One of the best secrets to juicy flavorful meats is the most simple- salt water brine. A simple overnight soak in brine can transform even basic recipes and improve the flavor and texture of your meats.
Brining poultry, such as our pastured broiler chickens, helps improve the moisture content and keeps the birds from drying out when roasting. This can be especially important when you are dealing with tricky cooking times, such as when roasting a chicken and waiting for chicken thighs to get up to temperature, while avoiding a dry chicken breast.
You do not need to limit yourself to using brines on just chicken. Brining our grass-fed and pastured meats can be an important first step in tenderizing these cuts before cooking. Because our animals live their lives cage free, grazing and foraging outside all day, they are naturally leaner and have a more muscular build than caged, commercially raised meat. Try this brine with any of our meat cuts, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and you will be amazed at the difference that even a one-hour soak can make in softening and moistening meat before cooking.
Basic Salt Water Brine Recipe
For one cup of brine:
One cup of water
One tablespoon (TB) of salt
- Stir the salt into the water until completely dissolved.
- Use enough brine to completely submerge the meat and store in an airtight container in a refrigerator.
- Brine your meat overnight or up to 24 hours.
- When finished, remove the meat from the brine and pat completely dry before seasoning and cooking. You may find you need less salt in your recipe after brining.
For one gallon of brine:
One gallon of water
One cup of salt