Any time you are preparing chicken you need to brine it before continuing with the recipe you are using. Chicken that is not brined is usually tasteless, tough, and dry. You will find a hundred brining recipes online. This one is the best. And the easiest.
I'm going to share this brine recipe with you today and a quick dinner idea that you can throw together in no time.
We start with a large pot filled with one-half gallon of water (that is sixty-four ounces).
You will need a box of Morton Coarse Kosher Salt for this recipe.
To the water, add one cup of the kosher salt.
And one-half cup of granulated sugar.
Here is the pot with the salt and sugar added. You could add additional seasonings at this point such as peppercorns or any seasoning of your liking. I add nothing more than the salt and sugar.
Bring the water to a rapid boil.
Stir while the pot is boiling to be sure that all the salt and sugar are thoroughly dissolved.
Add the chicken to a large Ziploc bag and, using a large measuring cup, continue adding water to completely cover the chicken. Seal the bag and set it inside a large bowl and place it in the refrigerator for thirty to sixty minutes. I usually leave them in the brine for sixty minutes.
In a pan with high sides, or even the large pot you used to make the brine (clean it, of course), drizzle in about two - three tablespoons of olive oil.
I like this Extra Virgin cold pressed oil from Whole Foods.
Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Then add to your pan with the olive oil already heated. Medium to medium-low heat on my range works perfectly. Don't set the temperature too high because you will end up with a smoky mess and overcooked chicken. I browned them about 5 minutes on each side.
Just until they were lightly browned. You do not want them scorched. Just lightly browned.
After cooking them about five minutes on each side, I added a bag of Campbell's Chicken Marsala Skillet Sauce directly to the pot.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.
A short time later, you have a beautiful plate of thinly sliced chicken breasts in a very good marsala sauce. Is this marsala as good as my own? No. But if you are just making dinner for the week so you have something to heat up when you get home, this works perfectly. For company, you would make your own marsala sauce. But for weeknights, this is perfect.
Here is the brine recipe:
CHICKEN BRINE
1. Add a half-gallon of water, one cup of kosher salt, one-half cup granulated sugar to a pot. Bring the water to a rapid boil and continue with the boil until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
2. Allow the brine to cool to room temperature and then add the remaining half-gallon of water.
3. Place the chicken into a large Ziploc bag. Add enough brine to each bag to completely cover the chicken.
4. Seal the bag and refrigerate for thirty to sixty minutes. Remove the chicken from the bag, rinse and pat dry with paper toweling. Discard the brine liquid. Cook your chicken according to the recipe you are using.
I'm going to share this brine recipe with you today and a quick dinner idea that you can throw together in no time.
We start with a large pot filled with one-half gallon of water (that is sixty-four ounces).
You will need a box of Morton Coarse Kosher Salt for this recipe.
To the water, add one cup of the kosher salt.
And one-half cup of granulated sugar.
Here is the pot with the salt and sugar added. You could add additional seasonings at this point such as peppercorns or any seasoning of your liking. I add nothing more than the salt and sugar.
Bring the water to a rapid boil.
Stir while the pot is boiling to be sure that all the salt and sugar are thoroughly dissolved.
Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Once the temperature has cooled to room temperature, add the additional half gallon of cold water.
You could use whole, skinless, boneless chicken breasts in this brine. I bought these chicken breasts that were thinly sliced. They were sliced almost as thin as you would for picatta. Remove them from their packaging and rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
Add the chicken to a large Ziploc bag and, using a large measuring cup, continue adding water to completely cover the chicken. Seal the bag and set it inside a large bowl and place it in the refrigerator for thirty to sixty minutes. I usually leave them in the brine for sixty minutes.
In a pan with high sides, or even the large pot you used to make the brine (clean it, of course), drizzle in about two - three tablespoons of olive oil.
I like this Extra Virgin cold pressed oil from Whole Foods.
Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Then add to your pan with the olive oil already heated. Medium to medium-low heat on my range works perfectly. Don't set the temperature too high because you will end up with a smoky mess and overcooked chicken. I browned them about 5 minutes on each side.
Just until they were lightly browned. You do not want them scorched. Just lightly browned.
After cooking them about five minutes on each side, I added a bag of Campbell's Chicken Marsala Skillet Sauce directly to the pot.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.
A short time later, you have a beautiful plate of thinly sliced chicken breasts in a very good marsala sauce. Is this marsala as good as my own? No. But if you are just making dinner for the week so you have something to heat up when you get home, this works perfectly. For company, you would make your own marsala sauce. But for weeknights, this is perfect.
Here is the brine recipe:
CHICKEN BRINE
1. Add a half-gallon of water, one cup of kosher salt, one-half cup granulated sugar to a pot. Bring the water to a rapid boil and continue with the boil until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
2. Allow the brine to cool to room temperature and then add the remaining half-gallon of water.
3. Place the chicken into a large Ziploc bag. Add enough brine to each bag to completely cover the chicken.
4. Seal the bag and refrigerate for thirty to sixty minutes. Remove the chicken from the bag, rinse and pat dry with paper toweling. Discard the brine liquid. Cook your chicken according to the recipe you are using.
