Brining chicken adds moisture and reduces cooking time. But it's also the perfect means for infusing subtle or more robust flavors into your chicken.
I admit that I only started brining a few years ago. It just wasn't something with which I was familiar. But once I started brining, I was amazed at how much more juicy my grilled chicken started turning out.
Of course, brining is nothing new nor is it anything to be feared. It's been done in professional kitchens for decades and by people in general for centuries. Even poultry producers soak or inject their poultry with a brining solution. Unless you bought it fresh, the last turkey you cooked for Thanksgiving or Christmas was probably enhanced this way. Why? Because brining makes meat more juicy and flavorful. How?
Well, the science behind brining isn't too difficult to grasp when stated simply. However, there are several processes at work and I'm not a food scientist. Still, I try to explain the process below. It's an interesting read. However, feel free to skip it.
How Brining Works
Simply stated, meat absorbs liquid when brined. Some moisture loss is inevitable during cooking, but since the meat contains more liquid at the beginning of the cooking process, it ends up juicier.
Initially, water moves from the meat into the brine but the salt in the brine moves into the meat. The salt dissolves part of the meat's protein structure, causing the cell walls to collapse, drawing water back into the meat.
Now some folks, being on a low-salt diet, have tried to omit salt from their brining solution. But salt is a necessary component of the brining process for the reasons stated above and also for its ability to denature proteins, which is explained below.
Heat causes coiled proteins in the muscle fibers to shrink and lose moisture. Drop some meat into boiling water and it immediately contracts or "tightens-up". That's the muscle proteins response to heat. Initially, this contraction prevents moisture from diffusing into the meat. But as the meat simmers, the proteins break down (denature) and relax, allowing moisture to diffuse into the meat.
Brining does something similar without the heat. The dissolved salt in the brining solution causes proteins to unwind and swell. The bonds holding the proteins together break down and the water in the brine binds to these proteins. Water also gets trapped between the proteins during cooking and the proteins bind together. As long as the meat isn't over-cooked, which would cause the protein bonds to contract and squeeze out the trapped moisture, the meat will be juicier.
Ingredients for Brining Chicken
Now we get to the fun part. When it comes to brining chicken, the ingredients you use are limited only by your imagination.
At my house, my wife will often juice fresh fruits and vegetables for me. This, of course, results in left over pulp. My mom juices too and at one point she had a freezer full of pulp, insisting that she was going to make everything from carrot muffins to zucchini bread. Never happened.
So I decided it's just best to discard the pulp. However, one day a friend gave me a recipe for juicing that I tried and loved. His name is Mark Oyama and I call his recipe "Oyama Juice". The ingredients are: spinach, celery, kale, parsley, cucumber, apples, carrots, orange, lemon, ginger, and garlic. (If you'd like the exact measurements, feel free to contact me. I'll be glad to share).
After trying this recipe, I decided that the remaining pulp was just too good to discard. As I bagged it, it occurred to me to use it to flavor my next brine.
Pulp I Used for Brining Chicken
So I used the pulp from the "Oyama Juice" recipe and, in addition to the standard salt and brown sugar, I added 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of soy sauce.
Brining Chicken in Freezer Bag
Now the basic time guideline for brining chicken pieces is one hour. However, since the brine contained quite a bit more ingredients that would absorb some of the salt, I brined the chicken for approximately 3 hours. After brining I rinsed the pieces and let them come to room temperature.
After grilling the chicken for about 30 minutes over medium-high heat, the results were wonderful!
Unfortunately, we don't juice every day so I don't always have pulp on hand for my grilled "Pulp Chicken". However, I've come-up with a simple brine recipe below that has served me well. Try it and let me know what you think!
Ken's Basic Chicken Brine:
- 2 quarts of cold water (i.e., 8 cups)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves chopped or crushed
- 1 small onion sliced
- 2 small apples sliced
- 2 small oranges
- 1/2 bunch cilantro
1. Mix the salt and sugar in one cup of hot water and stir to dissolve.
2. Place chicken in a non-reactive container or large resealable freezer bag.
3. Slice each orange into several pieces and squeeze the juice over the chicken. Put the orange peels in with the chicken.
4. Add to the chicken the soy sauce, vinegar, and the cup of water containing the dissolved salt/sugar. Now add the remaining water and other ingredients.
Brine chicken in the refrigerator for 1-1/2 hours.
Brining Chicken in the Refrigerator
When done, remove chicken from the brine and rinse. I then season it with some lemon pepper and paprika and then let it come to room temperature. While waiting, start your charcoal and set-up your grill for the "zone method", using medium-high (400F) heat.
Grilling Your Chicken
When grilling, start by searing your chicken directly over the coals for 3 minutes per side.
Next, move your chicken away from the coals and place them in the 2nd heat zone of your grill, which should be about 400F. It's important that this portion of your grill be this hot as the temperature is going to slowly decline as you cook.
At this point, you can add some wood chunks to your coals (apple, cherry or hickory) and close the lid of your grill for a nice subtle smoke flavor. Either way, grill the chicken for about 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes have passed, rearrange and/or turn your chicken and cook for another 20 minutes. The chicken is ready when the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165F.
After the chicken is done, remove it from the grill, tent it loosely with foil and let it rest for a few minutes before eating. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat so that it's even juicier when eaten.
Brined and Grilled Chicken with Cabbage and Potatoes
So, as you can see, brining chicken does involve a little advance preparation, but the results are well worth it. Bon Appetite!
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