I usually buy whole chickens in bulk, break them down, & portion & freeze them in vacuum bags.
After brining some fresh chicken & seeing for myself the difference it made, I am debating whether to brine future bulk chicken before freezing or after thawing. If I brine it before freezing, would the increased salinity of the chicken have a beneficial or detrimental effect on the texture once thawed (i.e. would the ice crystals be smaller & do less damage or larger & do more damage)? If instead I brine it after thawing, would the cellular damage caused by the ice crystals during the freeze increase the speed at which it would take in salt, requiring me to shorten my brine time?
Also, I cannot find air-chilled chicken anywhere in my area. Does the 5% or so residual water in a water-chilled bird affect the brine time? I'd think it might prolong it slightly but not enough to adjust my times. BTW, does anyone know of any good mail-order vendors of air-chilled chickens who sell directly to consumers?
Thanks for any thoughts!