The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 705

As plump and juicy as a benevolent aunt in a Disney film Tasting it, there’s a definite case of wet-sponge syndrome Water comes out of it as you chew, giving you the illusion of juiciness, but the texture is a little too loose and the flavor a little bland Moving on to the salted breast, we find that it’s still significantly moister than the nonsalted breast (though it was a couple of percentage points drier than the brined breast) Tasting it, it’s undoubtedly more juicy and well seasoned, with a stronger chicken flavor Texturewise, it’s significantly different from both plain and brined turkey, with the smooth, dense-but-tender texture of lightly cured meat Visually, you can see clear signs of this curing with its decidedly pink hue: Dry-brined chicken breast With a small chicken breast, the moist pink cured section extends nearly to the center of the breast On a turkey, you’d only see it around the outer edges (which, serendipitously, happen to be the parts most prone to overcooking and drying out) While the brined breast was slightly juicier, flavorwise and texturewise, I’d take the salted chicken over the brined any day What About Flavored Brines? First off, don’t try to brine your turkey or chicken in cider (or any other acidic marinade, for that matter) Just don’t The acid in the cider will begin the denaturization process of the meat, effectively “cooking” it without heat The results? Ultradry meat with a wrinkled, completely desiccated exterior, like this: Cider-brined chicken breast More interesting were the results of the broth brined chicken It seems like the ultimate solution, right? If brining forces bland water into your meat, why not replace that water with flavorful broth? Unfortunately, physics is a fickle mistress who refuses to be reined in In tasting the broth-brined chicken next to the plain brined chicken, there was barely a noticeable ... chicken in cider (or any other acidic marinade, for that matter) Just don’t The acid in the cider will begin the denaturization process of the meat, effectively ? ?cooking? ?? it without heat The results?...overcooking and drying out) While the brined breast was slightly juicier, flavorwise and texturewise, I’d take the salted chicken over the brined any day What About Flavored Brines?... exterior, like this: Cider-brined chicken breast More interesting were the results of the broth brined chicken It seems like the ultimate solution, right? If brining forces bland water into your