Poultry Brine Food

PERFECT CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• Mix water, kosher salt, white sugar, garlic, sage, basil, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a large pot over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the salt and sugar are dissolved completely, about 20 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat and cover with a lid. Cool brine at room temperature for 2 hours before refrigerating to cool completely.

CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• If water is cold, heat it for about 90 - 120 seconds in the microwave (you want it very warm, but not hot). You can also do this on the stove top if you prefer.
• Stir salt and brown sugar into water. Stir until salt and sugar are completely dissolved and liquid is translucent.
• Add chicken to a watertight bowl or bag. Pour brining liquid over chicken and seal bag or cover bowl tightly. Make sure brine covers chicken completely; prepare additional brine if necessary.
• Allow chicken to brine in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. Pat chicken dry with a clean towel or cloth before cooking.

TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Combine 2 quarts of water in a 6 quart pot with salt and sugar, over high heat until dissolved.
• If wanted, add other seasonings at this time.
• Let come back to room temperature.
• You will need 2 gallon turkey size oven roasting bags.
• Place one roasting bag inside the other, roll down the edges of the bags to help them stay open.
• Put bags in a heavy roasting pan that will hold turkey.
• Place turkey breast side down, with legs facing you in the inner bag.
• Some help from another person at this point would be of help, they can hold the bags open for you as you pour the cooled brine into the cavity and over the turkey.
• Gather the inner bag as tightly as possible and secure with a twist tie.
• Secure outer bag with twist tie.
• Refrigerate in the roasting pan for 12-18 hours.
• Remove from bags, rinse very well, pat dry with paper towels.
• It's now ready for your favorite recipe.

SIMPLE CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• Pour the warm water into a container that is twice the volume of the water. Pour in the salt, sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then allow the brine to cool to room temperature.
• To use, place chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate two hours for skinless breasts, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 4 hours to overnight for whole chickens. Drain and pat the chicken dry before cooking. One gallon of brine is enough for 6 pounds of whole chicken or bone-in chicken pieces, and up to 10 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts.

Steps:

• Use a pot big enough to hold you meat. Dissolve kosher salt in water in the pot on slow simmer for about 2 minutes. The basic ratio is one tablespoon of salt for every one cup water.
• Now throw in all the fancy flavor enhancing ingredients into water. Add crushed garlic, pepper corns, bay leaves, lemon slices, honey and fresh herbs - rosemary, thyme and parsley.
• Bring water to boil for about a minute, stir to dissolve salt.
• Remove pan from stove. Allow water to cool completely.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT put chicken in the brine before it's completely cool. Warm temperature of the brine will make scary harmful bacteria's in the chicken. It can lead to serious health hazards!
• Cook's Tip: To help brine cool down faster, allow the pot to cool down a bit and then place the pot in fridge to cool brine faster and cool it completely.
• Place whole chicken in cooled brine.
• NOTE: chicken should be fully immersed in brine.
• Cover pot with lid and brine chicken inside refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours. Do not go past that. Chicken will begin to absorb salt and will turn overly salty.
• Note: if chicken isn't fully immersed in water, go ahead and add 1 to 2 cups of extra water (room temperature water).
• After brining, remove chicken from brine. Rinse under tap water.
• IMPORTANT: Don't skip rinsing brined chicken under tap water. This will wash off some of the salt over the chicken. I found when not rinsed, brine chicken after roasting turned a bit salty.
• DISCARD THE BRINE. Raw meat in the brine marinade can cause contamination if used. Discard brine after removing chicken from it.

APPLE JUICE BRINE FOR CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a pot over medium heat, combine the apple juice, salt, oranges, lemon, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil.
• Turn off the heat and add in the rosemary, thyme, black peppercorns, and bay leaf. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until the brine is cold.
• In a brining bag or large pot, submerge the whole chicken in the brine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the bag before cooking, rinse the chicken, and pat it dry (including in the cavity). Cook as desired, it is great for roasting, smoking, or grilling. NOTE: The sugar in the apple juice makes the skin brown faster than usual. Halfway through cooking check to see if it needs covered with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

KITTENCAL'S BUTTERMILK POULTRY BRINE (FOR CHICKEN OR TURKEY)

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix or whisk the buttermilk, shallots, garlic, salt, sugar, cumin (if using) and black pepper until the sugar and salt is completely dissolved.
• Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture; toss with clean hands to coat the chicken in the mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 8-24 hours.
• Rinse the chicken quick and just slightly under cold water to remove the onions and garlic if desired before cooking or grilling.
• Grill or oven-bake as desired.

APPLE CIDER TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Remove the Instant Pot lid and turn on the sauté setting for 30 minutes. (30 minutes is the most you can sauté, so you'll add more time when this time is up.)
• Add the water, apples, and brown sugar to the stainless-steel inner pot with the lid off.
• Place the cloves, ginger, cinnamon sticks, pomegranate, and orange into the strainer bag, tighten the bag's strings, and place the strainer in the inner pot.
• Allow the cider to simmer.
• When the 30 minutes is up, turn on the sauté setting for an additional 10 minutes.
• When the cooking time is finished, remove the straining bag and scoop out the apples.
• Transfer the apple cider turkey brine to a deep-dish roasting pan with the turkey.
• Then oven-roast your turkey in the apple cider brine, basting the turkey with the brine pan juices every 20-30 minutes.
• You can garnish apple cider brined turkey with fresh thyme sprigs, fresh rosemary, or parsley.

QUICK CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• Combine water, salt, and aromatics (garlic, herbs, etc.) in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Place ice (or ice water) in a large bowl (or very large measuring cup) and pour brine over ice. Stir until ice is melted.
• Place chicken in a large plastic bag and pour brine over chicken. Seal and let sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Drain chicken and pat dry. Use in any recipe, but make sure to only lightly salt the chicken surface once you've brined it.

CHICKEN BRINE

Steps:

• In a very large stockpot add the water, kosher salt (do not use table salt), sugar, garlic, sage, basil, black peppercorns and bay leaves and bring to a boil on high heat.
• Stir well until sugar and salt have dissolved.
• Turn off heat and let cool naturally until water is at room temperature.
• Add chicken to the pot and cover.
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours, up to 8 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Remove chicken from brine and rinse under a very slow stream of water (sanitize your sink after rinsing).
• Dry the chicken with paper towels inside and out and stuff the chicken cavity with apple and onion.
• Place into baking pan and cook for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 375 degrees and cook for 40-45 minutes or until the middle of the thigh reads 165 degrees on a probe thermometer.

TURKEY BRINE

Steps:

• Fill a large container or stock pot with 1.5 litres cold water and set aside. The pot should be large enough to hold your turkey plus 3 litres water. Pour another 1.5 litres cold water into a large pan over a low-medium heat. Tip in the salt, sugar, bay, thyme, peppercorns, orange zest and coriander seeds, and whisk until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Remove from the heat, then pour into the container or stock pot and leave to cool completely.
• Weigh the turkey and carefully add it to the container, ensuring it's completely submerged in the brine. Leave to brine for roughly 1 hr per 500g to ensure succulent meat and a flavourful bird, then drain well (discarding the aromatics), pat dry and roast.