The MOISTURE Test!! Brined vs. Marinated vs. Dry Rub Chicken Breasts

[@jakestanley190]

You probably should have weighed the chicken before doing anything to it. I would imagine the brine and even the marinade would add moisture and increase the weight of the raw chicken breast.

[@BlueStarDrumBum]

I agree! I would be interested in the results! Can you please do it again measuring before brine, after brine, and after cook.

[@neilbailey1139]

I thought this same thing

[@craigpugatch8071]

Definitely. If you added moisture then you had more to lose. Just like injection. If you filled a sponge with water and ring it out you are gonna lose a lot of weight but it will still be wetter than when it was dry.

[@ShawnTheRealtor]

Yes. Too many variables to be useful. Not just initial weight, but trimming (as practical) or a lot of shopping to find 3 identical chicken breasts to make them as identical as possible in shape and weight prior to doing anything else to them. My bet is on brining btw 😉

[@datrumpet5]

What about dry brining? My best whole chicken, for example, was spatchcocked and covered in the fridge with the seasoning two days ahead of the cook.

[@robertedwards7657]

To find the true 'juice' difference, I think you'd need to start with the weight of each breast before you start the brining process. Since the brined chicken absorbs some moisture, even if it loses some of this during the cooking process, it may still have more overall moisture compared to the initial breast when compared to the other options. E.g., if it absorbs 2 oz during the brine and then loses 1.5 oz during the cook, this would still be more remaining moisture than an un-brined option which only lost 1 oz during the cook (1/2 oz higher finished weight). Even though the brined lost more moisture, it's overall finished weight may still be higher than the other one. I've never tested it but I think you'd need to get the starting weight before you do anything to compare them equally.

[@Rainman9779]

this is very interesting! but I would also like to try this myself but weigh it before brine and marinating to see how much moisture it actually took on during that process. just for numbers purposes. Love science and cooking together lol

[@gordonhopkins7519]

Thanks for experiment Suzie. I love marinating chicken but I think I’m going to try more brining. I love the turkey brine kit you came up with and it worked like a charm last thanksgiving.

[@kevinseymour7796]

Fantastic video susie and very helpful!!

[@ScottBird17]

I agree Susie. The brine was the best!!! Thanks for the great information!

[@Ganymede40]

Team brine all the way! This was a very informative, fun video.

[@thedavishkitchen]

Awesome. Ill have to try all three this weekend purely for the sake of Yum! Great video, thanks.

[@steveg1559]

I’m a big fan of the brine method and like to keep a salt free rub on hand to use to avoid doubling down on saltiness

[@robertswaggerty4904]

I would think you would need to know the weight of the chicken straight from the package as well to see if they other breast took on more weight with the brine and marinade. That could account for the extra weight loss.

[@charlesmiller6826]

Cool video as always. I'm gonna have to do this to see which the family like best as they are my toughest critics. Either wayy I'll have something to pair my cowboy candy with.

[@brethowell2311]

Team Brine.! Awesome video. I agree with you about brining. Brine is definitely the way to go in my opinion. As long as you have the time. If not, seasoning and GO works in short notice situations.

[@bretkoesser]

What did the brined table taste like? :)

[@edwardcowburn2632]

Excellent video! I was curious as to what temperature you had your smoker on.

[@johncoffey8645]

You honestly can't go wrong with any of these. It all depends on the prep time you have! Typically when we brine, it's a lot more aromatics and poking holes through the smaller meat, such as chicken (heat and smoke draws the holes shut) and adds flavor/moisture throughout. Marinading however is a couple day process, including poking holes. You can't go crazy with the salts while marinating. Small amount of lemon, lime, or (Mt Olive) pickle juice does wonders for this process. The juice breaks the meat down, and the marinade builds the flavor. All that said on their amazing channel... This is all based on preference! After 30+yrs of processing our own meats, we broke down and bought a vacuum sealer in 2016. We've found that you can dilute your marinade, par freeze, and vacuum seal. Its much better than what you get from the store. It's prepped and ready. Just thaw and cook! We prefer marinating! Sorry, Suzie.... You asked!♥️ Side Note: We are blessed to have multiple things at our resource. The holes poked into the meat are with sewing needle size holes.

[@pernamore1978]

I love this girly!!

[@waynec3121]

Interesting outcome,great chicken as a result

[@robertjennings7282]

What would happen if you brine, marinate, and dry rub the chicken (after patting it dry)? My guess is it would be 🤯

[@danielbreach7428]

So here's my working theory on this... the weight lost is mostly water due to evaporation or rendered fat. We know that water dilutes flavor so the more water loss in the brined and marinated chicken would certainly leave you with a more intense flavor in the end providing you cooked all three to the same internal temperature and for the same amount of time. The juicy/dry discussion centers around rendered fat remaining in the meat at the cutting board. Google says chicken fat renders between 140 and 160 degrees so taking chicken breast to 165 without rendering too much fat is the challenge. The brine and marinade must slow down the fat rendering process at the same time it promotes the evaporation of water. The salt forced into the meat during the 4 hour process probably accounts for both and seeing that brine usually has a higher salt concentration than marinade that would account for the difference between those two processes as well. Okay...that makes sense. Now I'm just hungry. 😋

[@drob5664]

I always do marinade, but I stab them with a couple of forks to get the flavor all through the meat.

