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Yup- "brining" means adding a TON of salt- sugar too, which will drastically change the taste of your bird. That can be a very good thing if it's what you're looking for, but it's often confused with simply cooling in salted water, which not only helps them to cool, but also helps the tissue break down a bit, and discourages bacteria growth. The difference in amount of salt is that for a brine, you're using something like a cup of salt and a cup of sugar per gallon of water, whereas when I salt my cooling tank water, I use probably 2-3 cups of salt for about 35 gallons of ice water.
In short, brining is a cooking method- it's absolutely NOT necessary for processing your birds. Salting the water isn't necessary either, but it's good practice on many levels, in my opinion.
Yup- "brining" means adding a TON of salt- sugar too, which will drastically change the taste of your bird. That can be a very good thing if it's what you're looking for, but it's often confused with simply cooling in salted water, which not only helps them to cool, but also helps the tissue break down a bit, and discourages bacteria growth. The difference in amount of salt is that for a brine, you're using something like a cup of salt and a cup of sugar per gallon of water, whereas when I salt my cooling tank water, I use probably 2-3 cups of salt for about 35 gallons of ice water.
In short, brining is a cooking method- it's absolutely NOT necessary for processing your birds. Salting the water isn't necessary either, but it's good practice on many levels, in my opinion.
