Tenderize, Beer-Brine, and Cook the Easiest and Best Tasting Chicken Breast
How to Tenderize, Beer-Brine, and Cook the Perfect Chicken Breast 3-Part Complete Guide
Tag: how to prepare
How To Beer Brine a Whole Chicken
Here’s the universal simple brine recipe: 1 cup of liquid to 1 tablespoon of salt. Submerge the meat in the brine for 3 hours per 1 inch thickness of the meat.
We’re going to do things a little differently.
The problem with this “simple” is that not all beers are created equal, and neither is all salt. And, neither are our meal preparation schedules or our palate’s saltiness preferences. I will still try to keep it short and as simple as possible.
In this article, I’ll show you how I brine a whole chicken (and I brine nearly every piece of meat I cook from tougher cuts like chicken breast to low-and-slow cuts like beef and pork roasts). You will be the ultimate judge of the flavor. In trying these suggestions, if you find your meat to be too salty, then next time, cut back on the brine time and/or the amount of salt in the brine. This recipe is your starting place; I will leave it up to you to fine-tune the recipe to meet your and your family’s palate preferences.
Above is a quick video to show you the simple process.
Take Notes on Your Brining Journey
Take good notes as you try this process. You’ll end up modifying your own brining process. This article is ONLY A STARTING POINT.
There are four factors that will affect the saltiness of your final, cooked meat:
- Beer-to-salt ratio
- The Thickness of the meat.
- Time the Meat Rests in the Brine
- Temperature (Room Temperature or Refrigerator)
Disclaimer
I am going to tell you this: if you’ve never brined, you will end up with an over-salted piece of meat as you go through the trial-and-error process.
You will learn how much is too much and how much is just right…for your taste preference. How much salt and how much time are your factors that will make it or break it. If you break it, no worries. Make a soup with it and let the salt in the meat infuse into the broth. Definitely don’t throw it out. I’ve even taken over-salted roasts and made a delicious chili out of it by adding less or no additional salt to the recipe. Just keep on keeping on and you’ll find the right mixture of salt and time.
The Supplies
You will need 5-7 items. I’ve placed links at the bottom of this article if you need to find these items:
- Salt
- Beer
- Container to Brine In
- Zipper Bags (optional)
- Scale (optional)
- Tablespoon
- Chip clip or something similar
Time To Cook
Let’s Create a Brine
First, we’ll discuss the steps. Then, later in the article, we’ll discuss the fine points of brining. I have two methods of brining. This one does not use heat. My other recipe does use heat to create the brine. I use the heat method when I am adding herbs, spices, or other ingredients I really want the brine to be saturated with. This is the easy, no-heat method of creating a brine.
Start with a bowl large enough for the piece of meat you are planning to brine. I use zipper bags to hold my brine for two reasons: 1) It keeps the brine from sloshing and spilling and 2) I don’t need as much brine to keep the meat submerged. Less brine means I used less beer. In this case, less beer will not make a difference other than the cost to make the brine (a factor that outweighs the cost of the zipper bags). And yes, I will reuse my bags if I am brining back-to-back.
Step 1: Zipper bags leak. Use a large container like a pot or bowl to let the zipper bag rest in.
Step 2: Add your beer to the bag. How much beer? 3-4 12oz beers will take care of a whole chicken. Just let the beer head up as you pour; we ain’t drinking it and it’ll flatten out anyway after we add that salt.
Use enough beer that will allow for the meat to be fully submerged when we wrap up this bag.
Step 3: Add your salt. Keep in mind that if you are using a smaller container, the beer will head up like a volcano and it may just erupt over.
Here’s your mixture: 1 tablespoon of salt (15-grams) to 12-ounces of beer. Keep in mind that not all salt weighs the same. And “heavier” salt does not mean saltier. If you stick with the same measurement each and every time you create a brine, you will fine-tune your unique ratio of beer to YOUR particular brand and grind of salt.
Step 4: Pick up the bag and mix things up a bit. Dissolve as much salt as possible. It’s okay if some is left at the bottom.
Step 5: Place the meat into the bag. It may not look submerged in that zipper bag, but that is okay. We’re going to wrap it up a bit.
Step 6: After the foam has subsided, get the air out of the bag and zip up the bag. The meat may not appear submerged right now, but it will after we wrap it up.
Step 7: Don’t roll the top of the bag down. We want the air out of the bag and the top of the zipper bag to remain standing up so the bag does not leak from the top.
Step 8: Loop the bag edges together. This will keep the pointed ends from drooping and leaking.
