The Garden Gate Recipe Collection
Brining Poultry
Most poultry can do well with a nice soak in a brining solution. The brining process helps up the ante on tenderness, juiciness and flavor. And, chicken (and the others) appreciate that! Cornish hens, wild game, domestic chicken, roasting hens and turkey all love a nice soak!
Even the pieces of organic or free range chicken... legs, thighs and breasts, especially. Now, unless you're buying organic, the regular grocery store chickens are injected with a salt and water solution to aid in tenderness and flavor. So they don't need to brine for any reason other than flavor.
Simple Brines
The simplesst brine is water, salt and sugar, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of each to one gallon of water. Easiest way to do it quickly is to dissolve the salt and sugar in one quart of the water, by boiling it in a pan. Whisk and cook until it's completely dissolved. Add the other 3 quarts of water to cool it down. Add your poultry.
Add garlic cloves, onion powder, garlic powder and dry common herbs like bay or oregano, thyme or sage to the boiled solution, before adding the cold, if desired, for additional flavor.
Complex Brines
These brines take on the nuances of the cuisine that they represent...
Asian with garlic, ginger, onion, chili peppers, anise and cilantro...to the even more complex five spice brine with cinnamon stick, allspice, clove
Cuban brine has a variety of cirus, garlic, pepper and herbs and spices like oregano and cumin.
Puerto Rican brine has vinegar, oregano, garlic, salt & pepper with sazon.
Mexican brine has lime, cilantro, garlic, onion, cumin and oregano.
Island brine has pineapple juice added, lime, garlic, onion, red peppers and ginger...soy sauce optonal, depending on recipe and the meat involved.
Dry Brines & Rubs
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1 tsp garlic powder
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1 tsp onion powder
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2 Tbsp orange, zest
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1 tsp rosemary, dried
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2 tsp oregano, dried
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1 tsp thyme, dried
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1 Tbs brown sugar
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1/4 cup coarse sea salt or Kosher salt
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1 - 2 Tbsp coarse pepper, to taste
Mix all together. Stir in well sealed container in cool, dry place.
Remove your poultry from packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Set on rack in sheetpan to let outside dry for at least a half hour. Paint the pieces with olive oil and dust with the dry brine. Cover and let set in the fridge, overnight. Cook according to recipe.
You could switch out or add others with the orange zest. Add lime, and cumin; use oregano instead of sage for Mexican or Cuban. Or lemon, instead of orange, for Greek.