You haven’t LIVED until you’ve had farm fresh FRIED CHICKEN! But, the story is still the same.
Brine. Brine. Brine.
Yes, whether you are roasting, frying, baking, grilling, or smoking, BRINE your farm fresh chicken FIRST.
People today are used to the texture, flavor, and bite of store-bought chicken. When you have had a farm fresh natural chicken, you will realize just how bland, tasteless, and mushy store-bought chicken is, but – are you ready go hear that your chicken will be a bit tougher than you are used to, UNLESS you brine the meat?
Yes, it is an additional step in the process, and yes, it can be kind of a pain when you were thinking you wanted chicken for supper in a few hours. But I promise, you will not want to skip this step when cooking farm fresh meat. The salt in the brine helps break down the fibers in the muscle (meat), creating a more tender meat. It also helps the meat to take in some additional water to ensure a moist chicken when cooked.
Farm fresh meat usually cooks much quicker and lower temperatures, and farm fresh chicken is no different. I’ll link a Roasted Chicken recipe below for you. I have a wonderful brining recipe that uses raw, unpasteurized honey. Be sure to let me know if you use it!
Brining Recipe for Farm Fresh Meat
Brine:
1 gallon of water
1 cup of salt
1/2 cup of Raw unpasteurized Honey
1 Tablespoon of dried Bay leaves
1 Tablespoon of dried Sage
1 Tablespoon of dried Rosemary
1 Tablespoon of dried Thyme
Place your chicken or other farm fresh meat in a container that you can completely submerge it in the bringing solution. You may need to put a lid or heavy plate over top to keep it submerged. At minimum, you want to brine your meat for 12 hours. Ideally, 24 hours if you can. 🙂