Easy Chicken Brine

I have always heard about brining meat and the wonders it does for flavor and texture but I have never been very interested in trying it. Im not sure what sparked my interest in it this week but I decided I would give it a try so I could either prove it wrong or become a believer. After cleaning up from our dinner meal for the night I simply put together my brine recipe and added my chicken and stuck it in the fridge for the following day. When it was time to start preparing dinner I simply removed my chicken breasts, rinsed them under water and stuck them on the grill. My husband, son and I sat at the dinner table each with chicken on our plate very anxious to dig in. Of course my son had already started attacking his food, but lets be honest, I couldn't use him as a gauge for whether the chicken was a success or not since I'm convinced he would eat just about anything. So my husband and I decided to slice off a piece and give it a try. The first thing that came to my mind was "I will never prepare my chicken any other way." Yes, thats right, it was a huge success, like big time! I had never had chicken so perfectly juicy and seasoned in my life. And heres the kicker...after taking my chicken out of the brine I put absolutely zero seasoning on it, zilch, nada, nothing! So all of the flavor I was tasting was coming strictly from the brine. 100% delicious, and it couldn't have been easier to throw together. Everyone has salt and water on hand and you can always play around with any of the other added ingredients. Give it a try, you might turn into a brining fanatic like me!!

Chicken Brine

Ingredients:

4 cups water

4 tablespoons of grated or finely chopped red onion

4 tablespoons salt

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 1 heaping tablespoon of dried rosemary

1 lemon, thinly sliced

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

Place the water and salt in a large tupperware container. Stir until salt is dissolved. Add onion, garlic, rosemary, lemon slices and your chicken breasts. Seal the container and place in your refrigerator for 24-48 hours. When ready to cook, run each of your chicken breast under cold water and pat dry. BBQ the chicken breasts until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Turkey Larb

A few of you might be completely turned off by the name of this recipe, maybe even more than a few. In fact when I told my husband what we were having for dinner he thought I said turkey lard!!? What the heck is larb, you say? Larb is actually a type of Laotian meat salad that is regarded as the national dish of Laos. It is most often made with chicken, beef, duck, turkey, pork or even fish and flavored with fish sauce, lime juice and fresh herbs. The meat can either be raw or cooked (don't worry...the meat in this recipe is definitely cooked!). The bottom line is that the dish is incredibly fresh, flavorful, healthy and delicious!! 

Turkey Larb

Ingredients:

Dressing-

1/3 cup fresh lime juice, about 5 limes

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons honey

Larb-

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 red onion, diced

3 shallots, thinly sliced

1 (4-inch) piece lemon grass, minced

1 Thai chili or 1 serrano chili, stemmed and thinly sliced

salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 head bitter lettuce, leaves separated 

Directions:

For the dressing, whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. 

For the larb heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, shallots, lemongrass, chili and salt to taste. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat and vegetables are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add the dressing to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mint. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon turkey mixture onto the lettuce leaves and arrange onto a serving platter.

 

Honey Soy Chicken

Picture from Table for Two

This honey soy chicken dish is to die for! I found the recipe on the great blog, Table for Two, and just made very minor adjustments like using chicken breasts instead of thighs, marinating my chicken in the sauce before cooking, and altering the ingredient amounts just a bit. And since I had, and you probably do too, all of the ingredients on hand, it makes for a quick and easy weekday meal that will leave you wishing you made more for leftovers. In fact the recipe sounded so good that I did double it just so that I would have some chicken to pack for my husbands lunches for the remainder of the week. And because it was such a success I didnt have to get creative and find ways to use it up, because it was half devoured the very first night! I have honestly never had chicken in the oven quite this tender. I marinated my chicken for about 6 hours before baking it and I believe it made a world of difference. The flavors really really penetrated the chicken and it was honestly as juicy and melt in your mouth as a good aged steak can be!

Honey Soy Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

5 tablespoons honey

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Combine chicken and all of the ingredients into a large zip lock baggie. Give it a good swish around to mix all of the ingredients and completely cover the chicken. Place flat in your refrigerator for 6 hours and turn chicken half way through. Once ready to cook, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a 8x8 pan with two layers of foil. Do not alter these last two instructions. An 8x8 pan is key, your chicken breasts will be snug yes but it will keep the sauce from evaporating and your chicken from drying out. Also be sure to double line your pan with tin foil. You will thank me after cooking the chicken when you can simply pull up the foil and have a clean pan instead of spending all night scrubbing your pan free of stuck on marinade. 

Cook chicken for 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Plate and pour marinade juices over chicken. Enjoy!