That sous chef told me to brine my chicken for 24 hours... big mistake on a busy Friday

Last Friday we had 180 covers booked and I thought I'd try his method overnight. Came in at 6am and the chicken was literally falling apart in the cambro, like mush. Had to throw out 40 pounds of breasts and run to restaurant depot mid service. He swore by that 24 hour soak but I'm sticking to 4 hours max now. Anyone else had brine times go totally sideways on em?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_park614d ago

Man 24 hours is way too long for chicken breast especially. I learned that the hard way too. Now I do 2-3 hours max in a 5% salt solution and it comes out perfect every time. Anything over 4 hours and the texture gets weird, almost mealy. Thighs can handle longer but breasts are too delicate. Your sous chef probably got that tip from some fancy cookbook but it just doesnt work for busy service. Stick with the short brine man, saves so much headache.

tyler_hall914d ago

A buddy of mine who runs a small kitchen tried that long brine thing on chicken breasts once for a catering job and ended up tossing half the batch because it turned into mush. @sage_park6 is spot on about the texture getting weird, I watched him go through that nightmare firsthand. Short and simple is the way to go for breasts, no need to overthink it.