I was home sick the other week and I saw a great recipe for grilled chicken on Cook’s Country TV aka America’s Test Kitchen called Cornell Chicken.  It’s a brined chicken that is grilled over fairly low heat to maintain a moist bird with a crispy skin.  When we had our first warm day I fired up the grill and went to it.  The recipe is fairly simple…Apple cider vinegar, water, and salt…soak for an hour or two (in the fridge please!!!) then pat dry, rub with poultry seasoning mixed w/apple cider vinegar and fresh herbs (I had none so I just used garlic powder and onion powder), then grill away.  You want the temp on medium low…after about 20-30 minutes a thermometer should read 120 degrees…then flip and cook till thigh is 170 degrees.  Easy peasy! 

 

 

Health note:  FYI, brining does increase sodium content of food, and as I’ve already mentioned, it’s important to cut overall sodium consumption in our diets.  That being said, the amount of sodium that gets sucked up in brined meats will vary…pork will absorb less than chicken as the muscle fibers are more dense (info from Cooks Illustrated article – same article states brined chicken breast had sodium content of 353 mg sodium.)  So if you are going to brine your entrée, please be sure to reduce the sodium in the rest of your meal.  And you can fiddle with the sodium content of the brine if you like…I halved mine and it still turned out wonderful.  The difference in flavor makes the sodium splurge worth it! 

Round out your meal with some grilled veggies. 

 

 

 

Warm up your grill as soon as you can and enjoy!