Step 9: Use the chip clip or something similar to keep the edges looped.
Step 10: Let the meat rest in the brine for as long as it takes (the rest of this article will attempt to clarify that). You can leave it at room temperature for a very short period of time, or in the refrigerator for 1-5 days; it depends on your end goals and the time you plan to cook.
Let’s talk a little more about the process. The rest of this article will explain some of the factors that you should consider when creating a brine and brining meat.
Keep the beer mild and keep it flavorful. And, consider the meat that you are brining. A whole chicken may not turn out well if brined in a deep, dark peanut butter stout. But, pork ribs ROCK a peanut butter stout brine. Look for beer “flavors” that go well with the meat you are preparing. I love a good citrus taste with my chicken and fish. Consider a nice citrusy IPA or a lager for these meats. A good stout or porter will work well with beef and pork.
Keep this in mind: A beer that pairs well with a meal may not work well when cooking with. Let me say that again but in a different way. You’ve heard about wine paring and even beer pairing. Beer that pairs well with a particular dish may NOT be the right beer to brine or cook that same dish with.
I love craft beer but keep mainstream, large brewery brews in my beer fridge at all times. Nope. I am not a beer snob; not at all. I learned this a long time ago: keep familiar brews in my beer fridge like Rainier, Corona, and even DosXX (to name a few). You’ll be surprised how your guest will pass on your $4, $6, and even your $10 cans or bottles of craft beer for a $1 tried-and-true, big-brewery brew. Craft beer is sometimes a gamble; dedicated Coors Lite drinkers know this and stick with what they know and enjoy; nothing wrong with that at all!
These beers may be less expensive, and some may consider these beers to have less flavor than a craft beer, but they have a perfect flavor for our brining needs. A great craft beer for drinking may not be a great beer for brining.
Your first few brining attempts should start with a simple lager or something mild. And, once you get the saltiness / time-in-the-brine down to meet your palate’s preferences, then experiment with the beer.
Not to beat the “dead horse” but I have been known to ruin a nice pot of gumbo after brining the chicken in a pumpkin beer that I was trying to “use up.” There’s something that just didn’t quite set right with a gumbo and that mild but distinct pumpkin aftertaste. On the flip side, I created a pumpkin chili with those beers and…WOW!
For this recipe, we will refer to 12-ounces as our liquid-to-salt ratio. Beer is commonly sold in 12-ounce cans or bottles. And YES! There are many other sizes. How about those nice 16-ounce cans and bottles? Yes, there are other sizes. As a reminder, here are the measurement conversions.
1 Cup = 8 Ounces
12-Ounce Beer = 1.5 Cups
16-Ounce Beer = 2 Cups
24-Ounce Beer = 3 Cups
3 Teaspoons = Tablespoon
Most brine recipes call for 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of liquid. My recipe is different:
1 tablespoon of salt (15-grams) to 12-ounces of beer.
You can get more marbles in the same jar you’d stuff golf balls in; it’s true! Likewise, a pinch of fine-grind salt like table salt may taste more salty than an equal pinch of coarse grind kosher salt (usually and maybe with a few caveats). With a fine grind of salt, there’s more salt in that pinch than coarse grind salt. Less is better to start with. Weight is a good way to measure the salt. Do you have a scale? They are pretty cheap. Here’s one (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3iUDTxf
1 tablespoon of salt (15-grams) to 12-ounces of beer.
I prefer a nice course-ground salt. It’s what I am used to and can “eye-ball it” better when I am just adding to my palm to toss into dishes. Give me that white table salt and I will use it at the table if I need to, but I always cook with a coarse-ground salt. You’ll often see it labeled as Kosher Salt which really has nothing to do with a Jewish Diet but was used to “Kosher meat” “meaning to remove the blood from meat, so it’s really koshering salt. Certain salt companies labeled the boxes of this coarse salt kosher salt rather than koshering salt, and the name stuck.”
If you are using a fine-grind salt and you don’t have a scale, no worries! Just cut back a bit on the salt and see how the final flavor comes out. If it’s just right then you’ve found YOUR recipe. If it’s not salty enough, then next time you can add more.
Chef Tips
Length of Brine Time and the Thickness of the Meat
There are different rules of thumb that are used to brine meat. Some sources say 1 hour per pound and others say 2–3 hours per inch of thickness.
Whole chicken isn’t universally “thick” like a steak or roast (and roasts have “sections” which causes the “thickness” to be different). I’ve brined roasts for 3-4 days and they’ve turned out wonderfully. Same length of time for turkey and chicken and have done great.
