# To brine or not to brine?



## mcmuffin (Aug 10, 2008)

What's the consensus on brining chickens? Do you need to?


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## seboke (Aug 10, 2008)

Potential stirring a pot here...  I brine, but many do not.  I think it gives a big kick of flavor.


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## mcmuffin (Aug 10, 2008)

If by yard bird, you mean whole chickens, then yes!


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## olllllllocj (Aug 10, 2008)

Here's a thought that came to me recently on the subject of brine and chicken, actually was thinking about turkey when it came to me.

My grandmother and her twin sister were likely the very best cooks I have ever known. Not fancy meals but great every day meals like fried chicken.

To the point... Both of them always cut up whole chickens and soaked them in salt water before they fried. Always came out perfect for them and I try to do the same (but I sure don't take the time to cut up whole chickens to fry).

I make some really good fried chicken gravy but it doesn't stand up to what those two ladies could made back in the day.

My opinion: Yes brine, even if it's just a little table salt and cold water for a few minutes no matter how you are cooking the chicken.







Dale


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## waysideranch (Aug 10, 2008)

Brine it.  You'll get more compliments on your bird if you brine it.


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## richtee (Aug 10, 2008)

I sometimes do, sometimes don't. Depends on the chicken, and the dish.

BUT... I would like to dissuade folks from using plain table salt as a brining ingredient. Use Kosher or canning salt whenever possible.


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## billc73 (Aug 10, 2008)

I have done them both ways and they always are delicious.  Recently did some birds in ny MBES and did not brine them.  They came out perfecetly done and very moist.  I cooked an extra bird so we could make some smoked chicken salad.  Delicious!  Brining chickens is a personal preference.

Bill


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## white cloud (Aug 10, 2008)

I am brining chix thighs today but for grilling on the gas grill. I will most likely toss in a smoke bomb though.
SMOKE BOMB.., A foil pouch containing wood chips sealed tightly perferated slightly.


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## seaham358 (Aug 10, 2008)

I'll brine whole chics and all parts except Thighs... IMO Thighs do not need to be brined, there is enough fat in them to keep them super moist and pick up some great smoke flavor..


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## travcoman45 (Aug 10, 2008)

Grandpa grew up in an age where ya smoked er canned yer meat ta preserve it, he always brined chicken er fowl, Learned from him so I brine, great way to add extra flavor to yer birds. Do ya have ta? No, but then again we don't have ta smoke our meat either. There are so many ways to learn an use this craft, it boils down ta what yall like. That be the neat thin bout it, I prefer old school traditional smokin, there are folks here pushin the edge of the envelope, that is great, gotta have diversity ta survive.


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## dirtman775 (Aug 10, 2008)

massive flavor if you brine and lots and lots of comps on juicyness.


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## white cloud (Aug 10, 2008)

But it sure does add to the flavor.


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## white cloud (Aug 10, 2008)

he he, you said boils. I learned alot from gramps and his stories, he grew up in minn. and in the winter would catch pike ice fishing and had to salt them down in a box out on the porch to keep them. plus would cut ice from lakes and put it in the ice box covered with sawdust. ahh the good ol days


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## catrowe (Aug 10, 2008)

Hi all,
I am a newbie to smoking, in my second season. I used the brine mentioned on the web page, and my family went crazy!!! It was the most flavorful and juicest chicken ever!!! Brined using salt, white wine, peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves, fresh rosmary and thyme. Left in brind over night. Smoked in gas smoker with maple wood to an internal temp of 160. It was not only delious and juicy but they were a beautiful molasses brown when finished. I am a brine convert!!! Thanks for the tips and information here.
Cathy Rowe
Canton MI


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## richtee (Aug 10, 2008)

Hmm sounds like my typical recipe... cept I'd have some celery powder/salt in there. Careful on the temps tho  165's a min..but it prolly got there during the rest.

LAke Orion here...welcome to SMF  :{)


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## bbqgoddess (Aug 10, 2008)

I too am a recent convert to the brining process...the osmosis is a very interesting process and I am continually fascinated by how much flavor is imparted into the brid with the brine...its amazing!


