Brining Poultry

[paul6057]

Hi All - I'm going to cook a 4(ish) kg chicken for Christmas lunch (not massive turkey fans and turkeys are pretty large), and I've seen a few things in videos, and general discussions about brining. Has anyone tried this, and if you have, what were the results?

Also, I don't have a brining bucket, so what recommendations do you have for how to successfully brine a bird? How long do you have to do it for, and what recipes have worked well? The videos I see from the US all use pre-made brining powder which I obviously can't get in the UK, so any recommendations or thoughts would be appreciated.

[sotv]

I always brine my chickens before cooking even for the cooker indoors now.

I usually brine a 2kg bird with 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and dissolve that in a cup of hot water first, then add enough cold water to submerge the bird and leave for 24 hours, and run it under the cold tap, pat dry and add rub if necessary, after it has finished brining. Does the job for me. I am sure doubling the salt and sugar would be adequate for a 4kg bird.

Edited December 16, 2019 by sotv

[Wade]

Personally I think it makes very little difference. https://www.woodsmokeforum.uk/topic/55-comparing-chicken-home-brining-methods-is-it-a-science-or-an-art/?tab=comments#comment-83

Peoples perceptions of turkey being dry are usually because they over-cook it. Where brining does help is in adding some flavours into the meat. You need to be careful though that you dont end up making the chicken/turkey too salty. 

4 hours ago, sotv said:

I usually brine a 2kg bird with 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and dissolve that in a cup of hot water first, then add enough cold water to submerge the bird and leave for 24 hours, and run it under the cold tap, pat dry and add rub if necessary, after it has finished brining. Does the job for me. I am sure doubling the salt and sugar would be adequate for a 4kg bird.

The concentration of the salt/sugar in the water is important or you will end up with a very salty bird. If you double the amount of salt you must also double the amount of water.

You do not need a lot of brine - you only need sufficuent to cover the bird. If you place a plastic bag in the bucket and then place the bird in that and pour in the brine, you can then gather in the top of the bag and the water will cover the bird. You will find that you can manage with relatively little brine.

[sotv]

36 minutes ago, Wade said:

Personally I think it makes very little difference. https://www.woodsmokeforum.uk/topic/55-comparing-chicken-home-brining-methods-is-it-a-science-or-an-art/?tab=comments#comment-83

Peoples perceptions of turkey being dry are usually because they over-cook it. Where brining does help is in adding some flavours into the meat. You need to be careful though that you dont end up making the chicken/turkey too salty. 

The concentration of the salt/sugar in the water is important or you will end up with a very salty bird. If you double the amount of salt you must also double the amount of water.

You do not need a lot of brine - you only need sufficuent to cover the bird. If you place a plastic bag in the bucket and then place the bird in that and pour in the brine, you can then gather in the top of the bag and the water will cover the bird. You will find that you can manage with relatively little brine.

Fair enough,

I normally brine a bird no more than 2kg in weight  (chicken, pheasant) but the measurements I gave work well for it, for my tastes, adds a little more flavour and in my opinion makes the meat far more juicy than if I hadn't, but all down to personal taste. The 2kg bird usually tastes far more salty if I have added a rub to it after it than just the brine with the amount I use does to the finished bird.

For a 2kg bird I use one of those large plastic cake holders with a very secure sealable lid, means I can fit it in the fridge easily. Just big enough to cover the bird fully in the brine as well. Never had a spill or leak yet 🤞

[Simon]

This is a daft question but do you need to wait until the bird is thawed before starting to brine it?

[arian]

No experience, so ignore me, but putting things in cold water means they defrost quickly, so I'd not bother waiting. After all, the bird's going to be in the brine for ?24 hours.

 

 

[sotv]

3 hours ago, Simon said:

This is a daft question but do you need to wait until the bird is thawed before starting to brine it?

Worth checking the label to see if the bird is pre-brined as part of the freezing process, usually says it somewhere on the label it has been or shows a % content of salt and water. If not, then brining itself should be fine.

[Wade]

17 hours ago, Simon said:

This is a daft question but do you need to wait until the bird is thawed before starting to brine it?

Yes. If the bird is still frozen then the brine will not penetrate the meat until it has thawed. Defrost the bird in the fridge before brining it.

[paul6057]

Does anyone add any herbs or spices to their brine, other than just sugar and salt? I saw one video where the guy used apple juice in the brine as well which I guess adds to the sugar content.

[sotv]

On 12/18/2019 at 10:39 AM, paul6057 said:

Does anyone add any herbs or spices to their brine, other than just sugar and salt? I saw one video where the guy used apple juice in the brine as well which I guess adds to the sugar content.

Never thought about anything but a straightforward salt and granulated sugar brine with chicken, although I add garlic and madeira wine to a brine for pheasants, but that is a much more gamier tasting bird.

Hopefully someone who has tried it with poultry will be able to help you.

[paul6057]

Well, I added a little bit of garlic powder, onion powder and celery seeds (just because I had them) to the brine, and the chicken is cooking now, so I'll see how that goes this evening.

The first thing that I've noticed is that the skin has browned up much more quickly than usual. Perhaps because there is less water in the skin so it crisps quicker now.

[sotv]

1 minute ago, paul6057 said:

Well, I added a little bit of garlic powder, onion powder and celery seeds (just because I had them) to the brine, and the chicken is cooking now, so I'll see how that goes this evening.

The first thing that I've noticed is that the skin has browned up much more quickly than usual. Perhaps because there is less water in the skin so it crisps quicker now.

Let us know how it turns out, as I said I always brine my chickens first now indoors or outdoors, always turns out juicy and better flavour we feel because of it (especially cold next day as well)

[Wade]

here is a recipe that I have used successfully for several years. It is a recipe used by a chef friend from New Jersey for his family Thanksgiving turkey. The herbs and spices in the brine result in it having a lovely flavour.

Thanksgiving brined turkey