Marinade or Brine

I thought I should answer the Brine question in the Proper Thread Posting area

I had gave this Brine method out to many people who had limited Ingredient's Years ago

I know that the Brine is one of the Key parts to Great chicken and need to explain what I was told From the Old Bird and I chirp to everyone.

Brine is KEY to poultry BUT Brining Poultry reason has been gravely mistaken.

The reason Brine was originally started was it helped to draw the Blood out of the chicken that was fresh killed by Butchers, and in the OLD DAYS Brine was used to preserve the chicken that was killed the day prior to be eaten the next day.

The original Brine that was used. Was made with Pickling Spice, Cinnamon, Ginger, Real Garlic cloves, Real Onion. (cinnamon and ginger were original used as preservatives NOT spice additives A OLD BUTCHER trick and OLD METHODS)

NOW in 2021 The processing of chicken has changed and the method of Brine needs to change with the type of Chickens and the process used UNLESS you get Chickens from a Hutterite or Amish Colony or a Farmer who kills chickens at a local level. The commercial packing plants who pump the chickens or use injection Brining WHICH IS MUST if they sell to Grocery's Fresh due to health reasons UNLESS the package stated otherwise.

If you Do NOT know what the processing plant has done to the chicken then the use of a Buttermilk Brine is best suited for Deep Fried Chicken it will help draw out any Brine that was used BY the processing plant which may have used heavy Salt or Other ingredient's of chemical nature.

I use buttermilk style Brine, and use Condensed milk or regular milk and put fresh lemon into the milk to make old fashion buttermilk. I prefer Fresh Onions and Garlic or Garlic Paste with Ginger. Fresh Rosemary and Thyme, I also use Cinnamon sticks and fresh carrots. ( The Carrots draw Acids from the Mixture and the acids from the processed chicken. Brine stays in the Fridge overnight.

In the Morning or Hours before the chicken is cooked, I add 1 tablespoon of 11 Herbs and Spice to the buttermilk and mix it. or I add Pickling Spice to the Buttermilk. This gives a pre seasoning effect and also helps preserve the chicken while chicken starts to warm up from the fridge to more of a room temperature
Approximate time ranges from 45 Minutes - 3 Hours and I continually stir the bird in the bath.

If you do not what to use the Buttermilk use water and still use Fresh Onions, Garlic or Garlic Paste with Ginger, carrots, Lemons, Cinnamon, Thyme, Rosemary, Cinnamon stick, and some Pickling spices, MSG, overnight. Then in the morning add 11 Herbs and Spices, while chicken warms to room temperature.

as for amounts you can follow the above amounts but I just use Tablespoon of spices and Just put in the amounts required in reference to the amount of chicken weight being brine. USE your judgement of cooking to add the amounts the OLD way it was done. The 11 Herbs n Spice amount for one whole chicken or a package of smaller amount of precut chicken Drums or Thigh Breast etc 1 teaspoon Larger amounts 1 tablespoon.

If you use a curing powder the chicken will stay a more pink color when cooked.

If you want to cheat a short cut method buy a Meat Marinade package to Brine chicken which has curing salt msg and other items but some of the packages may be salty

I have NOT posted exact measurements for 1 reason when exact amounts are posted most people don't follow the weight of chicken being marinade or brine.

I always Do This as a General rule when cooking chicken deep fryer method or pressure cooker ESPECIALLY when NEW OIL is being use. BUT EXTRA CHICKEN WINGS
marinade them and season them and COOK the chicken wings first to season your oil. and get a taste of your season mix before you do the bigger pieces of chicken and who does NOT like chicken wings for a appetizer LOL so you kill 2 birds with one cooker LOL LOL

The Brine Has been Changed From 1935 to 1955 original

The Original Brine was used to Preserve the Chicken From Spoilage and Bacteria which also helped with Moisture for the chicken.

Originally Items, Like Onion, Garlic, Cinnamon, Ginger, were used in a real natural form. Then it was changed to Powders. ETC ETC.

KFC Corporation then had it done at Chicken Plants when chickens were sent from Plants to the Stores, BUT

then they had a Brain wave they could do it in house and started using Tumble Mandators, Which did not last to long in the World of KFC. They thought it was cut cost and add flavor when in caused more problems then they wanted. In many old video you can see the Tumble Mandators. There are some countries that use Tumble mandators still for Spicy Chicken BUT its a MESS to use.

If you watch the Todd W. CMT Videos he shows marinated chicken boxes.

There have been many different Over night Brines used and I have posted the different ones. Some are a stronger Brine and if left to long have a more earthy taste and Bang for the chicken.

If you experiment you will see what some clove does in a Brine suggestion don't use many whole Clove's Fresh Onion Garlic, Ginger, clove work. I have used Pickling Spices but small amount.

I tell people they can just as simply purchase a premade meat marinade package also and it works.

Personally I prefer the Real Onion, Celery Stock Bottoms, Cabbage Core, Garlic, Lemon, and Ginger Paste combination in a water batch with salt, MSG and a Soup either Beef or chicken concentrate.

Many People Say that CHS did not use Buttermilk or Milk, Which is NOT true. In Original Times the Chicken was soaked in the Milk/Egg Warsh for 30 Minutes or longer. BUT as time and demand for chicken kept increasing CHS and CPS changed the way it was done.

When CHS made the Gravy Originally he used Milk in the Gravy, BUT it required constant Stirring and took a while to make without scalding the Gravy. So the process changed also.

It important to Brine the Chicken, and recommend it, as for what to use. Almost any Brine will help achieve the extra moisture. Keep it simple and use what you have at your finger tips is my suggestion BUT Brine overnight with either a water or milk bath.

If I've done the chemistry for this correctly, which is a very big "IF", then 3.43 grams of Baking Soda plus 2.61 grams of anhydrous citric acid (or 2.85 grams of the monohydrate form of citric acid) when stirred into 1 Liter of water should (after all of the massive fizzing stops) leave you with 1 Liter of water with right close to 4 grams of Sodium Citrate dissolved in it. Then simply add 1 additional gram of Baking Soda.

Caution, Warning, and Disclaimer: No guarantees stated, implied, (or otherwise), try this strictly at your own risk, YMMV.

The safest way to try this is of course to simply buy some food grade Sodium Citrate.

I see lots of home cooks that brine using some of their "11" seasonings. I have been happy with Salt and MSG only so far. I did try a bit of garlic which tasted amazing but wasn't KFC. I have thought about adding onion powder as I don't use it in my seasoning. And the concept of maybe toss some whole cloves in the brine is something else I considered.