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## dennisdocb (Aug 10, 2008)

I have brined before and it does add flavor, but IMHO..I perfer injection always get juicy compliments (pun intended)


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## travcoman45 (Aug 10, 2008)

Lee, that is why it is so important ta keep passin on the knowledge a the craft, the oldtimers er gettin fewer every year, we need ta learn as much from them as we can.  Pass that information onta a younger generation, there be folks round here who wonder what goes on at my place with smoke an smells they have never experienced before.

Well, nough that, we done hijacked this here fellers thread.  Sorry yall.


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## flash (Aug 10, 2008)

I really didn't notice much difference so I don't.
Remember Marinade=Brining or atleast in my book it does.



Looks moist to me.


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## richtee (Aug 10, 2008)

Marinade is NOT brining.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine

http://homecooking.about.com/od/spec...adescience.htm

Quite a bit of difference. Some marinades "cook" the food... notably the seafood dishes from Mexico... brine is a saline solution, where a marinade is an acid one.


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## pops6927 (Aug 10, 2008)

Absolutely right, Richtee!  I marinade chicken in a Fireman's Field day recipe of oil, vinegar (acid), salt pepper, eggs and poultry seasoning, parsley, and italian seasoning.
I grew up smoking meat that had been brined in a salt/sugar/nitrite concoction made by Aula Ingr. Co., added to 55 gal of water, soaked bellies in it and pumped and soaked hams in it, plus did chicken, turkeys, all forms of pork (ribs, loins, shoulders, butts, etc.) in it.  A variation with an extra 10lbs. of salt we used to brine heifferette seamed-out rounds for dried beef (double-smoked and cooked).  We'd toss in leftover boned and rolled rib and rump roasts into a brine barrel for corned beef, too.  Most all soaked for 30 days except poultry, those were a week.  We used plastic 5 gal. jugs filled with water to hold the meat below the surface (and USDA ok'd using them too).  Our brining cooler held 50 55gal. drums and most the time those were all full!


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## flash (Aug 11, 2008)

Hey, their both liquids. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			





probably the reason I don't do it.....salt is not good for me.


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## richtee (Aug 11, 2008)

Ahhh...well, now ya tell us!  That makes great sense then... prolly not good for most of us, seeing as we typically get enough without adding any to our diets.


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## norrell6 (Aug 13, 2008)

Hey McMuffin!!!! When I see your sreen name all I can think about is "SuperBad" when they are on the bus on the way to the party......What a GREAT movie. Anyways, I have never brined but with all the positive responses, I think I will give it a try. Pretty much the only reason I haven't is because I really dont have anything big enough to completely submerge a whole chicken in. I am going to get something. Any suggestions as what to use for a container?


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## lcruzen (Aug 13, 2008)

Stop by any restaurant and see if they'll give(or sell)you a food grade bucket. Things like pickles come in them.

As far as brining goes I don't as I've always been pleased with the results. I also prefer dark meat on poultry and that has prolly the least to gain from a brine. I do however marinade on occasion.


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## venture (Aug 19, 2008)

I seem to remember Alton Brown addressing this issue.

He is a great believer in brining.

His contention was that many marinades contain salt.  But it is the acid which separates the marinade from the true brine.

He is also not a believer that marinades will do much to tenderize larger pieces of meat because the acid does not penetrate deep enough.  

Some marinades can turn delicate pieces to mush by "cooking" them, tho.


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## flash (Aug 19, 2008)

Exactly, then we got the skin we are not _suppose _to eat either


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## fatback joe (Aug 19, 2008)

Looks like I am late to stumble on to this one.

I put yes for the answer to the poll question, but it is probably 50/50.  Usually when I do chicken at home it is one of those short notice figure out something to eat things where there would not really be time to brine.  I rarely "plan" to eat chicken, but when I do I brine.

For contest, I brine %100 of the time.


