I like to brine chicken in a buttermilk salt brine and generally get good results. However, I don’t do it all that often and every time I do, I’m going to the shops to buy buttermilk specifically for this purpose.
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I was reading last week about buttermilk powder, so have just ordered some. Seems like a perfect solution to have it on hand whenever I fancy doing a buttermilk brine but don’t want to run out to the shops. My question is, would it be possible to cut out the middle man (skip adding water to the buttermilk powder) and make up a dry brine of eg buttermilk powder, sea salt and maybe half a teaspoon of baking powder (inspired by [Kenji’s baked wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh2AXh1eRmE&pp=ygURa2VuamkgYmFrZWQgd2luZ3M%3D))? Or does the buttermilk powder need to be rehydrated in order to activate the acids and tenderise the meat?
Thanks in advance!
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Edit: Looks like I’m doing some experimenting at the weekend. I’ll report back!
by duckduckgrapes
15 Comments
I don’t know if the acidity is the same.
Note that what you do is similar to the tandoori chicken recipe where you use yogurt, salt and spices. I’m mentioning this because it may give you more recipe ideas.
Dude I don’t have an answer to you on this but you’re asking the right questions! I like this idea but don’t know if it would work. If you give it a go report back with what you find!
I’d try this myself today but I won’t be back in my kitchen for another couple of weeks…
I’m fascinated by the idea. [Here is a guy who did it with a turkey](https://food52.com/blog/26765-how-to-brine-turkey-with-buttermilk-powder). I might give it a go this week with a chicken to see if it’s worth it for thanksgiving.
The salt pulls water from the meat to the surface, and that should rehydrate some of the buttermilk powder, but probably not to the intended ratio.
Please do the science and post the results.
+1 for try and report back! Sounds awesome!
So please try this out and let us know, as other people have said. This might be a very effective use of that buttermilk powder since, as [Serious Eats themselves](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-substitute-buttermilk) say, baking with that powder really doesn’t work. This is different though.
Love this idea; I’d skip the baking soda, which would neutralize and obviate any benefit you would get from the lactic acid in the buttermilk
You don’t rehydrate buttermilk powder tho. You add water to a baking recipe and x buttermilk powder as directed by the label to replace buttermilk.
I’d like to hear how this turns out. But if it doesn’t work you could just do the buttermilk hack. I forget the ratios, but add lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. This creates a knock-off buttermilk. I use it frequently when a recipe calls for buttermilk because, like you, I don’t usually have it on hand and a recipe calls for like 1/2c or something small and I can only buy it in quart volumes. I end up wasting the rest a lot of the time.
You are (possibly) a genius. Please let us know, because I would love to copy is the results are good.
It’s the acidity you want. You can take any long expired milk and strain it and then just use that.
That then will keep indefinitely. It’s kinda a waste of money to use expensive butter milk.
I don’t mind buying kefir (no cultured buttermilk in Canada…) to make a brine. I just use the rest to make Stella’s buttermilk waffles (great for leftover chicken and waffles)
i use buttermilk powder in baking a LOT and it’s great. i bet it would work.
Funnily enough any recipe that uses Ranch dressing powder is doing the something similar, Mississippi pot roast is a classic one.
I have wondered this but never tried it. We are all counting on you.