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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 quart brine 1134g Recipe makes 1 quart brine)
Calories 553
Calories from Fat 79		(14%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 8.9g	13%
	Saturated Fat 5.4g	27%
	Monounsaturated Fat 2.5g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g
	Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 39mg		13%
Sodium 14988mg		624%
Potassium 1695mg		48%
Total Carbohydrate 87.2g		29%
	Dietary Fiber 2.2g	8%
	Sugars 75.3g
Protein 34.6g		69%
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Kittencal's Buttermilk Poultry Brine (For Chicken or Turkey)

Recipe #168990 | 8 hours | 8 hours prep | add private note

⁽²⁹⁾ RATE IT NOW Print Recipe

By: KITTENCAL
May 22, 2006

You may never grill, fry or bake chicken again without using this brine first, it will produce the most flavourful juicy moist chicken you will ever have, it's a must for chicken and turkey breasts, and makes the best fried chicken on this planet! Plan ahead the chicken needs to marinade in the buttermilk brine for a minimum of 8 hours or up to 24 hours. This brine is enough to cover about 4 pounds chicken pieces. You can double the recipe and use it on a small whole turkey also, the cumin is only optional, if you are not a lover of cumin then you can omit but it really brings out so much extra flavor without being overpowering.... you will LOVE this brine! also see my Kittencal's Basic Brown Sugar Brine for Meat and Poultry and Kittencal's Best Brown Sugar Turkey Brine.

1 quart brine (change servings and units)

Ingredients

1 quart buttermilk
1 small onion, finely chopped (or use 1/2 cup chopped shallots)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic (or use 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cumin (can use up to 1 tablespoon) (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

Directions

1
In a large bowl mix or whisk the buttermilk, shallots, garlic, salt, sugar, cumin (if using) and black pepper until the sugar and salt is completely dissolved.
2
Rinse the chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
3
Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture; toss with clean hands to coat the chicken in the mixture.
4
Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 8-24 hours.
5
Rinse the chicken quick and just slightly under cold water to remove the onions and garlic if desired before cooking or grilling.
6
Grill or oven-bake as desired.

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Featured Reviews for This Recipe

From: Chef #1089895

On Nov 19, 2009

This was so fabulous last year that I had to look it up again for this year. I outdid myself and now am committed to doing thanksgiving every year, because of this recipe. Thanks kittencal!

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From: jlotus

On Sep 13, 2009

Simply stated, this recipe is awesome. My boyfriend has been experimenting with attempting to make the perfect hot wing (he even has a blog of his journey, aptly named theperfectwing.com). We had just been deep frying the wings plain. This time we tried deep frying them after using this brine recipe (we did substitute cream for the buttermilk, we couldn't find any), they were amazing. I didn't even want the sauce on them. I'm going to try it with a whole chicken sometime this week. Thanks for this!

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From: Andi of Longmeadow Farm

On Feb 10, 2007

Once again, Kitt~you've done it! Easy to put together, worked well with substitution on hand, and delivered an exceptional bird! Didn't have buttermilk (I used skim milk, vinegar, and cornstarch mixed together)but all the rest stayed exact. Normally, I brine with just kosher salt, water, (which produces a fine bird) but took it a step further. Even the left over wings, drums were still juicy after 2 days, and had those for a late night snack.

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From: ChefRaylene

On Jun 22, 2006

I can't state exactly how great this recipe is. My 17 year old son has complimented me in the past, but upon making this he stated that "No one does chicken like I do". The only change I made was I only use boneless, skinless breasts. This will definetly be served again and again.

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