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## drakkar (Aug 19, 2008)

Maybe you should have added a 'sometimes' selection in there. I don't always brine, just depends on how much extra time I have. I marked 'yup' though. =o)


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## bbq bubba (Aug 19, 2008)

Home......No

Catering, depends how the customer wants it cooked, smoked or grilled.

Competition.....you better or your wasting your time!


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## cman95 (Aug 22, 2008)

I have not as of yet but..............


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## motorhedd (Aug 23, 2008)

I have seen the light!Brining is the way to go!


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## babyback (Aug 24, 2008)

I've tried both ways, and found that brining definitely adds more flavor and moisture to the meat. IMO of course.


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## crewcab4x4 (Aug 24, 2008)

I inject the meat. It adds tons of flavor.

Jason


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## christianpatriot (Aug 26, 2008)

I use a variety of spices and buttermilk/ice for turkey - for chicken buttermilk and spices but keep it in a bag in the fridge with no ice. Works great if the wife is gonna fry it as well too!


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## deltadude (Aug 26, 2008)

I'm a big believer in brining chicken or turkey for smoking.  Using a brine you can both flavor the meat and insure it will serve moist, especially white meat. Currently every piece of fowl that has went into my MES has been brined. I have either finished off the pieces on the weber gas or charcoal kettle, or served direct from the MES after removing the skin and brushing with BBQ sauce and putting back in MES to get that glazed appearance before serving.

On a side note, I have always been amazed when eating a dish with shrimp at most Chinese restaurants the shrimp has so much flavor. However when eating at American restaurants and eating shrimp there isn't much flavor. (Decent American seafood restaurants generally are the exception). I had the opportunity to talk to a talented Chinese chef about this, and he told me that generally most Asian restaurants brine the shrimp. Most restaurants get frozen shrimp, and even though great care has been made to preserve flavor, shrimp is so delicate that flavor is lost when frozen. Brining brings out that flavor if done properly. 

So it goes without saying I brine all my shrimp, and my family and guests will tell you there is a big improvement.  If delicate shrimp can be enhanced by a brine, so to that fowl stuff going into the smoker.


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## raceyb (Dec 5, 2009)

I brine my chicken for several reasons. Flavor, juiciness, and allows the meat to cook longer without burning or drying out. Flavor is my number one reason.


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## autoferret (Dec 5, 2009)

i'm with alot of the people here.  sometime i do some times i dont.  if i'm not butterflying the bird then i brine.  But i can say that EVERY of my friends loves a hole bird brined.  i usally just use the poltry brine/sprizer that you can find if u search this site.


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## igolf2 (Dec 5, 2009)

We eat a lot of the bonless, skinless chicken breasts that come frozen in the 3-5 lb. bags.

There is a huge difference in brined and not brined with these - brined come out juicy, tender and have a better flavor. Usually smoke a whole bag or two and freeze for later.


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## meateater (Dec 5, 2009)

I always brine now, whole or parts. Mostly because it adds so much moisture. I normally dont buy breasts because they dry out, not so with brining. JMHO


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## reeko (Dec 10, 2009)

Well,
My first smoke was this week on 2 birds.
Rubbed down with spices etc.

Smoke flavor was good, but I found the meat to be generally bland, except the smoke. Bird was plenty moist, but I sure wish I had either brined or injected.

I guess I was used to doing birds in parts on the grill, not whole birds. You get a lot more seasoning coverage on those bird parts.


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## badfrog (Dec 11, 2009)

I rarely cook yardbird or any poultry without brining it first...about the only time I don't is if I just didn't plan ahead!

The advantages:
*1. Brining adds a tremendous amount of flavor*. during the osmosis process (fancy scientific term for salt solutions tendancy to want to equalize with a non-salt solution, in this case the natural liquids in the bird) the cells in the meat take in and retain that brine...the cool thing is that during the process any flavorings (ie spices, herbs, rub, citrus etc.) goes into the meat as well.

