brine

[amigo smoker]

Well was gonna fire up the charcoal smoker today just gonna try a carribean marinade on a chicken

but my question is does the chicken have to be put in brine, what is the benefit of it, can i not just put the marinated chicken straight in to the smoker


cheers all

[mikecorn.1]

Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis, and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked, via the process of denaturation.  I got this from the internet  ;D. Its basically what I was going to say  ::) ;D but not as smart sounding.  ;)

[Smokeville]

Brining is not a necessity but it really does make for a moister bird, so imho it is worth doing.

I found this out for certain last Christmas. I had brined and smoked a turkey and took it to my daughter's home. She had also purchased a regular turkey and wanted me to roast it so people had a choice of smoked or not. I had never brined a turkey that I planned to roast, but this time gave it a shot. It went into the brine on Christmas Eve and got roasted noon on Christmas Day. It came out very very moist even though I kind of goofed and the breast IT went way past 165F.

So, to me, brining is a good thing, if you have the time.

Rich

[crackin]

The salt / sugar in the brine creates an osmosis effect whereby the brine solution enters the meat cells.  Not only does this create a moister meat, but it also seasons the meat all the way through, rather than just on the surface (given that you let it soak for enough time).  An added effect is that during the brining process, other seasonings / flavors will also get pulled into the meat, so you can season your brine with tyme, bay leaves, lemon, onion, beer, etc.  Substituting a malty beer, such as an oktoberfest, for half the water content can produce an excellent flavor to poultry.