So recently, I was chosen for Smiley360's "Kikkoman Juicy Bird Project". In this we were to brine a chicken or turkey using Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Although I received these items to review for free, this is entirely my own opinion. I also apologize ahead of time for my usually horrible pictures as my cell phone has trouble in low light. I think it's time to start using a proper camera!
"Experience the taste of umami in your meals with Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Try cooking with this dynamic sauce in traditional Asian dishes, mainstream American foods, classic Mediterranean dishes, Caribbean cuisine, or even to brine poultry."
I've never brined poultry before, so I was excited to participate. I received not only 2 coupons for a free bottle of Kikkoman Soy Sauce, but a 5 gallon brining bucket as well.
First, here's the recipe that was recommended:
Kikkoman Chicken Brine Recipe Ingredients 2 cups Kikkoman Soy Sauce 2 Gallons water 1 1/2 Cups Kosher Salt 8 Cloves minced garlic 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns 4 dried bay leaves 1/4 Cup Worcestershire sauce 3/4 Cup brown sugar Instructions Combine all ingredients in a large food safe container. Whisk until salt and sugar are totally dissolved. Place meat into brine. Leave in brine about 1 hour per pound of meat. Once done brining, pat meat dry before cooking. Roast the chicken and baste with Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
I decided right off the bat not to alter the recipe like I tend to do, since I normally love adding additional spices. I didn't have any kosher salt or whole black peppercorns, but roughly estimated the equivalent of table salt and powdered black pepper.
Once we put everything in the bucket (as well as removed a shelf in the fridge to fit it!) we decided to let it brine for almost 24 hours versus the 4 hours that the recipe recommended. We also used our rotisserie to cook the bird instead of roasting it in the oven since we didn't have access to the oven upstairs. We basted it as recommended with Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
I have to say that the bird came out perfectly. It looked and smelled AMAZING. It came out incredibly tender and juicy, a bit moreso than usually when it comes to cooking in the rotisserie. The skin was to die for, just packed full of flavor and not salty at all like I expected!
The one disappointment I had though was the meat itself. With this recipe, although the meat was tender and juicy, it did not have much flavor. Especially not compared to the skin. I would recommend taking some fresh thyme, rosemary and majoram (or sage) and put those inside the bird while cooking, as well as some lemon slices to better infuse flavor into the meat.
All in all though, I was still extremely impressed with brining with Kikkoman. I will definitely be trying this again with some alterations to the recipe! Much thanks to Smiley360 for letting me join this wonderful project!
Click here to enter the Kikkoman Juicy Bird Sweepstakes for a chance to win $10,000!