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15 chicken leg quarters - how much MH brine?

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  • 15 chicken leg quarters - how much MH brine?

    leg quarters were on sale, so i bought 15 of them (a little under 8 pounds) and plan to toss them on the SnP tomorrow for lunch while i do some spares and CSRs for supper. Rich generously sent me a supply of brine, and i'd like to try it with these. along with the brining, i intend to season them in a greek style, with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic, then baste them occasionally with a 50/50 mix of lemon juice and olive oil.

    the bag says a gallon of cold water to a full pound of brine, which is good for up to 50 pounds of meat. i'm assumimg that i don't need this much for a few leg quarters, so any recommendations for an amount of brine and water?

    also, i brined a chicken once before a few years ago and the beautiful mrs. tas was un-impressed, due to a mushy texture which i attributed to over-brining. based on discussions i've seen here, it looks like brining time is very flexible with MH - from 4 hours to over-night - suggestions?

    i'll be cooking at an average of 240-250 degrees, since these are going on with the ribs. for those of you who do a lot of chicken, what kind of (ballpark) cooking time should i expect? my plan is to skin the quarters, eliminating the hassle of the rubbery skin.

    those should cover the questions i have - advice would be appreciated.

    thanks in advance!
    Last edited by TasunkaWitko; 08-03-2012, 09:10 PM.
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  • #2
    Are you leaving them whole or separating the quarters? If you separate the thigh from the leg you will end up needing less brine because they will be easier to submerge.
    First guess off the top of my head would be a little over 2 quarts so probably 3 quarts to play it safe.
    Just did 13 thighs in one quart of brine and they just fit so I vote 3 quarts with them separated and the full gallon if left whole.

    Also brined mine for 3 hours, on the smoker now so won't know for another hour+ if it was just right or should have gone a little longer.
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    • #3
      hey, jim - thanks for the quick reply.

      it didn't occur to me to separate the quarters, but now that you mention it, i might do that. i have a bowl picked out for them and if they don't fit in it whole, i will separate.

      what kind of cooking time/temperature are you looking at?
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      • #4
        All you need is to wet them in the bag without air. I have done 8 breasts in a pint. Go 6 hours... or 24. but 6 anyway.
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        • #5
          Originally posted by TasunkaWitko View Post
          hey, jim - thanks for the quick reply.

          it didn't occur to me to separate the quarters, but now that you mention it, i might do that. i have a bowl picked out for them and if they don't fit in it whole, i will separate.

          what kind of cooking time/temperature are you looking at?
          I almost always separate the quarters and I love that they have that natural fat line that shows you exactly where to cut.
          Cooking them at 300, not going to eat the skin so not worried about that crisping up.

          Originally posted by Richtee View Post
          All you need is to wet them in the bag without air. I have done 8 breasts in a pint. Go 6 hours... or 24. but 6 anyway.
          Would have liked to brine them longer for the ones I'm doing tonight but got off from work later than I thought so got a late start, will try them out the way you mentioned once I order more brine
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          • #6
            Originally posted by Richtee View Post
            All you need is to wet them in the bag without air. I have done 8 breasts in a pint. Go 6 hours... or 24. but 6 anyway.
            thanks, rich - brining time was one concern because of the aforementioned issue with mushiness - good call on the phosphate!

            if 6 hours is a minimum for osmosis and flavour, then i'll simply do them overnight, since that will make more sense than getting up at o'dark-thirty just to make it 6 hours exactly.

            a bag makes sense - i have a gallon bag and i think i can fit them all in there, especially skinned and probably separated. based on what i'm reading from your and jim's posts and taking the bag into account versus a bowl, it sounds like a quart's worth of brine will work well, if i read correctly? if not, then maybe two quarts....

            as for cooking times, i'm guessing maybe 4 hours as an estimate, but of course finished temp will be the deciding factor......
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            • #7
              heh - i don't know what i was thinking when i said i should be able to get 15 leg quarters in a gallon bag, whole or separated... luckily, the big tupperware bowl i intended to use was just right so i used that. as it turned out, a quart of brine covered them just about perfectly!