I brine my tenderized chicken breast for an hour or so. Tenderized meat have more “surface area” and will “take the brine” quicker.
Considering tenderized, flattened chicken breast versus a whole chicken. The hour is plenty of time for a tenderized chicken breast brined at room temperature. But, a whole chicken brined for only one hour will turn out to be the same as a chicken not brined at all. Thickness and nature of the meat has a lot to do with how long you should brine the meat.
Why Brine?
First of all, let’s clear this question up. Why brine? Flavor? Juicier meat? Yes and yes! Then comes the question as to how brining creates more flavorful and juicier meats. I will mention osmosis only two times (and that was the first time). If you have a source (the meat or even vegetables) that is low in salt and a source (the brine or soup base) that is higher in salt, the salt will want to move into the area that has less salt. It’s through the magic of chemistry that this movement takes place. One salt molecule can hold on to 9 piggybacking water molecules (simply speaking here with a more in depth explanation here: https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/134581/how-many-sodium-ions-is-each-oxygen-atom-attracted-to-in-aqueous-sodium-chloride).
A higher salt solution will cause the salt to “move” toward the area with less salt. With brining, the salt moves into the raw, lower-salt meat and tak es a few piggybacking water, beer, and seasoning molecules with it to create a juicier, deep-salted meat. And, in a brine made with beer and salt, a lot of that beer will be infused into that meat through this osmotic movement. Just the same, if you add spices and other ingredients to your beer brine, those flavors will follow the salt into the meat as well.
Summary
And that ’bout does it. This is my “cold” method of brining. If you want the method I use to infuse herbs and spices into that meat, then my “hot” method of brining is for you. Here’s the link to that article and recipe: https://beerandiron.com/2021/05/basic-beer-brine-recipe
Let it be known that I often will only use this cold method to brine meats. Either way is A-OK. You will need to practice this method to get it right FOR YOU. Just like I cannot tell you what your favorite color is, or your favorite song is, or your favorite beer is, I cannot tell you what your favorite “saltiness” is.
Lache pas la patate!
“Losh-pa-la-pa-tot” – don’t give up (a testament to the enduring spirit of the Cajun people).
Enjoy!
Affiliate Links to the Items Used in the Video:
Zipper Bags: https://amzn.to/3FzmDX1
Salt: https://amzn.to/3Y4eIIw
Scale: https://amzn.to/3BrLzNH
Beer Brine a Whole Chicken
Using beer and salt to create a beer brine to create flavorful, super moist roasted chicken.
Equipment
- Container to Brine In Large enough to hold both the whole chicken and the brine.
- Large Zipper Bag We use a 2.5 gallon zipper bag.
- Chip Clip or Clamp To make sure the zipper bag does not leak.
- Tablespoon. Measuring Spoon
- Scale OPTIONAL - To weigh the salt.
Ingredients
- 32 Ounces Beer Start with mild lager or ale like Dox XX or Corona
- 3 TBLS Salt Three Tablespoons
- 3 LB Whole Chicken 3-4 pound whole chicken (give or take a pound).
Instructions
The Brine
- Place the zipper bag open in the bowl or container.
- Pour in all 32 ounces of beer in the zipper bag.
- Add all 3 tablespoons of salt to the beer.
- Let it foam up. Mix as much of the salt with the beer as able. Some settling salt is okay.
Prep The Chicken
- Place the whole chicken in and under the brine in the zipper bag.
- Zip the bag closed after releasing as much air as possible.
- Loop the bag edges together like a horseshoe.
- Use the chip clip or something similar to keep the edges looped.
Brine Time
- Place the container with the chicken in the zipper bag with the brine in the refrigerator for 1-5 days.
- After your desired days in the brine, remove the chicken from the brine and let rest a room temperature for a bit before following your desired recipe.
Notes
This recipe is only to be followed for larger cuts of meat. It is not intended for thinner cuts like butchered chicken pieces.
Whole chicken isn’t universally “thick” like a steak or roast (and roasts have “sections” which causes the “thickness” to be different). I’ve brined roasts for 3-4 days and they’ve turned out wonderfully. Same length of time for turkey and chicken and have done great.
I brine my tenderized chicken breast for an hour or so. Tenderized meat have more "surface area" and will "take the brine" quicker.
Considering tenderized, flattened chicken breast versus a whole chicken. The hour is plenty of time for a tenderized chicken breast brined at room temperature. But, a whole chicken brined for only one hour will turn out to be the same as a chicken not brined at all. Thickness and nature of the meat has a lot to do with how long you should brine the meat.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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