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Golden Browning in an Instant |
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Tuesday, 16 September 2008 |
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We really like to achieve natural browning on poultry skin as much as possible--roasting as per real life (if you know you'll shoot quickly and the art direction allows a very natural look) or by playing with heat-activated browning agents as the bird bakes. But sometimes once a turkey or chicken slides under camera, the browning may not please the art director or client. We know that poultry browns unevenly, with all the rounds and turns of a bird's body. But if you're asked to even out browning or deepen it little under the camera, a very light brushing of a mixture of a concentrated gravy/sauce browner (like Gravy Master, Kitchen Bouquet, or you could try soy sauce in a pinch) mixed with some Angostura Bitters (found in the beverage mixer aisle). The bitters add a reddish-orange tone to the deep brown of the gravy enhancer--dilute with some water and experiment with the color on the back of your hand. Use a wide pastry brush to gently swipe the added color on--it usually takes just a little to deepen the color.
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