Rubbery, slimy chicken??

[TxQGuy]

Hey y'all. Was wondering if you had any input on this. I cooked a spatchcocked bird yesterday and experienced something I'd never had happen before. The breast in particular had a rubbery, slimy texture to it, as did the drumsticks. Thighs were ok. The meat was fairly tasteless and didn't absorb much, if any, smoke flavor or any benefit from the brine/rub I used.

For context, here is what I did:

Overnight brine in buttermilk/Crystal hot sauce/dash of pickle juice
2 hours before grilling, pat dry and rub with olive oil/rub, then air dry in fridge
Grill indirect for approximately 1.5 hours
Temp'd twice in the thigh at 175, and called it done


Not that this picture can help diagnose much of anything but just in case, here is the dang devil bird about 10 minutes before it reached final temp :mad2:

 

[Baychilla]

Was it pre-injected? Was it an escaped critter from a tofu ranch? Too much moisture loaded in with an insufficient air dry time may have led to the results you experienced.

The olive oil went on prior to the air dry? Wouldn't that act as a moisture barrier and keep the bird from drying?

 

[CptKaos]

you basically soaked your bird in milk and spicy vinegar (ugh) which was dissolving the meat.
try a regular brine ( water, salt and seasonings) next time


Larry

 

[GrantAshton]

Buttermilk is fine for an overnight brine.

How much Crystal did you include? You may have added too much acidity as buttermilk has a mild acidity on its own. Buttermilk brines typically don’t include additional acids.

 

[Nuco59]

Shouldn't a brine have salt in it...and why buttermilk?

 

[TxQGuy]

Buttermilk is fine for an overnight brine.

How much Crystal did you include? You may have added too much acidity as buttermilk has a mild acidity on its own. Buttermilk brines typically don’t include additional acids.

Just about 5-6 dashes of Crystal, and maybe a couple tablespoons of pickle juice. Guess I'll keep it simple next time...or really...just stick to the usual dry brine I do Haha. This one didn't go as planned to say the least.

 

[GrantAshton]

Just about 5-6 dashes of Crystal, and maybe a couple tablespoons of pickle juice. Guess I'll keep it simple next time...or really...just stick to the usual dry brine I do Haha. This one didn't go as planned to say the least.

A buttermilk brine typically has salt in it.

It doesn’t sound like your brine necessarily had too much acidity. However, you did need salt.

 

[AWilliams]

K.i.s.s

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

When I use buttermilk I always add some HOT sauce and a good measure of salt. But it only needs a few hours of soak time.


Technically buttermilk itself is not a brine because it doesn't promote osmosis which is what makes a brine do what it does. Not acidic enough to be a marinade. Just a flavorful soaking liquid...Works for me :thumb:

 

[Tannhauser42]

You may have just gotten a bad bird. Twice in my memory I've bought a chicken breast that, when cooked, had the consistency of rubber (almost even squeeking when biting). Nothing special was done to them, straight from package to cooking to plate.