Not sure where I got this, it might have been Meathead at Amazing Ribs, but I’ve got the notion that forking a bunch of holes or channels in the meat can help with brining if you don’t have a lot of time.
I’m making a chicken-rice casserole dish tonight and wanted to brine the chicken legs but only have about 90 minutes advance time before I start the casserole. So I used a 3-tine meat fork to stab the legs about 30 times each, at an angle so there’s more depth to the (90-ish) punctures on each chicken leg.
Thoughts on whether having these little punctures really admits more of the brine deeper down into the muscles? Or do they simply close up once the implement is withdrawn, making it a waste of time?
FWIW, I’m leaning toward the latter answer.
ETA - I’m brining at 8%, given the short brining time. I use about 5% for 12 hour brines.
