Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce Brine for Chicken

It was way too windy to fire up the grill but that didn't stop me from heating up my George Foreman and trying this Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce Brine for Chicken. Especially since I had a bottle of Chipotle Hot Sauce handy:@) The chipotle added the slightest hint of smoke and added more flavor than a plain salt brine. Did it add heat? Take a look at that ratio below, no. While adding the sauce as the recipe suggested brought more to the party than salt water, personally, I'm all for bumping up the flavor and will be adding, shall we say... a tad more next time.
Once out of the brine, bring your meat to room temp, dry it well with paper towels, and give it a light coating of oil, I like olive oil. I did give it a hearty grind of fresh pepper too. The last minute or two of cooking I slathered my chicken with a BBQ sauce that had a few hearty shakes of the chipotle hot sauce mixed in to carry the smokey flavor through-and that did add a little heat:@)
Pic before BBQ sauce.
A tip for using a George Foreman Grill: Let it heat up for at least five full minutes. Don't pay attention to the 'ready' light going on and off, give it enough time to get hot and fully heat up.

Adding hot sauce to your brine is a very simple way to bump up the flavor folks, and it would work well with pork or turkey too. The recipe is for 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast, the one in italics is what I used for 2 chicken breasts.

Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce Brine for Chicken-from Tabasco.com
1/2 C kosher salt - 1/8 C kosher salt
1/4 C sugar - 1 Tblsp sugar
1 Tblsp Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce - a little less than 1 tsp hot sauce (I added 1 tsp, will use more next time)
8 C water - 2 C water
~Mix everything, add chicken and place in fridge for an hour. I used a little warm water to dissolve the salt and sugar, then added cold water.

Let's get excited about grilling season and have a happy day:@)

12 comments:

  1. This is my kind of grilling--inside! Looks delicious and I love "hot".

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  2. Since I have some Chiptole Tabasco Sauce, I'm going to give this a try, Lynn. Thanks for the tips and inspiration.

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  3. Oh boy that looks good!! How brilliant to add chipotle to the brine! Sorta makes it a marinade? I'm going to pass this on to my grillmaster, he will love this!
    Jenna

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  4. " I had a bottle of Chipotle Hot Sauce handy"...of course YOU did! LOL I'm surprised you didn't use the whole thing. *wink*

    I can't remember the last time I dragged out my Geo.Foreman. It will be perfect now that I'm cooking for just one now. Thanks for the idea & the tip about really heating it first.

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  5. Great idea to use the chipotle Tabasco to add some smokiness! What a marvelous brine!

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  6. Looks wonderful and tasty Lynn! Thanks for the insiration, I think I'll give this a try on pork tenderloin... (don't tell Earl :)

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  7. Your food always looks so good, Lynn; this chicken is no exception. Thanks for sharing the recipe, along with the tips for the George Foreman grill. My husband is anxious to get our grill out this weekend. :) Have a great rest of the week!

    Hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  8. I need to buy a new bbq and recipes like this remind me I better get on it. The weather is warming up and I love to cook outside one the patio. I have to try that Chipotle Tabasco.

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  9. Is there a pin button? Would love to pin this until I have it memorized!

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  10. I've never used a brine before and this brine sounds yummy. I will have to see if I can find the Tabasco with chipotle.

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