[@SinisterMD]

Honestly coach, I'm gonna have to go with all three. :) Thanks for doing all the math. You could say that the larger chicken breasts are more apt to lose volume due to having more surface area but then we'd really have to science this up. The taste test is probably the most important.

[@datrumpet5]

Percent change is more important than lbs lost. He may also want to consider the starting weight before marinating or brining instead because after marinating are brining and before cooking I think the weight will be higher than before. Weight before prep divided by weight after cook minus 1. I would expect this result to be higher with the turkey breast that was simply seasoned right before the cook.

[@sauravbasu8805]

For grilling brined chicken breast, what should be the time and temperature I should set in the home electric oven ?

[@Heygrillhey]

You can follow the same steps here! A smoker is just an outdoor oven!

[@praecantrix]

another great video. i was pretty surprised by your results! have you ever brined with leftover pickle juice?

[@Heygrillhey]

I have! It's awesome!

[@jwkingsr]

I wish you would have added a fourth breast to test dry brining by seasoning, placing in a bag and leaving in the fridge for 2-4 hours.

[@blakstar64]

I know we cook to temperature in the smoking world, but what was your cook times for these?

[@Heygrillhey]

325 for around 45mins to an hour

[@theilliniguy]

I think you needed to weigh fresh then after process to see if any gain. Then how much of the gain was lost vs. meat weight loss.

[@bloodsport5112]

I brine all my poultry. I use 1/3 cup kosher to gallon water. I changed up my temp. I used to cook chkn breasts at 275 and dropped to 225, made a HUGE difference. Doesn't get that hard outer layer. Soft and SUPER JUICY. Don't normally marinade but will have to give it a go. LOVE your hair lolllll...

[@RH-zc5dq]

shouldnt you be cooking chicken at 370 degrees? thats what most say

[@dlfendel2844]

It's interesting: But here's what makes sense---if you put MORE moisture (bottomline--water, including the water components in the various marinade/brine ingredients) INTO the chicken, that is more to flash OFF in the heating process--i.e. evaporate. So to me, it is more about flavor than weight--AND what remains when the water's gone is....fat. So, if the brine or marinade either (a) keep or (b) infuse more fat, well, more fat, more flavor because it "sticks" quite literally to your tastebuds as you eat it. INTERESTING experiment! Thanks!

[@12ozbuds]

Just a suggestion, cut out a one inch square cube from each breast. The next step you will need a scale that can measure the weight of a postage stamp. (they are available) Place a cube in a garlic press and measure the moisture. That way you will be able to measure moisture content of each breast. Glad I could help.

[@rosmakloma]

You mentioned the temp you pulled at, but not what you smoked them at?

[@Heygrillhey]

325

[@stevenpidek4387]

What was your smoker temperature at?

[@Heygrillhey]

325

[@Ryyder64]

Did half of the comments actually watch the video? Literally she mentions with words, most of your concerns. Personally, ive been brining for years and wouldnt do it any other way. Also holds up the best when refrigerating leftovers.

[@kaazbah]

I have been brining for years. I did this experiment myself, without the marinated one. Just brine and no brine, and brine was so much better IMHO. Thanks for this.

[@lowdownone]

Correct. Wet brine is definitely better for poultry if you want to retain moisture

[@reedembley2851]

Why did you switch from Camp Chef to RecTec?

[@Heygrillhey]

I have both.

[@NewVenari]

Quick correction on the math. Unless it shrunk in size, you didn't lose 24% of its volume, you lost 24% of its mass!

[@PoliticallyIncorrect90]

Try a dry rub of salt and pepper.

[@kerrywedge6977]

Always educational videos that i can apply!!

[@MeowMeowMarshmallow]

The percent lost didn't consider that the amount was from liquid ADDED to the chicken. Not just the chicken itself.

[@Chris-qc6br]

I cant tell with brining, not brining🤷🏻‍♂️. It taste the same to me

[@beka4780]

I Miss your old intro of your videos Susie! Greetings Bernd

[@Heygrillhey]

I do too! We had to ditch it to appease the algorithm gods.

[@bdubya2443]

Is there salt in your rub?

[@Heygrillhey]

Yes!

[@leolalley4708]

I'll be brining as long as I remember to do it. 🤔

[@somedude0505]

You did need the original weight.....

[@BIGDaddy504]

Call BS, i have done a ton of chicken and brined vs seasoned is vastly different. Brined always retains its liquids. You failed somewhere if your results come out that brined doesn't retain more then just...

[@keithatkinson7649]

ExperimentalBooboo 😊

[@russellridge8623]

You can’t fix stupid-brining. Lol