Brine Chill?

[IslandChickens12356]

Hello all,

Processing 100 chickens this weekend, and as the title says, I am wondering if anyone has ever cooled down their birds after slaughter in a brine solution; if so, what percentage would you recommend?

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't care for brined chicken.

My hope for raising my own meat birds is to get away from the salty, mushy meat you get from chicken that "Contains up to X% of ______ solution," in the grocery store.

Why are you considering brine rather than plain ice water for this step of the processing?

 

[Molpet]

I put some salt in the chill water to draw out blood/bruising sometimes. About a cup in a large cooler. I only do a few birds though.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Brining will allow yo to lower the temp of the water below the freezing point, ever so slightly, and thus allow you to chill the chickens faster. As a preservative, up to 10% was used historically - but that's so salty you have to soak in fresh water, repeatedly, to make the meat then edible (not that I did not say palatable).

What you want is a basic flavoring brine, like would be used before smoking. Here's the most popular chart for that. Just pick one salt type, of course - the different offerings have different densities due to crystal size. Then adjust to taste.

and remember to dissolve the solids in a small amount of very hot water first (usually 1/6th to 1/4 of the final amount of liquid), then add the rest of the water and chill to desired temp before use.

Water​	Diamond Crystal kosher salt​	Morton kosher salt​	Table Salt​	Sweeteners​
	(4.8 oz per cup)​	(8 oz per cup)​	(10 oz per cup)​
2 quarts​	1/2 cup​	1/3 cup​	1/4 cup​	1/2 cup​
1 gallon​	1 cup​	3/4 cup​	1/2 cup​	1 cup​
2 gallons​	2 cups​	1-1/2 cups​	1 cup​	2 cups​
3 gallons​	3 cups​	2 1/4 cups​	1-1/2 cups​	3 cups​
5 gallons​	5 cups​	3-3/4 cups​	2-1/2 cups​	5 cups​

 

[Brooks_]

Why are you considering brine rather than plain ice water for this step of the processing?

You still end up with X% retained water. Is air chilling an option for small batch home processing?

 

[3KillerBs]

You still end up with X% retained water. Is air chilling an option for small batch home processing?

I personally can cope with a little plain water. It's the salty mush I would wish to avoid.

I believe that it's possible to use a slushy ice-water bath to rapidly chill the birds after plucking and gutting and then to remove them from the rapid-chill tank and rest them dry.

 

[IslandChickens12356]

You still end up with X% retained water. Is air chilling an option for small batch home processing?

It's not, we're using a mobile processing unit; it's fairly bare bones.

My goal is to have customers come the day of slaughter and chill the birds in their own manner

 

[3KillerBs]

My goal is to have customers come the day of slaughter and chill the birds in their own manner

You'll need to look at your local regulations, but you may be required to use a certain method or, at least, achieve a certain internal temperature within a certain amount of time in order to prevent spoilage bacteria from growing.

 

[speedy2020]

I done both wet and dry brine. The taste isn't that much different so best to do dry brine.