Greg Rempe said:[quote="Captain Morgan":1sjduogk]what's that Kosmo stuff, and what is it's flavor profile?
Jim, the Kosmo's chicken soak is more of a "already mixed" brine type deal...just drop 3/4 of the product in half a gallon of water and you're good to go. I thought it worked pretty well...no noticeable flavor profile...but that could be because of the rub and sauce too. I did purposely overcook the chicken by about 15* to see if the product would give people a bigger margin of error when doing the breasts and I have to admit that it did succeed in that test...here is a sliced pic.[/quote:1sjduogk]
Actually guys, all you need if you want to brine poultry is regular non-iodized or kosher salt. When you use those brine mixes(some of which aren't cheap)you are just paying for what you have in you pantry already. SALT. All that other stuff in those mixes don't lend much in the line of flavor at all. They do smell good though. The disolved sodium is what causes the meat to become more tender and less prone to drying out. That is if you don't over cook it which so many people do.
Here is a recipe and pay attention it's reall complicated.
Mix 1 cup of non iodized salt with 1 gallon of water. If you need more that 1 gal. mix accordingly. Put your chicken in the container with brine to just cover the bird. REFRIGERATE. remove 4-5 hours later and rinse well. RINSE WELL. Now if you want to add any herbs or spices do so now. When you use that pre mix junk you are rinsing it down the drain. Okay now you can grill or bake or however you want to cook your bird. This method is great for turkey only you brine it overnight for about 8 hours.
What the salt also is it actually helps it to cook a lil faster and makes it really juicy and tender.