what seals in the "juices" of a skinned whole chicken better: oil pasted on the chicken or brine the chicken

Question

we raise our own chickens and want to seal in those juices but we need to know the best way. most people would say brine the chicken. i called my butcher and he said to brine them for three days. what is the best solution for brineing the chickens we have about 65 birds. or would pasteing them with some type of oil work better. we grill out alot. we would be vaccum sealing and freezing the rest. we need something that seals the juices, great cooking, and will freeze well. any ideas?

Answer 1

First thing, when freezing anything "space" is the enemy, space meaning air, "whole" intact birds is to much air (freezer burn" assumeing you're freezing them whole. Cut them in half, put them in a zip top bag and seal to the final corner and suck the air out, either with your mouth or a straw and close it up, a vac sealer works best. Don't brine or add anything, strange things happen when you brine and thaw. Brining even though it takes awhile, should be used for something you're cooking right away, the infusion of the brine is part of the science of molecules and moisture, freezing upsets that action.
(I disagree with your butchers call.)
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Brining & marinating will help with having a tasty chicken, but means nothing is the bird is overcooked. the general rule of thumb is finished cooking temp is 165 for 10 seconds.

Searing will improve flavor as well, but the difference in lost juices is minimal.

When grilling, use tongs vs. a fork.

Remember what you feed your chickens will ultimatley determine its flavor as well.

Answer 3

Brining works better than oil.

I like this brine recipe, and it can be adapted to chicken. I'd cut back on the brining solution ingredients and water to suit the weight of the chicken(s) you have.


ROASTED BRINED TURKEY

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1 gallon iced water

For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Combine all brine ingredients, except ice water, in a stockpot, and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve solids, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Early on the day of cooking, (or late the night before) combine the brine and ice water in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Place thawed turkey breast side down in brine, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area (like a basement) for 6 hours. Turn turkey over once, half way through brining.

A few minutes before roasting, heat oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.

Place bird on roasting rack inside wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add steeped aromatics to cavity along with rosemary and sage. Tuck back wings and coat whole bird liberally with canola (or other neutral) oil.

Roast on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover breast with double layer of aluminum foil, insert probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and return to oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. Set thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.

--Alton Brown, Food Network

Answer 4

I like to freeze my chicken in the marinade, then when it defrosts it's ready to grill and it helps eliminate freezer burn... You can make your own marinade, or use bottled italian dressing...