Soak in salt water???

[quercus21]

On occasions, the closes I have done is to marinate the chicken, less salt. I would have to agree with miss_thenorth.

Kaj

 

[WalkingWolf]

A chicken can be aged without brine, but then the chicken has to remain at a temperature above freezing to age and is subject to bacteria. As has been stated before third world countries do not refrigerate their meat it is hung open air. And you will find the cuisine very tender, you also may pray to the porcelain god if you are not accustomed to it. Meat of any kind will be tough if it never goes through the rigor process. Usually with wild game their is a longer time line before the meat is processed and the carcass goes through rigor. Brine not only insures the tenderness it preserves, and the simple fact that it is submerged and not exposed to bacteria in the air also protects from illness.

When frog legs are cooked fresh they will twitch in the pan. Lack of rigor in reptiles or fish is a good thing because then the meat is firm. The opposite is desired with beef, pork, and poultry. This is why in times before the prepackaged supermarket meat the quarters or halves were hung on serpentine hooks and cut in order of age. Usually 15 to 30 days. When we used to pick up poultry from a meat shop when I was a child the chicken was pulled from a wooden barrel filled with brine. The beef was a cut pulled from side hanging.

 

[sgarrison]

I am curious also....so after processing, brine in the fridge or whatever for 24 hrs, then rinse and freeze? Does this sound right to someone who knows?

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
I think that would be up to you as long as the chicken does not spoil as to how long. You should refer to the USDA website. You do not even have to brine or age a chicken but I think it makes a difference on a older bird. I am no expert on chickens I did work in a slaughter house when young and beef is aged not brined. We always brined our wild game, but then my DW will not eat any meat if it is not falling apart tender. If it tastes good I will chew through nails.

I think 24 hours would be fine and then freezing, the biggest concern is thawing properly to avoid spoilage.

 

[MrsChickenWhisperer]

I have yet to butcher a meat chicken but I have processed wild turkeys. I will follow the same procedure when I butcher my 15-25 birds. I will use a large cooler or two to start. My brine solution will be mixed but I will use ice instead of cool water. As I finish and rinse each bird, they will go straight to the ice brine. Ice and salt will be added as necessary to keep the birds cold. I will let them soak overnight. They will be rinsed, dried and packaged the next morning. I don't think that mix ratios are critical but the one posted earlier sounds like a good target.

I like brining birds for the above mentioned reasons. It does make a difference! I also like the anti-bacterial properties of the salt. Hope that helps.