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Chicken Challenge: Wet or Dry Brining Poulty (with bonus feature)

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    Chicken Challenge: Wet or Dry Brining Poulty (with bonus feature)

    First I want to say that I'm pretty lazy when it comes to food prep and always looking for a way to get to cooking faster. Been wet brining poultry, especially turkeys, since I was a kid watching my mom do it in her kitchen. Brining chickens have always been the preferred method but being lazy, I often skip that step. Reading Meathead's piece on dry brining with nothing but salt and a little time caught my attention. I quickly adapted the method for beef and pork but was always skeptical as to the real effectiveness on chicken. Chicken tends to have a tough, thick skin and I can see the advantage to the outer layer but the meat, I reasoned, would stay largely untouched.

    Given that assumption, I decided to smoke a couple of whole chickens; one using conventional wet brining and one with a dry salt brine.

    Type of Meat: Central Market Air Chilled Whole Fryers. These birds were bought directly from the butcher and were the best blank canvas for this challenge given the total lack of plant processing with no mystery injection what-so-ever. In short its nothing but chicken raised without hormones, etc. Both birds were of approximately the same size and weight, with both splayed open and cooked flat. Both were pre-seasoned before cooking with the same rub.

    Brining Methods: One with conventional wet brining using a gallon of water and a cup each of sugar and salt, the other using about 1/2 a teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of bird. Both sat in the refrigerator at 32 degrees for about 3 hours.

    The Cook: Used my 22" WSM with Kingsford blue bag charcoal and 6 hickory chunks over the course of the cook. Temperature was monitored by a Smoke therm. Cook time was 4 hours straight at 235-250 degrees with an additional hour after saucing at 275 degrees. Birds removed with an internal temp of 160 degrees after the 5 hours and left to sit until the temp from carry over rose to about 165.

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    After resting we cut the chicken and did our blind taste test. Note that the chicken sat back to back on the grill just as you see it here. Note also that the chicken on the bottom in the picture has a small piece of twin tied around the right leg, identifying this as the wet brined chick. Here are the birds cut up, I put labels to identify for the camera prior to eating.

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    Of Visual Note: both birds looked pretty much the same after smoking. The wet brine bird seemed to have a little more of an amber hue to the meat and seemed to take on a little more smoke. Both birds were very juicy and extremely tender. Both had very crispy and smoky skins.

    The Taste Test: The wet brine for 4 differing pallets was the winner in every case. The meat was very rich in flavor, had a little more juiciness then the dry brine. The dry brine, still juicy and flavorful, didn't seem to have the overall depth of flavor than the wet bird. We therefore gave our choice, all things being the same, to wet brining. Having said that; however, brings me back to my initial note on laziness in prep. Was the difference so dramatic that going to all the trouble of mixing a wet brine really worth it? I'd have to say NO. Dry brining is so simple and does have an agreeable affect on I would say the overall flavor enhancement, just not as dramatic as the wet brine. You can also add other flavor components to the wet brine to amp it up even further, so wet brining poultry will remain my choice.

    _________________________________________________

    Now for the bonus !! I normally make a monthly batch of Italian meatballs that we freeze in portions to eat with a homemade spaghetti during the week. As the chicks were smokin' I made my monthly balls. I normally brown them off and throw them in the oven to cook through before freezing. The thawed balls go into my sauce for re-heating when needed. The thought occurred to me that I have never had a smoked meatballs that I can remember so when the chicks came off I had plenty of smoke time available on the WSM so I took a few and smoked them for about an hour. WOW I was blown away!!! Not only did the meat ball come out tender and juicy and flavorful as usual, but the added component of the light smoke on the outside give it another flavor profile I found amazing. I may experiment with this further and if I do I'll report back. Try them for yourself, seems as though the old adage that everything is better smoked holds true !!!!

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    #2
    Great test! I feel the exact same- wet brine slightly edges out dry in chicken & pork both (for me), but not always enough to warrant the extra hassle. Next time try a hotter cook, 350-375. Talk about moist!

    Comment


    • Georgia rookie 903
      Georgia rookie 903 commented
      Editing a comment
      hey huskee, you were talking with troutman on sept 10h about wet or dry brine chicken and you mention smoking a temp between 350-375 do you reduce your time to cook the chicken or whatever other meat your cooking? thanks

    • Huskee
      Huskee commented
      Editing a comment
      Georgia rookie 903 that cooking temp will reduce the time some, yes. At 350 I get the average 5lb chicken, spatchcocked, to 160 in breasts in about 75min give or take. I don't recommend much over 350 for any length of time if you're using a sugary rub though, if not then a 400 is great too. Hotter temps like this really only benefit lean meat like poultry and pork loin for instance.

