I discovered this brine on a working weekend when I scrambled to cross off fifteen items on my work and day To Do list, none of which included cooking, let alone eating a healthy dinner. With only five minutes to spare before I jumped in the car, I looked around at a nearly empty refrigerator and disorganized spice cabinet. While it is ideal to heat brines up so the aromatics have a chance to fully release into the liquid, if the rosemary gets a firm chopping and the orange zest a fine grating, you will have a similar aromatic release. With only five minutes of prep time, this brine allows you to eat chicken so flavorful you might think you had a day off, as the first bite erases all thoughts of labor.
4 cups, cold filtered water
4 tablespoons, kosher salt
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
1.5 pounds of chicken tenders, rinsed
1. Put all of the ingredients above in a gallon-size plastic bag, and shake until the salt dissolves. This usually takes about twelve vigorous shakes.
2. Wash the chicken tenders and place them in the bag. Make sure the liquid covers the meat, and that the spices, herb, and zest are distributed among the tenders.
3. Seal the bag and test its seal (or else!). Place the bag in the refrigerator, on the bottom self, with nothing underneath except a paper towel.
4. In about 10-20 hours, pull the tenders out of the brine and cook them however you like.* I don’t rinse the tenders because the salt content is mild, and the flavor of the brine would be rinsed off, at least somewhat.
* On my busy Saturday, I chopped an onion and three cloves of garlic, sautéed them until translucent before adding the chicken tenders, a splash of white wine, a handful of sliced Castelvetrano olives, and two fresh crushed Brandywine tomatoes.
Torn basil and a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil right before serving finished the dish.
4 cups, cold filtered water
4 tablespoons, kosher salt
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
1.5 pounds of chicken tenders, rinsed
1. Put all of the ingredients above in a gallon-size plastic bag, and shake until the salt dissolves. This usually takes about twelve vigorous shakes.
2. Wash the chicken tenders and place them in the bag. Make sure the liquid covers the meat, and that the spices, herb, and zest are distributed among the tenders.
3. Seal the bag and test its seal (or else!). Place the bag in the refrigerator, on the bottom self, with nothing underneath except a paper towel.
4. In about 10-20 hours, pull the tenders out of the brine and cook them however you like.* I don’t rinse the tenders because the salt content is mild, and the flavor of the brine would be rinsed off, at least somewhat.
* On my busy Saturday, I chopped an onion and three cloves of garlic, sautéed them until translucent before adding the chicken tenders, a splash of white wine, a handful of sliced Castelvetrano olives, and two fresh crushed Brandywine tomatoes.
Torn basil and a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil right before serving finished the dish.
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