*2. Cooking process will be much more forgiving; *because your bird is now "super-moist", or saturated with brine, if you should go over your target temp a few degrees, the meat will still be moist and delicious (to a point!).

*3. it just tastes better!*

*4. people think you are amazing!*

My poultry brine recipe:
for every gallon of water add;
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (you can play around with this and try brown sugar etc.)
1 lemon - squeeze the juice then toss in the whole rind
1 onion roughly cut up
a couple garlic cloves smashed
1 T sage

you can replace a portion of the sugar with mollasses for a bird that will come out progressively darker as you replace more of the sugar with the mollasses.

for a whole chicken brine about 8 hrs
for a 12-15 Lbs turkey brine for 24 hours
If you have time, after the brine, drain, rinse and rest it in the fridge for a few hours.


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## hounds51 (Dec 11, 2009)

I never Brined or injected a turkey till 2 weekends ago. I had two 13lb turkeys, which I injected, and brined with 6.25 cure a.k.a instacure and Legg's butter and garlic marinade. The meat will get pink/red due to the cure, but it is a safe way to go.
I had my wifes kids and grandkids there, a


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## hounds51 (Dec 11, 2009)

about 15 of us. I even had one of the wifes who doesn't eat Turkey, cause it's too dry. Well needless to say she eats turkey now, and everyone agreed that it was the most moist and best turkey they ever had. I don't know about that, but it sure went fast. I even had thier inlaws call me, and wanted to know if I would make them some for Christmas. Wont make it without the cure though, not taking any chances


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## chefrob (Dec 23, 2009)

badfrog got it................there is a science behind it. things in life like to be equal.......in this case moisture. if you did not put salt in the water the chicken would still pick up the water, however when you cooked it the water would leave. now that you added salt to the solution the salty water has now flavored the meat and with the addition of salt the meat also retains more of the moisture than with out the salt.......hence juicy chicken. i'm not saying you can't have moist chicken if you don't brine......ya just need to cook it RIGHT.


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## rw willy (Dec 28, 2009)

I brine all poultry.
Simple salt and sugar equal parts.  Or just salt.  It works. 
I brined chicken wings last night.
I think it helps to firm the meat also.


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## smokin-jim (Dec 29, 2009)

I always brine my turkeys and whole chickens. I hadn't thought of brining cut up chickens though, I'll have to try that.


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## nightowl (Dec 31, 2009)

I have been soaking wings in brine overnight before a smoke. They are always great and everyone loves them. I use 1 cup salt/gal. water. I think they are too salty, should I cut the salt or not soak 8+ hours?


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## chefrob (Dec 31, 2009)

you can do either.......i would cut the salt to 3/4 to 1/2 cup depending on your likes......i prefer 1/2 c. for that long of soak.


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## billbo (Dec 31, 2009)

You certainly don't need to but it makes it so juicy and also adds flavor. Brining also makes the meat fall off the bone good!  I always brine if I can, even parts & wings get brined.


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## nwdave (Jan 13, 2010)

Brine? You betcha, but that's just my way. Previous brine's were kinda slap-dash, throw together BUT THEN I saw Badfrogs Brine. I've used it three times, 2 whole and 1 cutup Chickens, and SWMBO even noticed the improvement. I think for the most part, if it's poultry and it's been frozen, it gets brined, for me anyway. I remember reading somewhere amongst all these SMF pages, it helped restore the flavor. I'll have to do a comparison test on the next batch of chicken thighs (Costco, skinless/boneless) to see if there's a difference.

*BADFROG: If you're still reading this thread, THANKS for the brine. *


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## badfrog (Jan 15, 2010)

Mmmmm.....skin!!!


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## badfrog (Jan 15, 2010)

I like to brine these with just a pinch of pink salt/insta-cure in the brine...gives those wally world frozen pucks a nice texture and a hint of pink color to the finished meat (which ALWAYS leads my wife to thinks its not cooked enough leaving an extra piece for me!!!!... she likes the veges better anyway!)


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## badfrog (Jan 15, 2010)

absolutely!


