If you’ve never had a brined chicken before, you’re missing out! It takes just minutes to make a chicken brine, but the end result is nothing short of fabulous. Serve your chicken with glazed carrots and rice pilaf for a complete meal.
Chicken Brine Ingredients
To make this chicken brine recipe you’ll need water, kosher salt, honey, lemons, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and parsley. You will also want a chicken to place in the brine! If you are looking for other meats to brine, take a look at my turkey brine recipe, pork chop brine and dry brined turkey!
How Do You Make Chicken Brine?
When you make this chicken brine recipe start by pouring water into a large pot. Add salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley and lemon slices to the water. Simmer everything for a few minutes until the salt dissolves. Cool the brine to room temperature. Add your chicken to the cooled liquid, cover it and refrigerate it. When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove the pot from the fridge, pat it dry and remove any herbs or peppercorns from the chicken. Cook and enjoy the chicken!
Tips For The Perfect Chicken Brine
I pour additional cold water over the chicken to make sure there is enough to submerge the chicken. Be sure to use kosher salt, do not use table salt in this recipe. Table salt measures differently than kosher salt and your chicken will be too salty with table salt. I typically use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. This recipe tends to work well with smaller chickens in the 3-5 pound range. I soak my chickens in a pot. If your chicken is larger than the biggest pot in your house, you can use a brining bag. If you’re making a smoked chicken, you can use a half batch of my smoked turkey brine before you put the chicken in the smoker.
How Do You Cook Chicken?
You can cook this type of chicken in any way that you would normally cook a whole chicken. Check out some of my favorite recipes below. Sometimes I like to add a few teaspoons of chicken seasoning to the outside of the bird before I cook it.
Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Peruvian Chicken Rotisserie Chicken Fried Chicken
Flavor Variations
This recipe adds amazing flavor and moisture to any chicken; however, you can change the recipe to suit your own taste.
Citrus: You can try orange or grapefruit slices instead of lemon slices or make your own citrus combination. Sugar: Brown sugar works well with this brine. Just make sure to dissolve it in the water. Spicy: Feel free to add dried chiles for a little spice. Flavors: You can add fresh sage, paprika or quartered onions to your brine.
Once you try a brined chicken, you’ll be hooked! Everyone will think you’re a gourmet chef when they get a taste of your perfectly cooked chicken. While making a this brining solution is an extra step in the cooking process, it’s totally worth it in my opinion.
Chicken Brine Video
