In this case, however, a much, much longer brining time was necessary in order to completely mitigate the effects of high-temperature frying, delivering a uniquely smooth, juicy texture to the meat.Crispy Chicken Tenders marinaded in buttermilk then fried (or oven baked!) golden brown are juicy and flavorful with southern seasonings. My normal brining for chicken breast is anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. Brines also improve juiciness by increasing the muscles' ability to retain moisture. Third, as the brine slowly works its way into the meat, it seasons it beyond just the very surface. An overnight brine will penetrate a few millimeters into the meat, giving you built-in seasoning before you ever get to the breading.

By brining a chicken breast or a pork chop, you're in effect giving it a very light cure-the same process that converts a raw ham into a supple prosciutto. Second, brining alters the texture of the meat by allowing dissolved proteins to cross-link with each other. This is the main principle behind sausage making-dissolved proteins can bond with each other, creating a pleasantly bouncy, tender texture.Myosin is one of the key proteins responsible for this squeezing action, so by dissolving it, you prevent a lot of moisture loss from taking place. Breading will help mitigate this effect to a degree by slowing down the transfer of energy to the meat, but a significant amount of squeezing is still going to occur regardless of how well breaded the chicken is. As you cook the meat, the tubes of toothpaste get squeezed, pushing out valuable juices. First, the ability of the meat to hold onto moisture increases. You can imagine meat as a series of long, skinny toothpaste tubes tied together.

Great dredge for chicken strips