why brine chicken?

I don't specifically know about it tenderizing older chicken, but I do know that it makes the meat tender and juicy! My sister soaks the Thanksgiving turkey in a brine the night before and it's the best turkey I've ever eaten! It gives it great flavor, and the breast doesn't dry out.

 

Quote:Just 3 hours ago I learned this on the Rachel Ray show! Next time I cook a turkey I am going to try it. She just used salt and suger in water. Does your sister use anything special?

 

The Joy of Cooking warns that if you brine your poultry, you should cut back on the amount of salt that you use in your stuffing and gravy since the brine will add a great deal of salt to your meat which will then impart an extra saltiness to your stuffing and gravy. If you balance it correctly, it says, it should be delicious. However, if you aren't lenient with the salt after brining, your food will be over salty and disappointing. The book also claims that brining does tenderize the meat, but I don't think it would go so far as to tenderize an old bird and make it taste young!

 

I have a question, one that I just don't understand! Why is brineing OKfor you to do and when the ones done by the commercial processors for the store chicken frowned upon?

 

Quote:Bcause they charge for the brine thats in the chicken. It makes the chciken heavier than it would be. If you have a 20pound turkey and it has 10% brine in the bird ...well i dont want to pay for their saltwater . I can do it myself.

 

The large processor dont simply brine they inject. The injection is usually a solution that is salt and sodium phosphate. there is a huge difference. Brining is a culinary technique that mostly helps to crisp the skin and potentially lock in juices.

I have heard it referred to as a tenderizing technique, it is not. Marinades tenderize brining adds flavor and mostly crspness.

Injection is a completely different thing than brining.

 

Greathorse is correct about brining locking in juices. Brining and curing both use salt but are different.

Salt is used to cure meat where the salt "draws out the juices that would otherwise cause (the meat) to spoil. Salt also inhibits bacteria growth and seasons the meat." Good Housekeeping Cookbook c2001 p88.

 

I do brine my chicken, but when I think about brining, I mostly think about venison. My husband says the salt helps to draw the blood out of the meat. I don't know. I just do it that way because that's the way I was taught to do it. My mother did it that way, and so did her mother, and so on. Our venison has always been delicious. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

brining poultry breaks down proteins that cause 'tough' meat. it also allows the meat to cook faster and with less dryness.

it works wonders. my chickens cook so much faster and juicier!

love it!