So often, meat is brought home from the store, removed from the package, cleaned, thrown in a pan and cooked. If it's lucky, the meat will get seasoned with a little salt and pepper and taste a little better than cardboard.  But, overcooked meat doesn't need to occur after today. Why? Two words. Brine and Thermometer.

You may have heard of brining, but have you ever utilized its brilliance? The process of soaking meat in a salty liquid as part of the preparation allows meat to absorb and retain that moisture during the cooking. Brining is ideal for mild flavored meats with have low percentages of fat and that can overcook with a blink of an eye, like chicken, turkey, pork, and even shrimp.

Depending on the weight of the meat, brining can take anywhere from 2 to 12 hours (planning on one hour of brining per pound). And, in addition to time, it will be necessary to choose a container large enough to hold the meat and enough brine to cover the meat, allot enough room in the refrigerator to hold the brining container, then choose the salt, sugar, seasonings for the mixture. Concerned about the container? Don't be. A large stainless steel stock pot, clean plastic buckets, and/or food safe resealable bags are great vessels to carry out the process. For large birds, Reynolds sells Oven Roasting Bag for Turkeys, or and Ziploc have their XL Storage Bags, both work well. 

There are many types of brining liquids with different flavor profiles. It's worth doing some digging into various recipes. Or, use the basic formula, approximately 1 cup of salt (no iodine or other additives) to 1 gallon of water, and add seasonings and flavors preferred by your family. When adding salt, consider kosher salt because its flavor is cleaner than table salt, less salty.

Because brining adds moisture to both the flesh and the skin, the skin might not end up crispy when all is said and done. After rinsing off the brine, before cooking, pat dry or even air-dry the brined meat, uncovered, in the refrigerator.

The second important word when cooking various animal proteins? Thermometer.  Using a thermometer not only measures the internal temperature of the cooked meat to confirm that a safe temperature has been reached, but it assures that the meat is cooked flawlessly. Thermometers come in different price ranges, but if purchasing one from basic home use, a simple one is just fine and can be found at many of your local kitchen and all purpose stores.

Roasted Chicken
3-4 lbs bone-in chicken breasts
6 cups brining liquid (recipe follows)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Clean the chicken with cold water. Marinate the chicken in the brine, in a food safe container, for 3-4 hours (one hour per pound). Preheat oven to 450 ° F. Melt butter. Rinse brine off the chicken with cold water and carefully pat the chicken dry. Place on a roasting rack on/in a roasting pan and brush the chicken with the melted butter. Cook the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes*. Lower the heat to 350 ° F for 15 to 20 more minutes or until the internal temperature, at the thickest part, reads 165 ° F.

*Baking at a high temp for a short period of time helps a crispy skin that locks in the meat's juices.

Poultry Brine
6 cups water
3 cups ice
1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup Kosher salt (no iodine)
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. grain mustard
1 Tbsp. dried dill weed
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
3-5 cloves garlic, peeled
3 sprigs of thyme
Bay leaf

Place ice in a large, food safe container; set aside.  In a large pot, stir together the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow cooling for 15 minutes. Pour over ice. Let cool completely. Place poultry in the brine, making sure it is fully immersed. Brine for one hour per pound.

Thoroughly rinse all the brine from the poultry before cooking. *Do not skip this step, or the poultry with be excessively salty.

(pictures show chicken with cooked herbed Farro)