Thighs and Drumstick help

[oldsaintd]

Well I was going to do quarters but I got a good deal at Sam's on thighs and drumsticks seperated. I was also going to smoke them on my smoker but it will be full so I will cook 1/2 on my Weber kettle and 1/2 on my 4 burner gas grill, both offset from the heat. A few questions:
1. Should I brine? (I was thinking about using Alton Browns orange juice brine but didn't know if leg and thigh pieces were too small to brine)
2. How long should I brine?
3. Should I use a water pan?
4. Should I spray w/ a fruit juice (or anything else) during cooking?
5. What temp and how long?
Any info would be greatly appreciated, I usually just grill these pieces but think a slightly slower cook would be good.

Thanks

[Rory]

Nothing's too small to brine, but smaller pieces will get penetrated faster so you shouldn't brine for too long or it will become too salty. Not sure how strong of a brine you were planning, but the standard is about 1 cup salt to 1 gallon water/liquid. In a brine of that strength I'd go no more than 2-3 hours for thighs and drumsticks. After brining, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Cut a tiny piece of meat off and toss in a fry pan for a few minutes to cook through. Taste your little morsel to test for saltiness. It should taste just a little bit too salty, as the salt is more concentrated on the outside surfaces of the meat (it will redistribute more evenly in a few hours, which is probably how long you'll be cooking for). If it is not salty enough, brine for another hour or two. If it is way too salty, soak in plain water for about a half hour to an hour - this is basically a reverse brining to suck salt out of the meat into the water.

[TB]

I agree with Rory's brine advice. Cook indirectly on those grills until 180 F. Forget the water pan, cook above 300F and spraying is up to you. I don't. Sprinkle with Tony's or poultry seasoning, or anything free of sugar.

[jshively]

I have done the Alton brine overnight on thighs without any problem. There was no salty taste whatsoever and I am lazy and just threw them out of the bag onto the smoker.

I run about 250 or so for an hour or so and then put them over the flame for a couple of minutes. I end up pulling the skin of though because I don't like the fattiness.

Should not need to spray with anything since you brined.

Water pans are for pansies who like steamed meat. :twisted:

[oldsaintd]

good flavor straight out of the bag or should I put some rub on them?

[jshively]

good flavor straight out of the bag or should I put some rub on them?

Depends how lazy I am. Most of the time I just throw them on but sometimes I get creative and throw rub between the skin and meat.

They do have good flavor with jus the brine though.

[Richlw]

good flavor straight out of the bag or should I put some rub on them?

I generally apply rub on my chicken, but here's a different spin that I find delicious! Several years ago I found a baste recipe on a Lea & Perrins Worchestershire bottle - one part butter and three parts worchestershire sauce. Melt butter add the sauce - baste chicken. Give it a try I am sure you will enjoy it.

Rich

[danj217]

ive done several chicken halves over the past weekends using the Alton Brown brine, it is hands down the juciest chicken halves ive cooked. I left in the brine over night (about 15 hrs), pulled and seasoned w/ orange pepper. It was very good. I cooked for about 4 hours @ about 250-275. Skin came out pretty good, not rubbery. I did this with indirect heat. I turned them once in the cook to give the skin a bit darker color.

[david brace]

I agree with a mixture of advices on the chicken.

Brining is a good idea for internal moistness.

Get them hot... to 180 firm for the thighs

For flavoring...it's up to you. Yesterday I oven-cooked some legs in apricot nectar, others in Teriyaki, others in a Jerk sauce, so just about any flavor is good.

DB

[Paul Taylor]

Man, talk about educational?, I am digging on this. This is what it is all about!

Paul Taylor

[david brace]

you just like it when I say Jerk Sauce... :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

DB

[Richlw]

ive done several chicken halves over the past weekends using the Alton Brown brine, it is hands down the juciest chicken halves ive cooked. I left in the brine over night (about 15 hrs), pulled and seasoned w/ orange pepper. It was very good. I cooked for about 4 hours @ about 250-275. Skin came out pretty good, not rubbery. I did this with indirect heat. I turned them once in the cook to give the skin a bit darker color.

