Chicken Farmers of Canada
Nancy Guppy has been a registered dietitian for over 25 years. She works as a food and nutrition consultant and is an avid recipe developer. She operates a cooking studio in Northeastern Ontario. You can visit her on the web at www.chapmanslanding.com. She also blogs at www.chapmanslanding.blogspot.com and www.goaskmygourmetmom.blogspot.com
I have read about brining chicken but I had never done it as I was scared off by all the salt! I played around a bit and came up with a much lower salt version that would do well on the barbecue. I was nicely surprised as the chicken is moist and delicious with a subtle coffee taste enhanced by the Cajun Seasoning. Read on!
The purpose of brining is to add flavour and moisture to the meat. It helps prevent chicken from drying out while cooking so you get nice juicy meat. A brine is usually a mix of water with sugar and salt with some seasonings. Brining is most commonly done on whole chickens and turkeys and it is best for bone-in chicken. You can quick brine boneless chicken but make sure you don’t leave it in the brine too long. In fact don’t brine any chicken too long as this can cause texture changes in the meat protein strands and they may become tough. I chose smaller bone-in pieces like drumsticks as they are faster to brine.
Brining Times:
Whole chicken – 12 hours – 24 hours
Bone in pieces – 3 to 4 hours
Boneless pieces – 2 hour maximum
Seasonings often added to brines include dried herbs and spices, beer, fruit juices, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, minced ginger or garlic, honey, maple syrup etc. There are all kinds of combinations that can be added to boost the flavour.
I used a Fair Trade, organic Sumatra coffee and some organic dark brown sugar with sea salt, Dijon mustard and cumin powder for this brine. I usually have leftover coffee so this seemed a good use for it!
Cajun, Coffee and Demerara Brined Chicken Thighs
Serves: 6-8 people
By: Nancy Guppy
Ingredients:
3 ½ lb (1.5 kg) Chicken Thighs or drums, skinless, bone-in (about 14 drums or 8 thighs)
6 cups (1.5 L) Coffee, strong
3 Tbsp (45 mL) Sea salt
½ cup (125 mL) Sugar, brown, dark/demerara
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) Cumin powder
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Cajun seasoning blend
Preparation:
1. Whisk together the strong coffee, sea salt, dark brown demerara sugar, Dijon mustard and cumin powder. Bring to a boil. Cool down and place in refrigerator to chill further. The brine needs to be 4 ‘C (40’F) and preferably less before adding the chicken. It is a good idea to make the brine the day before you will use it and refrigerate overnight so it is good and cold.
2. Remove skin from drumsticks and submerge in brine. To remove skin from drums hold by end of leg and pull back skin and pull off. Place in refrigerator and marinate 3 to 4 hours. If you use bone-less chicken don’t brine longer than 2 hours.
3. Drain pieces and season with your favourite grill spice. I used Cajun Seasoning (quick recipe below) but you could also try others like Garlic Herb or Jerk. Grill on medium high heat for approximately 25 minutes per side or until meat reaches internal temperature of 165’F (74’C). The photo below shows the brined chicken thighs seasoned with Cajun spice as a grill rub. I am getting ready to take them off the que on this cold Canadian winter evening!
CAJUN SEASONING
This salt free seasoning blend is one of my favourites. I shake it on chicken and shrimp, home-fries, baked potatoes and corn on the cob. Use it in your rice to season it as it cooks. I am sure you will find many new uses for this handy seasoning blend. The photo below shows some of the herbs and spices used in the seasoning. The Cajun blend is in the middle.*
Cajun Seasoning
Makes: a generous cup/250 ml seasoning
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Onion powder
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Garlic powder
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Oregano, dry
2 Tbsp (30 mL) Basil, dry
1 Tbsp( 15 mL) Dried mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) Cumin powder
1 Tbsp (15 mL) Cajun seasoning blend
Preparation:
Blend all spices and herbs together. Store in an air-tight container in the freezer.
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