Do you brine or marinade

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graphicsman

Meat Mopper
Original poster
May 25, 2011
160
10
Nashville, TN
I'm on the hunt for a good recipe for some chicken legs.  I have an event going out in two weeks and want to fire the smoker for it.  I thought chicken would be the best route but I have read many threads being saying they brine instead of marinade.  My question: why??  What is the overall effect??  Also, any solid chicken marinades, lol (search lazy after 5 pages).  I am doing 100-175 legs (will know exactly this weekend.  

EDIT:
found this: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/tips-slaughterhouse-recipes-for-poultry
 
Last edited:
GM, morning.....  Brining will keep the legs moist during and after cooking...  Adding spices etc. to the brine will add flavor to the meat and the brine becomes a marinade....  Garlic, onion, basil, honey, brown sugar, pepper etc. are just a few of the spices that can be added to a brine....

If you are making that many legs, make up different marinade mixes.... Add a few HOT CHILI's is also a good idea.....  

I don't have any specific marinades I use.... sometimes I throw in Cajun spice.... what ever is in my hand at the time....  Dave
 
  • Thinking about this with some mods:
  •  
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup  lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley
 
  • Thinking about this with some mods:
  •  
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup  lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley
This sounds good but it looks more like a marinade than a brine. I brine all my poultry and seems to help with the meat moisture. I used the Slaughterhouse ones for my Thanksgiving turkey and it was the best I've even done. 

Here's a few links to some brines:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/115276/brine-recipe          This link has two recipes

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/118663/spatch-cock-turkey
 
Whatever recipe you use; I've found that you can go pretty crazy on seasoning brines (except for the standard ratios of salt and sugar to water) because the end result will be much milder in flavor.
 
Typically Marinades contain a large proportion of Acid compared to Salt. Brines are the opposite, high in Salt and may or may not contain some Acid...JJ
 
I do a simple brine that has turned out many a great smoked yardbird.  I have used this brine for numerous time lengths (from 4 to 24 hours) and gotten great results.  I have used it with chicken halves, cut up chickens, and whole chickens, same results everytime.  Juicy, slightly spicy and great flavor.

1 gallon water

1 cup sugar

1 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp onion powder

Simple, but works for me.
 
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