Nov 19 2018

The Best Brined Chicken You’ll Ever Eat!

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If you want the juiciest, most tender poultry then you’ll want to brine it with Rodelle Brine! It simply is THE BEST out there! It creates the mouth-watering, flavor-packed, super juicy poultry I’ve ever had!

How many of you brine your own poultry? How many of you have ever had brined poultry? If you’re not sure if you’ve ever had it think back to the most juiciest, tenderest, flavorful piece of poultry. It practically melts like butter in your mouth it’s so incredibly tender. THAT’s what brining your poultry does. So why brine your meat? Well brining meat in a salt mixture helps lock in the meats own juices by tenderizing the meat. This mixture of water, salts and seasonings helps to tenderize and lock in the juices. Without brining, when you heat up meat you break down the protein or you’re ‘denaturing’ it. When meat is cooked, the connective tissue breaks down (denatures) turning into gelatin. Additionally the proteins in the muscle fibers also denature and end up creating a cross linking, making the meat tough again.

The whole goal of brining is to get as much water/moisture into the meat as possible however it’s really the salt in the brine that is the shining star here. The salt relaxes the muscle fibers that are often bundled together. By relaxing these fibers you’re creating gaps where water can flow in. Additionally it also causes the protein to contract less during cooking, so you lose less moisture. Makes sense, huh?

Today I’m teaming up with the amazing folks from Rodelle Inc. to showcase their Gourmet Brine. Most of you have heard me gush about them for years when it comes to premium cocoa and vanilla. Rodelle is one of the largest authentic vanilla extract manufacturers in the US. Part of what I do when I work with a new client is learn about the company itself, its practices, standards and more about where their products come from. I believe in not only educating myself but also you guys. Having over 80 years of experience, they are an industry leader with a dedicated global team. Their joint-ventures with vanilla farmers extend around the world from Madagascar, Uganda, Indonesia and beyond. Rodelle boasts a vertically integrated vanilla supply chain. They invest in relationships world-wide. They work directly with the farms and farmers to produce a Farmer-Focused Vertically Integrated Supply Chain. It’s truly a farm-to-table approach that allows full traceability back to the source. It’s a quality of standards that all companies should strive to emulate!

With it being Thanksgiving in a few days I wanted to feature their Gourmet Brine. This specific brine is good with poultry, pork and fish. They do have other flavors as well – including turkey. So last week while I was at the butcher I picked up 2 gorgeous split bone-in chicken breasts. Now normally when I made these in the past I would season and bake in the oven. But with time not being something I had the luxury of I decided to see how this would work in the Instant Pot. I’ve cooked every cut of chicken in the instant pot and even a turkeys but I’ve never cooked on that I brined. I wasn’t sure, honestly if that would affect the outcome.

The first thing you’ll notice about this brine is that it doesn’t take a lot to mixture to brine your poultry. Just 2.5 tablespoon per every pound of meat. This means it’s going to last. The 25 ounce container will handle ab out 2-18 pound birds. The next thing you’ll notice is when you open it, the most amazing smell. It smells like a holidays! Yes, for those are wondering, I totally held the open container up to my nose took a huge whiff.

Seriously AMAZING!

In this particular brine is Salt, Sugar, Cranberries, Exhausted Vanilla Beans, Allspice, Apple, Black Pepper, Garlic, Orange Peel, Rosemary, Thyme, Bay Leaves and Sage. To make the brine is crazy easy. Just boil water and add that to your brine. Allow to cool completely then chill in the fridge til cold. Mr. Fantabulous had walked into the oven as I poured the boiling water on the brine. Within seconds he said, “WOW what is that smell? It smells amazing!!!”

This is like the best smell! It’s so warm and inviting! Like I said, it’s like a jar of holidays to me!

Once the brine was chilled I added the raw chicken to a big bag, poured the brine over and then added the rest of the cold water. Into the fridge it went for a few hours and I went about the day getting work done. While the chicken was brining I was whipping up another batch of cookies for Mr. Fantabulous. He wanted my double chocolate chunk cookies (recipe coming very soon!) which also features Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa and their Chocolate Extract. Their cocoa and extracts are the absolute best I’ve ever used in my entire career. I’ve tested countless brands throughout the decades and nothing, NOTHING compares to them. Their quality and superiority is unmatched!

So back to this chicken. After 4 hours it was ready to pressure cook. When you have something in brine you have to give it a quick rinse to remove any residual salt or pieces and then pat it dry. Since I wasn’t poaching my chicken but rather pressure cooking it I put it up on the trivet so it didn’t sit in the water. For larger pieces of chicken and turkey the rule of thumb is for every pound of meat, pressure cook for 5 minutes. Definitely see the notes in the recipe below to find the cooking times and brining times for most poultry pieces.

Now let’s be real here, whenever you pressure cook chicken the skin is not crispy. That’s just not how most pressure cookers are today but technology is changing daily. So to crisp up the skin just pop it under the broiler for a few minutes and that’s it. Easy peasy!

Now I did sneak a taste of the chicken as soon as I pulled it out of the Instant Pot. I’m being fully transparent here when I say this…

This chicken almost did not make it into the oven. It was THAT good sans crispy skin! I was blown away to be honest! I’ve have brined chicken before but I have never, EVER had chicken taste this amazing!

That chicken was so unbelievably juice and tender it practically fell off the bone by my just looking at it! A few minutes under the broiler and I set it on the cutting board to rest for a bit. Had I cut straight into it I would have most certainly lost all of those juices. So give it 5-10 minutes before cutting in. Yes it’ll still be hot. Just trust me on this. While the chicken rested for a few it gave me time to season up the potatoes and get the table set for dinner. Since it’s just the two of us most nights we eat at the island. It’s cozy and Mr. Fantabulous gets a kick out if when I serve him dinner like that. He says it feels like he’s in his own private restaurant. I always respond with my, “Well make sure you leave a good tip!” haha

As I went to slice into the chicken you could hear the crackle crunch of the skin and then that knife just glide through the chicken like it was going through butter. As I was cutting it we both kept saying how amazing it smelled. I handed him his plate and though it was torture for him to wait til I sat down, he was a gentlemen and did. That first bite (okay the 3rd one for me but he doesn’t need to know that) we both literally moaned out loud. He looked me in the eye and said, “Honey, whatever you did to this chicken, however you made it, do it every time you make chicken. This is the best chicken I’ve ever had. It’s so juicy and tender! And moist… it’s so moist!” I just smiled because he was right. That brine imparted such a tenderness and undeniable flavor that I’ve never had in my life. It was absolutely perfect in every single way!

I’ve already decided that I’m bringing my turkey this year with this brine as it’s that amazing! If you’re a foodie or have a foodie in your life, I’m telling you guys this is one gift that you may have thought of getting them but trust me, one bite and they will be so ecstatic you did! I would seriously LOVE a gift basket of this and their other products.

This post is being sponsored by Rodelle Inc. featuring their Gourmet Brine. All opinions of this ABSOLUTELY AMAZING brine are mine. Thank you for supporting the brands that I love!