    #3
    Thanx for running the test.

    Comment


      #4
      When you dry brined the chicken, did you work the salt under the skin and directly on the meat? And then some more salt on to the surface of the skin? In my experience, that makes a huge difference.

      Comment


      • Medusa
        Medusa commented
        Editing a comment
        I did a turkey breast just like ecowper talks about. Works like a charm and really adds to crispy skin and juicy meat! --Ed

      • fzxdoc
        fzxdoc commented
        Editing a comment
        Troutman I always dry brine chickens by rubbing the salt under the skin. I think it's a fairer comparison to wet brining, which gets the salty liquid under the skin.

        Kathryn

      • ecowper
        ecowper commented
        Editing a comment
        Troutman I prep my chickens by dry brining with salt under the skin and on the skin. For at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. Then, minutes before I put them on the cooker, I work my seasonings (usually pepper, garlic powder, powdered sage) under and over the skin, as well.

      #5
      With no inference to a gutter mind, there is something interesting about saying or pronouncing "thawed balls". You can say just about anything as in, snow balls, sausage balls, turkey balls, meat balls, steel balls, ya get the picture. But, thawed balls just has a different dynamic.

      Comment


      • Troutman
        Troutman commented
        Editing a comment
        Smokin' chicks and thawed balls were my weekend chore

      • FireMan
        FireMan commented
        Editing a comment
        Now, "smoking chicks", that cool on all fronts!

      • Sephon
        Sephon commented
        Editing a comment
        I just said "thawed balls" 5 times out loud. My wife, without saying a word, stood up and walked out of the room.

      #6
      Nice work brother. Smoke meatloaf, thawed balls, and other items will change your whole idea about flavor. Im huge wet brine guy for certain items, particularly when frying. Did you notice a difference in skin texture? Like tbob4 said, did you rub under? Rub all sides? Your chicken looks excellent and I would eat that all day!

      Comment


      • Troutman
        Troutman commented
        Editing a comment
        Didn't rub under but will definitely the next time. Skin on both was nearly identical. I patted both birds dry before seasoning so most of the surface salt was probably gone by the time of the cooking process.

      #7
      Great writeup and test! I wet brine birds too. But the dry brine sure is convenient!

      Comment


        #8
        Hey I think we should have poll, ..........and then.............rig it!

        Comment


          #9
          Thanks for sharing. Those chickens look marvelous! Thawed balls are preferred over sweaty ball!

          Comment


            #10
            Great post! Great test! Thank you!

            Comment


              #11
              I just read this again. I appreciate your efforts.

              Comment


                #12
                In my humble opinion, if you wet brine your chicken or turkey, you are ensuring that you have wet skin. This means you have to cook it much longer, and slower, to get crispy skin. But slow cooking chicken or turkey, which is very lean, means that the meat, especially the breast meat, will dry out. The best way to get flavorful, well cooked, moist turkey and chicken breasts is to cook it hot and fast. But you won't have crispy skin cooked hot and fast if you wet brined.

                Hence, the need to dry brine, over night, with salt under and over the skin.

                An 18lb turkey on the WSM, after 24 hours of dry brining


                My two cents worth :-) Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_7845.JPG Views:	1 Size:	1.42 MB ID:	378828Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_7846.JPG Views:	1 Size:	1.84 MB ID:	378829

                Comment


                • lostclusters
                  lostclusters commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Excellent counter point! Thanks!

                #13
                As I mentioned in my post, I allowed the skin of both birds to thoroughly dry before I seasoned them. Some have even suggested blow drying with a hair dryer. I'm not that picky. Patting with paper towels and allowing some time to sit seemed to have done the trick. Both birds were crispy. I am going to spend more time with dry brining poultry, however, especially under the skin, along with adding my usual aromatics (like rosemary sprigs). It's so much easier and the results, as have been pointed out, are as good as the wet brining overall. Thanks for all the suggestions. Smoke on ......

                Comment


                • lostclusters
                  lostclusters commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Hmm ... Counter counter point.

                #14
                My tuppence: dry-brine overnight, just the outside is good. Make a pocket between skin and meat, especially on the breast. Put some veggie oil in (not butter - it contains too much moisture). Nothing moist between skin and meat. Herbs OK on the outside. Temp minimum 325; higher is even better. Click image for larger version

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