488520 Mon Feb 11 10:11:00 -0800 2008 6 31 Home Cooking 0 3385737 I bought an Empire chicken at Trader Joes to make a roast chicken with tonight. I understand it has been koshered, but can I still do my usual recipe or will additional salt make it too 'salty'. I have never done a roast chicken with an Empire before. Thanks Mon Feb 11 10:11:00 -0800 2008 95489 mschow 1 3385753 I am in love with Empire chicken, which I can buy at a nice kosher place not too far from me. I treat it just as I would treat a non koshered bird that I had brined (just no need to brine the koshered bird). But adding some seasoning to the skin or whatever should not be a problem. How are you planning to prepare it? Mon Feb 11 10:14:27 -0800 2008 3385737 124339 bnemes3343 2 3386425 I usually make a paste of garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. I rub this all over the outside and then put a cut up lemon, some more garlic and a stick of rosemary inside. I guess that additional salt won't hurt it. Sometimes I use something like Essence of Emeril or a Tom Douglas seasoning in lieu of the salt and pepper. Usually turns out great. Mon Feb 11 12:38:58 -0800 2008 3385753 95489 mschow 1 3385856 It depends on your "usual" recipe. If I'm doing a Zuni brine of a kosher chicken, I'll use kosher instead of sea salt and brine it only overnight or during the day of. If I use the full amount of sea salt in the recipe and let it sit in the fridge for 2 or 3 days, it's definitely too salty--at least, for me. Mon Feb 11 10:35:39 -0800 2008 3385737 11407 JoanN 2 3386141 Kosher and sea salt are virtually identically salty, by chemical composition and by weight. IMO it's a waste of $$ sea salt to use it in a wet or dry brine. mschow: I think Empire Kosher birds can be prepared your usual way, as long as that doesn't involve brining. Mon Feb 11 11:34:46 -0800 2008 3385856 43893 C. Hamster 3 3386259 Yes, but by volume there is less kosher salt in a teaspoon than there is many other salts because the flakiness of the former keeps it from being packed as densely. And in taste tests, people have often found kosher salt less "salty," for the same reason. In the Zuni cookbook, the recipe specifically notes that in the restaurant they use 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken. I happened to have some on hand, so gave it a try. But, as I say, I'll stick with kosher salt, and less time, for brining my koshered Zuni chicken. It works for me. Mon Feb 11 12:03:14 -0800 2008 3386141 11407 JoanN 4 3386443 Yes. It depends on the size of the crystal. But all salt is 98%+ NaCl. Sea salt, though, comes in all kinds of size crystals. So it can be more or less salty when measured by volume. Kosher salts are different, even. Diamond is coarser than Morton so one must adjust for that in recipes, too. I make the Zuni recipe all the time. Almost every weekend, since my SIL had a baby and has a picky husband who loves it. Made it last night, in fact. I play it by ear and always mix some sugar into the dry brine but I'd say I use about of Diamond Kosher 1t per pound. Yesterday, we discovered that we'd made plans and forgotten about them and couldn't wait to 5 or 6 to roast the chicken, so I had to roast it around 11 and it wasn't as good. Good, but not as GOOD as it usually is. Mon Feb 11 12:42:56 -0800 2008 3386259 43893 C. Hamster