Q Blue, how do I go about ‘pickling’ a chook?
Aaron
Adelaide
SA
A Hi Aaron, I guess by ‘pickling’ you mean brining.
This process, which is every popular in the USA, uses
osmosis to carry moisture and flavour right through the
meat and to hold it there during cooking.
It does wonderful things to the taste of cheap supermarket
chooks (and pork). But the salt solution has to be just right
– make it too strong and the bird will taste awful; make it
too weak and you’ll waste your time.
The standard recipe is half a cup of salt (non iodised) to two
litres of fluid. I dissolve the salt by boiling it in about half a
litre of water in a saucepan first and then add up the full
amount by adding chilled water (or fruit juice if you’re feeling
exotic – apple juice and turkey were made for eachother).
The fluid MUST BE COOL before it is added to the chicken.
Otherwise BUGS WILL BREED in it AND YOU WILL DIE.
I like to toss in a few glugs of vinegar plus a couple of tablespoons
of honey and some bay leaves, tarragon and pepper corns to add
some layers of flavour. You could also add picking spices or a few
lemon quarters and garlic cloves.
The bird needs to be completely covered by the solution. I find the
best way is to put it in a cliplock bag (or any strong plastic bag).
I have seen a mate use an old bait bucket for brining that fits
comfortably in his fridge but you have to determine your own yuck
threshold in these matters. Some fridges have crisper bins that are
the perfect size for brining chooks/small turkeys so it might pay to
explore that avenue first.
Place it in the lowest part of the fridge and leave for approximately
24 hours (allow half of that if brining pieces). Give the bird a quick
rinse under the tap and put it back in the fridge uncovered for about
an hour until the skin dries. Whack it in the barby and roast/smoke
in the usual way. But keep an eye on it as brined birds tend to cook
a little more quickly because the increased moisture transfers heat
more efficiently.
If you get it right, the juices will literally quirt out of the chicken when
you chomp into it. If you add some wood chips during cooking, the
result is better than sex – trust me on this!
BBQ Blue