Brining Chicken, Turkey and Rabbit

If you have ever eaten rabbit then you now that it is pound for pound, the leanest white meat you can raise or purchase. The downside to having meat that is so lean is that if not prepared correctly it can be a challenge to make sure it is nice and tender. There are a few options to ensure that your meat is tender, one option is to use a marinade that not only imparts flavor but helps to tenderize the meat. Another option, is to brine the rabbit before cooking.

A brine is simply a combination of water, salt, sugar and spices, that are combined together and the meat is then placed in the brine for 8 to 16 hours to allow the meat to absorb the brining solution. What most people do not realize is that brine’s are used commercially everyday. One only has to look at the label of any packaged poultry product to see that it states 'this product has been infused with a sodium solution.' In plain English, that means it has been brined when it was processed to enhance both the flavor and moisture content of the meat to keep it from drying out.

Grilling or baking rabbit without marinating or brining it can lead to not only a tough, but dry unsatisfying meal. The exception to this would be if you were cooking the rabbit in the oven via a wet method (cooked in liquid).

Why Brine's Work

As mentioned earlier, a brine solution is a concentration of sodium (salt) and dextrose (sugar) with miscellaneous flavorings of your choice. Brine's work via the process of diffusion, which is the natural movement of solutes (salt and sugar) from an area of higher concentration to that of an area of lower concentration (the meat). The short answer is the meat has a lower concentration of solutes therefore the brine is essentially pulled into the meat until there is an equal amount of solutes in both the meat and the brine. That's really all you need to know.

The Brine's

As I mentioned there are many different type of brine's, but the all-purpose brine is a good place to start. It is simple and easy to make, and works equally well for chicken, turkey and rabbit. My all-purpose brine is the base recipe for all my other brine recipes which are listed in this article. I find it best to make the brine up the day before to make sure it is nice and cold before adding the raw meat. I brine almost all of my rabbit, except for when I plan on using a marinade, or I am going to make rabbit sausage. The steps for making all of the brine's in this article are the same, only the spices are different, the water, salt and sugar measurements remain the same.

All-Purpose Brine

8 cups water

1/3 cup kosher salt
1 Tablespoon black peppercorn crushed
1/3 cup sugar
2 bay leaves dried

In a large stock pot add all the ingredient except the cold water and bring to a boil, stirring until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove the stockpot from the heat and allow to cool. After cooled down completely, place in the fridge overnight for use the next day.

Once the brine has been refrigerated, add your chicken, turkey or rabbit and allow it to brine for 8 to 16 hours. I usually place the rabbit in the brine and allow it to soak overnight or until I am ready to cook it the next day. Once you are ready to begin cooking, remove the meat from the brine and pat dry and place on a baking dish or platter until ready to use.

Spicy Southwest Brine

8 cups water
1/3 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 jalapenos, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons chile powder

Caribbean Brine

8 cups water
1/3 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, chopped

2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Indian/Pakistani Brine

8 cups water
1/3 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks

2 red cayenne peppers, sliced

2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon ginger, ground
1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

6 green cardamom seeds, whole

Conclusion

If you raise, chicken's, turkey's or rabbits, brine's are an excellent way to increase the flavor and moisture content of the meat. Even if you do not raise your own poultry, using a brine is an excellent way to add flavor to your chicken or turkey. I will be honest, I use a brine almost every time I roast a turkey, and almost always when cooking rabbit. Generally, I do not brine store bought chicken as most of them already have a sodium solution injected into the bird when processed. For poultry I primarily use marinades, dry rubs or simply season it with salt and pepper. 

Brine's are easily modified to suit your own particular taste, just remember to keep the water, salt and sugar ratios the same. You can add, omit, or increase the spices you use as you desire to come up with your own flavor combination. Dried fruits especially seem to impart a nice flavor to turkey. I hope you have found this article informative, if you have please share it with your friends.