Just about any chicken recipe will benefit from this preparation method. It makes the chicken cook faster, more consistently, and produces a juicier, more flavorful finished product.
Once you’ve prepared the chicken like this, you can cook it in just about any way you choose.
Pounded Brined Chicken
Prepare chicken for nearly any dish
Equipment
- 1 gallon ziplock
- 1 rolling pin or meat tenderizer
Ingredients
- 3 lbs deboned chicken
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 cup pickle juice
- 2 tbsp salt
- 4 cup water
- other spices, depending on what recipe you're using the chicken for
Instructions
Pound the chicken flat & thin
- One piece at a time, put each piece into the Ziplock by itself, press out excess air, and seal it.
- Use the rolling pin to pound the chicken piece until it's flattened to about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick.
- After each piece, remove from the bag and set it aside. Put a new piece in the bag and pound it flat. Do this for each piece one at a time.
- Once all pieces are pounded flat, put them all back in the bag.
- Add the lemon juice, pickle juice, salt, water, and any additional, recipe-specific spices.
Let brine in fridge for 1-3 days
- Squeeze out any excess air, seal the Ziplock, and let it sit in the fridge for a few days.
Notes
This recipe is perfect for preparing chicken for nearly any use. I use it for:
- Chicken tacos, burritos, and enchiladas
- Chicken soup
- Chicken bacon cheddar ranch sandwiches
- Chicken shawarma
- Chicken tikka masala
- Butter chicken
- Chicken vindaloo
- Tuscan chicken
- Fried chicken