Brining before Marinating ?

[EGGARY]

Can chicken be brined before being marinated ? Or are they the same ?

I am making Cornell Chicken and I have 2 recipes, one calls for brining and the other calls for marinating. I am just marinating the chicken this time but I thought I would ask.

Thank you.

[tony b]

Re: Brining before Marinating ?

Awesome, I just did some Cornell chicken, too.

I use Steven Raichlen's recipe, which is a marinade. However, given how much salt goes into it, it's pretty close to being a brine. I like to let it marinate overnight. I also baste it a couple of times during the cook with marinade that was separated out from the batch used on the chicken. With all the vinegar and salt in it, it probably wouldn't allow much to grow in it, but why take the chance on re-using the marinade. Never too careful.

I did play around with the recipe this last time. I added some Korean chili paste (gochujang/kochujang/gogujang) to a bit of marinate, for a "one off" experiment. Will keep practicing with the amount, as it gave it a nice mahogany color, but not much heat. But, the paste found at my local asian market is only 3 Stars hot, not the 5 Stars I was looking for.

[scouterpf]

Re: Brining before Marinating ?

Look up Cornell University and Chicken, this is where the "formula" originated. When I make the solution I put the chicken into two plastic bags, then add the marinade solution to cover, seal the bags, and chill in the refridgerator over night befoer cooking in our DRAGON; there is usually enough fresh unused ssolution left over to baste if needed.

[DennisLinkletter]

Re: Brining before Marinating ?

The purpose of the brining is to add actual water to the meat.. Which produces meat which is more plump and moist.

A marinade is to add flavor to the meat, hopefully the time sitting in the marinate will get flavor deeper into the meat. There is no reason the marinade needs to be loaded with salt..