Dan, could you share the Alton Brown brine ingredients, please?

[TB]

This is a thread that started with a question about brining and I do a lot of that. But, let usuns not forget about marinades. As a recent post asserted, it's hard to beat a mariande like Wishbone Italian dressing. Another popular chicken mariande and mop is oil, vinegar, worstershire and spices. Ive used the later with terrific results.

[jshively]

Dan, could you share the Alton Brown brine ingredients, please?


(courtesy A. Brown)

1 qt vegetable stock, chilled
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 dark brown sugar
1 tsp black peppercorns (I usually use more like 1 tbsp, but I like pepper)
2 bay leaves
1 qt. orange juice, chilled
2 qts. ice water

Bring 2 cups of the stock, the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a boil. Dissolve the sugar and salt, and cut the fire. Add in the remaining stock, orange juice, and ice water. Once the brine has cooled to 40F or under, add the meat and keep in a cold place (under 40F). Brine for 8-48 hours.

[TexLaw]

That AB brine is my favorite, too. It's pretty close to isotonic, so you aren't going to make your chicken too salty. I leave chicken in that brine overnight as a matter of course, and it's always great - seasoned, but not salty. Once, I didn't get to cook, so I left the chicken in the brine over two nights, and I saw no difference.

For those reasons, I'm sticking with 1/2 cup of kosher salt per gallon in my brines.

You don't need a water pan or any spraying. I like to cook chicken hot (300+, and prefer around 325-350).

It should take about 90 minutes, give or take, at those temperatures. Meat temperature, not clock time, is what matters. You want to see those thighs get up to around 175-180. If you don't have a probe thermometer, check with an instant read thermometer at the one hour mark and see where you are. If you are close, check every 10-15 minutes or so. It's hard to overcook dark meat.


TL

[Richlw]

[quote=Richlw]

Dan, could you share the Alton Brown brine ingredients, please?


(courtesy A. Brown)

1 qt vegetable stock, chilled
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 dark brown sugar
1 tsp black peppercorns (I usually use more like 1 tbsp, but I like pepper)
2 bay leaves
1 qt. orange juice, chilled
2 qts. ice water

Bring 2 cups of the stock, the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a boil. Dissolve the sugar and salt, and cut the fire. Add in the remaining stock, orange juice, and ice water. Once the brine has cooled to 40F or under, add the meat and keep in a cold place (under 40F). Brine for 8-48 hours.[/quot

Thatnks much for the recipe!

Rich

[jshively]

[quote=Richlw]

Dan, could you share the Alton Brown brine ingredients, please?


(courtesy A. Brown)

1 qt vegetable stock, chilled
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 dark brown sugar
1 tsp black peppercorns (I usually use more like 1 tbsp, but I like pepper)
2 bay leaves
1 qt. orange juice, chilled
2 qts. ice water

Bring 2 cups of the stock, the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, and bay leaves to a boil. Dissolve the sugar and salt, and cut the fire. Add in the remaining stock, orange juice, and ice water. Once the brine has cooled to 40F or under, add the meat and keep in a cold place (under 40F). Brine for 8-48 hours.[/quot

Thatnks much for the recipe!

Rich

TL is the man to thank for it. I just searched and found it.

[Rory]

That AB brine is my favorite, too...

For those reasons, I'm sticking with 1/2 cup of kosher salt per gallon in my brines.

Don't forget that there is a lot of salt in the vegetable stock in the AB recipe, which means the total salt is equivalent to more like 1 cup per gallon. I haven't tried his brine yet (I usually use Thomas Keller's, from the Bouchon cookbook), but I remember in the show he specifically says not to use low-sodium vegetable stock because you want that salt in there.

[TB]

That AB brine is my favorite, too. It's pretty close to isotonic, .....TL
Is you sure it's not asymptotic??

:lol:

[david brace]

And I thought you wuz Catholic...

DB