What exactly does brining do for a turkey or chicken?
Bird Brining, By Russ Parsons, Times Deputy Food Editor (12-19-96 Los Angeles Times)– If someone told you to go soak your bird, you might take offense. But it could be the best cooking advice you’ve ever gotten. Brining – essentially soaking meat or poultry in a solution of salt and cold water – has long been used as a preliminary step in smoking. It flavors the meat and also plumps it, giving it the needed moisture to withstand the long, slow, dry cooking that the smoking process involves. But what’s good for the smoker is also good for the roaster – and for the grill too. Campanile’s Mark Peel figures he brines about 100 turkeys a year before roasting them at his restaurant. Most wind up in sandwiches at lunch. “We started brining the turkeys about three years ago and, to tell you the truth, I can’t remember why,” he says. “My sense, in an unscientific way, is that it gives a tenderness to the meat. “That’s especially necessary with turkeys. With the turkeys you buy, even the organi
