The umami rich liquid that preserves some of the most deliciously potent ingredients like capers, anchovies, and olives. Don’t worry, if you’ve ever been tempted to drink this forbidden salty water, you certainly aren’t alone.
Reading the following isn’t giving in to a passing food fad like the infamous ‘beer butt chicken’ – don’t bother looking it up. It is an invitation to engage with a technique that has been used for thousands of years to preserve meats and fish without refrigeration. It’s a method that will dramatically increase the depth, flavour, and succulence of your meal’s centrepiece, be it meat, fish, or vegetable. Plus, we offer you a more socially acceptable way of enjoying the leftover liquid you reluctantly throw away after you empty a jar of pickles.
What is brining?
Brining is essentially the process of enveloping your ingredient in salt prior to cooking it. The difference between dry and wet brining is just whether it’s with or without liquid.
In its most simple form, a wet brine is just a saline solution. Over a prolonged period, the salty water permeates the ingredient, seasoning every inch of it thoroughly. The result is a tender, let’s say, chicken, filled with flavour and moisture, even after hours in the oven.
Dry brining vs. wet brining
Dry brining instead involves covering that chicken in salt and any other chosen spices for as long as 48 hours before oiling and roasting it. The salt will tease the moisture out of the skin’s surface, which in turn dissolves the salt and creates a brine out of the chicken’s own juices. Over time, this brine is reabsorbed by the meat and tenderises it in the same way. The excess brine left on the surface evaporates and leaves a dry skin, ready to crisp up perfectly.
Both wet and dry brining are equally fabulous for flavour boosting and have their respective advantages. We’re focussing on the wet brining method as, although slightly more time consuming, it does give you a greater choice of being able to add dry as well as wet aromatics to your brine.
How to make your own brine
Below is a recipe for a brine and a method for its use with a roast chicken. This is a tried, tested, and tasted recipe, but it is by no means the only one. Consider the sides and sauces you’re having with your chicken and think about the aromatics you can add to complement their flavours. For example, swapping an orange or grapefruit for the citrus elements, or dried mushrooms for extra depth. Or even consider rebalancing the mixture with an olive, caper, anchovy, or pickle brine you adore.
For veggies: brining works wonders with cabbage and fennel in particular, but all vegetables can be transformed by a good soak. Though don’t leave them in the brine for nearly as long as you would a chicken, as they’ll become hypersaline and inedible. Between one and four hours works best. Happy experimenting.
A recipe for brined chicken
- Water (500 ml)
- Ice (500 g)
- Salt (50 g)
- MSG (5 g)
- Black pepper (2 tbsp)
- Soy sauce (100 ml)
- Mirin (100 ml)
- White wine vinegar (50 ml)
- 1 lemon, halved and squeezed
- 4 bay leaves
Bring all the ingredients, except the ice, to a boil in a large stockpot with the lid on. Take it off the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes before pouring it over the ice. Place the chicken in the brine for at least six hours, but preferably overnight in your fridge.
Optional (for extra crispy skin): after brining, remove the chicken and dry the skin with a paper towel then place it back in the fridge for another hour before coating it in oil and roasting.