How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

How long should chicken sit in brine? ›

The rule of thumb is to let a chicken brine for approximately one hour per pound of meat, though you may want to lengthen or shorten that time depending on the strength of your salt solution or the level of salt you want to achieve.

Brining actually creates a change on the cellular level of your chicken where the cells are infused with additional moisture. We always place our chicken in the brine the day before we plan on smoking it. You can also do it the morning of as long as you have a good 8-12 hours before you plan to smoke it.

My standard brine recipe is essentially: 4 cups of cold water and 6 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt OR 4 1/2 tablespoons Morton's kosher salt OR 3 tablespoons fine or table salt. Note that it really matters what kind of salt you have and how much you use.

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

Some recipes call for rinsing meat after brining, while others skip this step. Do whatever the recipe calls for. Rinsing is common in recipes with a very high salt concentration or that contain sugar, since sugar can burn on the surface of meat during cooking.

Chicken can safely rest in its brining solution for anywhere from a few hours to two days, but generally, for a liquid based brine, you'll want to stick to about one hour of resting in the fridge per pound of meat you're preparing.

While poking holes in your chicken while marinating it can be helpful, it's not mandatory. Mostly, this method helps if you don't have several hours to spare when marinating your poultry. Poking holes in your chicken can allow the marinade to penetrate better in a shorter period.

Sugar: This is an optional ingredient and is typically used to balance the saltiness of a brine. Use about 2 tablespoons per quart of liquid. You can decrease that amount if desired, but I wouldn't recommend using any more or it could make the final cooked protein burn easier and taste too sweet.

After the meat has brined for 10-12 hours take it out of the bucket, rinse the meat real well making sure there is no traces of salt left on the outside of the brining meat and discard the brine. Smoke (or bake if you must) as usual.

Morton Coarse Kosher Salt is perfect for brining because the flat, flaky crystals dissolve extremely well in water and create a crystal clear brine.

Can you over brine chicken? ›

If you go to extremes, such as leaving chicken in brine for more than 24 hours, you'll get overly-salted chicken. It can also change the texture of the chicken. When in doubt, 1 hour per pound is always a good plan.

The Non-Solution Solution: The Science of Dry-Brining

Dry-brining cuts out the unnecessary added water by using the natural moisture content of the meat to create a concentrated brine that, when given enough time, is naturally absorbed back into the meat before cooking.

Most commonly used brines are based on inexpensive calcium chloride and sodium chloride. It is used because the addition of salt to water lowers the freezing temperature of the solution and the heat transport efficiency can be greatly enhanced for the comparatively low cost of the material.

A good rule of thumb to follow for a dry brine is at least one hour for a beef steak, chicken or pork and up to 24 hours. Here's why dry brining these smaller cuts of meat makes a difference. If you salted immediately before cooking, the salt will stay on the surface and be part of the crust.

If you go to extremes, such as leaving chicken in brine for more than 24 hours, you'll get overly-salted chicken. It can also change the texture of the chicken. When in doubt, 1 hour per pound is always a good plan.

A general rule of thumb is to leave your meat in its brine for roughly one hour per pound—never brine your meat more than the prescribed amount, lest the proteins break down too far, turning it into unappetizing mush.

Keep in mind that we wouldn't advise going much longer than 24 hours with anything smaller than a turkey, though. We only want to draw moisture from the skin, not the actual meat itself. The layer of fat beneath the skin protects the meat from drying, but it can only do so much. That's why 24 hours is our sweet spot.