A roast chicken that keeps the meat tender and juicy? It’s possible, and it’s even very easy, thanks to this little-known tip. This chef reveals his technique step by step!
Nuggets, wings, drumsticks… You love fried chicken in all its forms. It’s your guilty pleasure. Guilty yes, because it’s true that you have a weakness for fast food… You’ve tried homemade fried chicken, but every time it’s the same disappointment: you never manage to reproduce this crispy-melting texture if it’s irresistible. Your breading is of course very crispy, but the chicken meat tends to be dry and stringy. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve marinated the chicken before. It makes no sense ! You’ll wonder if fast food restaurants don’t have a secret technique for tenderizing chicken. As for fast food, we don’t know. On the other hand, we know the chef’s technique, which means that the meat remains tender and juicy, even after frying.
Chefs know that chicken is much more tender cooked this way. But this technique is very little known to the general public. There is nothing complicated about it though! It’s even much simpler than the sometimes somewhat complex marinades we get into. So how do you tenderize chicken without a marinade? For this, former top chef Carla Ferrari has a clear answer: brine! This mixture of water, salt and herbs helps to tenderize the chicken meat, but also improves water retention during cooking. This way it retains all its juiciness! It is also a good way to season chicken, as the salt penetrates deep into the meat and much more evenly than with a traditional pinch of salt. The method is very simple: you just have to bring a pot of water to the boil with a bit of sugar and salt with a few herbs.
To cook three pieces of chicken, Carla Ferrari uses 300 g of water, 40 g of sugar and 40 g of salt. She also slips in two sprigs of thyme, two sprigs of bay leaf and two cloves of garlic for flavor. When the water is boiled, turn off the heat and let it cool completely. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into cubes if you are making nuggets. Put the cubes into the cold solution and let them rest overnight in the fridge. The next day, drain, pat the chicken dry and proceed with your usual breading. Then you just have to fry it. When you taste, you will immediately see the difference!
