This is a chicken brine recipe that will produce the most succulent, juiciest roast chicken you have ever eaten in your life! Bringing injects flavor, moisture, and tenderizing – you will be blown away by how juicy the chicken breast is!
The amazing taste of the brined chicken will leave you gladly ditching the past and embracing brining.Â
Brine is just a mix of salt and water used to dip meat (like chicken) for a few hours before cooking. Brining Chicken Brine Recipe helps to enhance the flavor of the food and the salted meat before cooking, and it also makes the chicken tender during cooking.
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHICKEN BRINE RECIPE?
This chicken brine recipe can be made with your first step of pouring water into a large pot. Take the water and add salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and lemon slices to it. Simmer everything for a few minutes until the salt dissolves. Cool the brine to room temperature. You can pour the cooled liquid into your chicken or cover the pot & keep it in the refrigerator. Once you are done prepping the chicken, you will have to take the pot from the fridge, dry it by patting it, and remove the herbs or peppercorns from the chicken. Begin cooking and enjoy your chicken!
Ingredients
- 16 cups of water
- ¾ cup kosher salt
- â…” cup white sugar
- ¼ cup dried sage, or to taste
- ¼ cup dried basil, or to taste
- 2 heads of garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 large bay leaf
How to Make Chicken Brine Recipe
In a spacious pot heated to a medium-high temperature, mix water, kosher salt, sugar, sage, basil, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf until they reach a slight boiling point together. 29 minutes or until the salt and sugar are dissolvable in the ingredients can be the said mixing time while cooking. This could take the least time of 29 minutes.
Take off the stovetop and put on the lid. The room temperature is ideal for letting the brine infusion during this period. The dried herbs will not only pass their flavor into the brine, but also the brine will take their taste from the herbs. Before you use the brine, it has to be refrigerated for at least an hour to cool enough.
How To Use Chicken Brine Recipe?
The brine should be completely cooled before use. The directions for your chicken recipe should be followed exactly, however, a whole chicken can be brined for up to 8 hours, while bone-in pieces can be brined for up to 4 hours in general.
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT CHICKEN BRINE RECIPE
- 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.
RECIPE FAQS OF CHICKEN BRINE RECIPE
Why do you brine chicken?
Chicken is a kind of flesh that is low in fat, therefore, it is often dried. The chicken is brined in a solution of hypertrophy water and salt. Some of the chicken will be salted. This process will make the chicken taste fully seasoned and be fully moist. For instance, if you brine a chicken, it will still be juicy and tender even if you cook it a little more than you should.
How long do you chicken brine recipe?
This points out that the whole chicken should be immersed fully in the brine solution for 8 hours minimum, while the longest time it can be is 24 hours. Of course, you have to keep in mind that following this plan is essential, as swimming your chicken for a whole day would result in it being excessively salty if it stayed in brine for too long. Bone-in chicken parts like chicken drumsticks, thighs, and breasts are the types of chicken that are recommended to be soaked in salt water for only four hours.
HOW DO YOU COOK CHICKEN?
This chicken can be cooked in any style, just like you would a whole chicken. Here are a couple of my favorite recipes that you can try. I think sometimes it’s interesting to apply 2-3 tsp of chicken flavoring to the chicken’s skin before roasting it.
- Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Peruvian Chicken
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Fried Chicken
FLAVOR VARIATIONS OF CHICKE BRINE RECIPE
This recipe not only makes any chicken taste fantastic but also keeps it moist; however, the recipe can be altered as per your culinary preferences.
- Citrus: You can either switch lemon slices with orange or grapefruit slices, or come up with your citrus mix.
- 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.
When you try a brined chicken, your taste buds will be hooked! The secret is to cook just the right amount of time so that the chicken will be perfect. While making this brining solution is an extra step in the cooking process, it’s worth it in my opinion.
Recipe
Chicken Brine Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven
- Mixing bowls
-  9×13-inch baking dish
- pan
Ingredients
- 16 cup water
- 3/4 cup kosher salt
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup dried sage, or to taste
- 1/4 cup  dried basil, or to taste
- 2 heads garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1 tbsp heads garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1 large bay leaf
Instructions
- Bring water, kosher salt, sugar, sage, basil, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat; this could take upwards of 20 minutes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until salt and sugar are dissolved completely, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Let brine sit at room temperature for 2 hours; this lets the dried herbs steep and really enhances the flavor of the brine. Refrigerate to finish cooling before using, at least 1 hour.
Notes
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT CHICKEN BRINE
- I pour additional cold waterover 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 chickensin the 3-5 pound range.
- IÂ 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 brinebefore you put the chicken in the smoker.