Welcome to today’s daily kōrero!
Anyone can make the thread, first in first served. If you are here on a day and there’s no daily thread, feel free to create it!
Anyway, it’s just a chance to talk about your day, what you have planned, what you have done, etc.
So, how’s it going?
Don’t underestimate brining your chicken a few hours or overnight beforehand. It can keep it very juicy and prevent the meat drying out. I’m too lazy for this step + cooking it using a probe thermometer means you can pull it out at the right point without overcooking.
If you haven’t got one, an instant read thermometer or multiprobe thermometer you can leave in, is probably the best tool for cooking any meat that isn’t thinly cut.
Not sure if it’s possible on a gas, but on the kettle I have a vortex (like a mini charcoal chimney) to go inside that gets it super hot and can get you nice crispy skin on chicken. Making sure the skin is dry before putting your rub on, helps with crisping it up.
And if you like spending money, getting a rotisserie kit (if they make one for your BBQ) can be fun too.
I once had brined chicken and it was the most delicious thing ever, so much so I was determined to try it myself. This was several years ago and I’ve only just remembered because of your comment so I’ll have to grab a chicken and give it a go.
It works pretty well on anything lean like pork or chicken breast. You can also dry brine instead of having it in brine solution. I can’t remember if you’re meant to leave it longer when dry brining or not though, definitely give it a try!
Do you get the same juiciness dry brining or just the flavour?
It’s been awhile since I’ve done it, but I think more juiciness from wet brining. Dry might be more appropriate for fattier cuts.
Brining seems interesting! Will do some research into it. Thank you for brining it to my attention :)
Does the brining make it “saltier”?
i.e., if you have a recipe for the seasoning, would you need to adjust due to brining?
I’d say yes if you are comparing to not brining.
If you’re using a correct ratio of salt to water (I always have to google the ratio, can never remember it) you shouldn’t need to adjust too much. Obviously it can depend on your tastes, so you might need to do it a few times to find what ratio works for you
Could possibly be more salty if you leave it in the brine too long maybe? or try doing it for less time.
I find you get more salt/flavour throughout the whole piece of chicken versus it just being salty on the surface.
Cool thank you for that, learned a useful tip today :)