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## billm75 (Feb 20, 2010)

I wish you would have put the option of "sometimes" in your poll.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  it all depends on what kind of time I have to prep before cooking.  There are weeks when I can plan it out, spend the kind of time I really like to spend and brine the birds before cooking, and there are times I have to get the food on the smoker NOW because the family's hungry NOW.  LOL  

When I can't brine, I will usually sprinkle a little of my rub on the birds, and lay a few strips of bacon across the breasts to help keep the juices in.  Seems to work really well.


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## nastystang (Mar 14, 2010)

I always brine my chickens and put whatever spices i want in the brine.


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## Dutch (Apr 9, 2010)

I brine turkeys but not chickens-the Bride has even asked me this question. I think the reason I don't is because of the short brining time involved with chickens (3-4 hours) vs. that of turkeys (8-10 hours/overnight).


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## mama's smoke (Apr 9, 2010)

Yes.
Cuz my momma did, and her momma did, and her momma did.......

I have tried it both ways: with brining and without brining.  Brining certainly seems to add more flavor and the chicken definitely stays moister.

In fact we always brined our poultry (Tx farm girl here), whether it was that scrawny hen that stopped laying or a live turkey fattened for Thanksgiving (it was always hard to keep that critter in the bucket 'til he drowned).

I definitely brine chicken before frying, and I do know how to get a good crisp on a chicken.  Cuz my momma did, and her momma did, and her momma did....


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## ak1 (Apr 10, 2010)

I've never brined chicken, but I may give it a try.


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## mythmaster (Apr 10, 2010)

I used this brine on boneless, skinless chicken breasts for one hour, smoked them with mesquite, and the flavor was simply incredible.  They were very juicy, too, even when reheated.

1 gallon water
3/4 cup kosher salt
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon each of dried tarragon, thyme, black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Start by boiling the water and then adding the salt and sugar, so that it will dissolve easier. Then add the spices to the hot liquid so that the flavors are extracted. Cool the brine solution.

I cooled it in the fridge overnight then brined the breasts for one hour.  You might want to reverse sear the breasts so they brown, but either way, they taste sooooooooooooooo gooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Here's the thread: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...threadid=91807


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## mcmelik (Apr 15, 2010)

As far as I am concerned brining a Turk is a must. I did mess up the last one I did by not cutting back on the salt when I mad my brine because the Turkey was already flavor enhanced.It turned out just a little on the salty side. I do like to do chicken but just for a few hours. Not over night like I do with Turks. Just my way of doing things.


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## hhookk (Apr 18, 2010)

I find that a brined bird is ALWAYS jucier, no matter the cooking method. I brine whenever possible.


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## dalglish (Apr 22, 2010)

So I decided to smoke some chicken today, a whole chicken cut up into portions.

I purposely (not really, just forgot!) didn't brine one of the chicken portions. They were both the same size before smoking...



As you can see the top one is noticeably bigger, it was waaay juicier and had a much better smoked flavour which can only be due to the brine. Portions were off the same bird. Smoked for exact same time in the same area of the smoker too.

Just a simple 3 hour brine 1 cup salt, 2/3 cup brown sugar, soy sauce, few different herbs, peppercorns and chilli flakes to a gallon of water.

As close to conclusive as I can get, sure no chicken will be completely symmetrical but that's a big size (juice!) difference.

Brine, Yes!


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## ltslewis (Apr 23, 2010)

I personally Brine and think it really does enhance flavor. Personal opinion and all.

That post above with the two pieces of chicken made me laugh tho cause a image of a commercial about this egg cracking device popped into my head. People not using the egg device might as well just been throwing the eggs at the bowl with the way they just seem to explode, but people with the egg thingy made perfect eggs every time. (Like cracking eggs is really that hard.)

I know that is not what you meant but the way it sounded at first just got me laughing thinking it was a infomercial. 

~Joe


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## dalglish (Apr 25, 2010)

Ha!I know that commercial. I know Idaho Falls too, no wonder you have a good imagination.


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