Sunday, December 13, 2015

Brine your bird!!

I've known about brining poultry for many years but never actually tried doing it. But the other day a combination of events led me to buy a guinea hen - because I'd just watched a cooking show which claimed that guinea hen was succulent and delicious and delicately gamey and gorgeous but thended to be quite dry so needed care during prep to prevent that. The solution they declared was brining. Ah ha! That was why I always avoided guinea hen - I always found the meat dry and crumbly and lacking taste. But brining turned that around? They hadn't been lying for years, it just needed brining? Wow! Easy enough done and we shall see.

So I brined the hen - the most basic simple brine - nothing fancy and only for 2 hours or so, not the recommended 8 or more. No special spices or dried citrus peel, etc.

So a simple 2 hour brine then roast it with a simple stuffing of bread with sage, onion, and apple.

OMG!

It was heaven!
We were licking our fingers. We were stuffing ourselves. We were moaning in delight.

Wow - so that is what brining does.
That's it for me folks. From now on ALL poultry made in this house will be brined.
Utterly succulent, moist and delicious.

People - Alan did not breathe even the slightest criticism! He just kept moaning how delicious it was.

So - next time you want to roast a chicken or turkey or any fowl - brine it first!