              they're in the fridge now - decided to leave them whole, estimating that it would take a little longer to cook them (trying to time it so they are ready when she comes home from work at three). Will rotate them around a couple of times tonight, then one last time in the morning. based on the awesome, savory flavour of the brine, i don't think i will need much (if any) extra seasoning, but i will continue with the olive oil/lemon juice baste. i considered adding some oregano to the brine, but want to keep it "pure" for taste-testing purposes.....
              Last edited by TasunkaWitko; 08-03-2012, 10:14 PM.
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              • #8
                Sounds like a plan!
                Just about ready to pull my thighs off.
                First time at a proper Hunky brine and seasonings (half reg half hot wang) smoke so pretty excited.
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                • #9
                  Hey Ron...I guess I'll chime in with my 2¢ worth...I go with about 6 hours when I do chicken parts and it seems to work out ok. As far as the amount...like Rich said...as long as you get it submersed you're golden. The plastic bag thing works very well.

                  Looking forward to seeing your results...I'm doing a rubless PP this weekend...should be a lot like the pernil, and doing a chimichurri finishing sauce to go with it.
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                  • #10
                    morning, dave -

                    thanks for the tips! we'll see how it goes - the beautiful mrs tas did not like the last chicken i smoked, and that was quite a while ago, so i'm putting my @$$ on the line doing another one!

                    looking forward to seeing how that pork shoulder goes, my friend. the the chimichurri should take it straight to argentina!
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                    • #11
                      these definitey turned out great - i threw them on the SnP straight out of the brine and put the hickory to them. turned and basted them once halfway through.

                      2.5 hours or so later, i took them off. they were probably on a little longer than they should have been, but not by much, and besides, you wouldn't have known it from the juicy, savory flavor bursting out of them. not a single bit of dryness and, importantly, not a single bit of mushiness, after brining for probably 14 hours. my wife still doesn't like smoked chicken, but i think we're discovering it's just because she doesn't like smoked chicken - and that's all there is to it, because this was easily the best smoked chicken i've ever had, and that is entirely thanks to rich's brine, with all the awesome flavours that are in it. i smoked the chicken "nekkid" because i wanted a no-bullshit evaluation of the brine, and i got it. outstanding brine, sir!

                      some leftovers - thinking of stripping the meat and making chicken potpies for lunches this week! pastry crust, veggies and gravy is all i need!
                      Last edited by TasunkaWitko; 08-04-2012, 06:46 PM.
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                      • #12
                        Mmmm love pot pies... last time I did them I used rendered turkey fat in the dough. If ya happen to have any...

                        Thanks for the nekkid trial. I appreciate your faith and your trust in the Mad Hunky products, Tas. It's great cooks like you and others here that are SOO important to my development and testing of products.

                        You can't CHEAPLY buy this kind of testing... I owe ya ALL!
                        In God I trust- All others pay cash...
                        Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
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                        • #13
                          it was a pleasure, rich, and i mean that. it's easy to give a great recommendation when the product really IS that good; also, just as important, it's user-friendly as can be.

                          only one suggestion, and if i remember correctly, i think i saw somewhere that you're working on this:

                          it might be good to expand on the instructions a bit: listing an amount of brine/water something more along the lines of what a home cook can relate to (25/50 pounds!). perhaps a list for 2 breasts, then half a chicken, then a whole (or cut up), and finally two birds. maybe for 2 and 4 cornish game hens, too. i know that's a lot to fit in a space, but i think you mentioned putting on a back label, which might give more room for such a thing.

                          thank you for the opportunity to try both the brine and the rub. i'm not exaggerating when i say that you've captured the flavours that bring out the best in poultry here!
                          Fundamentals matter.



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                          • #14
                            What did the Wife think?
                            Is she digging the Mad Hunky Brine too?

                            Great idea on rendered turkey fat for a pot pie crust Sir Rich, that would definitely put it over the top far as flavor goes

                            Took some of my leftover thighs and cut them up and into a batch of dirty rice.
                            Set a few aside for Mom to try and see how she likes the MH
                            There is a cure...http://phoenixtears.ca/

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