Tried my hand at some chicken breasts for the first time yesterday.
Last week I did some leg quarters that turned out absolutely fantastic. I know breasts are a bit leaner piece of meat so keeping them moist was the objective.
Now last week I did leg quarters in a brine solution. Actually read the recipe on the back of the box of Morton Kosher Salt.
Called for:
3/4 c. - Kosher Salt
3/4 c. - Sugar
1/2 tsp - garlic powder
1/4 tsp - ground pepper
enough water to cover the meat.
Recipe state to brine for 1 hour which is what I did. I set my lang at about 350 for 50 minutes.
Turned out fantastic! Moist and tender and absorbed just the right amount of smoke. Rave reviews from the neighbors I shared it with.
For the breasts, I wanted to maintain moisture. I had 3 split breasts and 3 boneless breasts.
I came to this forum in search of how best to go about cooking them.
After reading the posts the opinion was to brine with your favorite recipe for about 3-4 hours and then use the low and slow approach.
So I used the same brine recipe as above, except this time I was going with the low and slow approach between 225 and 250.
After brining, I rinsed thoroughly, sprinkled on my favorite rubs (saltless cajun for the boneless and spicy Smoke Mountain blend for the bone-in)
I also wrapped the boneless in bacon.
2 hours and 10 minutes later I pulled the breasts when they read 165 or there abouts.
Breasts turned out well. very moist and tender, however they were on the salty side. I think I brined for a bit too long.
So next time, I will go for an hour for chicken parts...maybe a couple for a whole chicken and 3 for a turkey, but not much longer.
Just thought it might help for the next guy looking for suggestions:
00
Last week I did some leg quarters that turned out absolutely fantastic. I know breasts are a bit leaner piece of meat so keeping them moist was the objective.
Now last week I did leg quarters in a brine solution. Actually read the recipe on the back of the box of Morton Kosher Salt.
Called for:
3/4 c. - Kosher Salt
3/4 c. - Sugar
1/2 tsp - garlic powder
1/4 tsp - ground pepper
enough water to cover the meat.
Recipe state to brine for 1 hour which is what I did. I set my lang at about 350 for 50 minutes.
Turned out fantastic! Moist and tender and absorbed just the right amount of smoke. Rave reviews from the neighbors I shared it with.
For the breasts, I wanted to maintain moisture. I had 3 split breasts and 3 boneless breasts.
I came to this forum in search of how best to go about cooking them.
After reading the posts the opinion was to brine with your favorite recipe for about 3-4 hours and then use the low and slow approach.
So I used the same brine recipe as above, except this time I was going with the low and slow approach between 225 and 250.
After brining, I rinsed thoroughly, sprinkled on my favorite rubs (saltless cajun for the boneless and spicy Smoke Mountain blend for the bone-in)
I also wrapped the boneless in bacon.
2 hours and 10 minutes later I pulled the breasts when they read 165 or there abouts.
Breasts turned out well. very moist and tender, however they were on the salty side. I think I brined for a bit too long.
So next time, I will go for an hour for chicken parts...maybe a couple for a whole chicken and 3 for a turkey, but not much longer.
Just thought it might help for the next guy looking for suggestions:
00