Today we’re talking about one of my favorite techniques for better chicken every time – dry brining! This simple trick will totally change your chicken game.
Chicken can easily be bland, dry, and boring – but I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be! I’m all about easy ways to make your food taste better, and dry brining is one of the easiest ways to do it.
I dry cured some chicken for three weeks: I cut chicken breasts into 1 inch slices, usee 10-20% salt and rubbed thoroughly. I left it to dry cure for 2-3 weeks.
Use a wet brine if…
- You have a relatively small piece of meat (for example, chicken breasts or pork chops).
- You have at least 4 hours to brine.
- You don’t mind a little extra work and time for making and cooling the brine.
- You’d prefer juicier meat over crispy skin or a more caramelized surface.
What is a dry brine?
A dry brine is simply salting a piece of meat and letting it sit before cooking. You may have heard of wet brining before, but the two are quite a bit different.
For a wet brine, you boil a mixture of water, sugar, salt, and aromatics, then place the meat in the mixture and refrigerate for up to a day. This results in a more tender, flavorful, and juicier end product. However, wet brining requires quite a bit more work, and depending on the size of what you are brining (think: a whole turkey) it can be a bit impractical.
A dry brine gives you similar results to a wet brine and allows for meat that is tenderized, flavorful, and easier to crisp and caramelize. It is easier and quicker than a wet brine, because all you have to do is salt the meat on both sides at least half an hour before cooking, then let it sit.
HOMEMADE DRY-CURED CHICKEN (basturma recipe). How to make chicken prosciutto, jerk chicken
FAQ
Is dry cured chicken safe?
Is it possible to cure chicken?
Does dry brining chicken work?
How long can you dry age chicken?
Should You Dry Brine chicken before cooking?
Which is why, whenever we’ve got time, we dry brine chicken with plenty of kosher salt before cooking it—and so should you. Whether you’re cooking a whole bird or parts, grilling, roasting or pan-frying, there’s just no better way to maximize a bird’s deliciousness than this simple trick. What is a dry brine you ask? Well, allow us to explain.
Can one eat chicken while on a diet?
If it’s not a vegetarian, vegan diet, with restrictions on animal protein, more specifically chicken, it’s okay to eat chicken. It is recommended to consume preferably organic chicken and to have healthy habits and lifestyle.
Why do we dry brine chicken?
That’s why we love to dry brine chicken. The salt that we use to coat our uncooked chicken draws moisture from the skin. Less moisture, as we mentioned, means quicker crisping. Quicker crisping means tastier, more texturally satisfying chicken. But just one skin drying method seems like settling. We don’t settle.
Why does chicken dries out when cooked?
When exposed to heat, these muscles contract, squeezing moisture out. That’s why your chicken dries out when you cook it. When salt is introduced to muscles, it breaks down many of these muscle proteins. This means the muscles will contract less when they are heated. As a result, you’ve retained the natural juices of the bird.