Enough about the World's problems, more on brining

I did a post in May about fried chicken – temperature, oil, time, and I mentioned brining the bird.

I learned of brining by reading a cookbook by Scott Peacock. He brines his fried chicken, it’s only served on Tuesdays at his Decatur, Georgia restaurant, Watershed. They run out midway through the evening.

I tried it last Thanksgiving with a 3 or so pound chicken that I roasted.

A digression, I have never liked white poultry meat. Same with pork. Same with well-done beef. Too, too dry. Too, too little flavor. I seldom order any of them in a restaurant. Medium rare cooking works for beef. Marinade (Mojo, courtesy of Big Tony) for pork. Brining works wonderfully for chicken, and I assume for turkey, both the dry problem and the flavor problem.

It sounds crazy; but, fill up a pot with enough water to cover the bird/bird parts, Google brining poultry and find out how much salt to throw in the water based on how big the bird is (it’s much more than you think, more if you use Kosher, don’t worry, it won’t be salty when you’re done). Throw in, depending on your taste, some peppercorns and brown sugar. Stir while bringing to a boil and take off the stove. Throw in the bird or bird parts and some ice. Put it in the frig for the time the Google result tells you depending on how heavy the bird or the bird parts are – an hour or two for parts and as much as 12 hours for a big chicken or a turkey. Rinse several times.

Now you can (add some poultry type herbs and spices) roast, bake, pan fry, deep fry as you will and you will get the most juicy, flavorful bird you’ve ever eaten. Don’t like white meat? You will.