 said:
FWIW, I'll share my secret ingredient. I add some of the "McCorkmick Pickle Spice" to my wet brine, and it is a total game changer as far as flavor goes. Can definitely taste the "Holidays" in the meat. It is my equivalent of pumpkin spice for coffee with poultry.
I use a whole can for big batches, or just a 1/3rd for small. But it has that fall aroma without being over powering. Really takes things up a notch.

Old Bay seasoning is another favorite secret ingredient used in poultry brines, both dry and wet. Our own Patio Daddio (John Dawson) brought this to light many years ago. Now it seems like everyone has copied him.

Harvest Brine - What did I do wrong?

drallan81

Knows what a fatty is.

zippy12

is Blowin Smoke!

tom b

somebody shut me the fark up.

WilliamKY

is One Chatty Farker

IamMadMan

somebody shut me the fark up.

SirPorkaLot

somebody shut me the fark up.

Timmy Mac

Take a breath!

drallan81

Knows what a fatty is.

thirdeye

somebody shut me the fark up.

LordRiffenstein

is One Chatty Farker

IamMadMan

somebody shut me the fark up.

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