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September 16, 2025
Chicken Brine – for the juiciest roast chicken of your life! Recipe
It is a chicken brine that may yield probably the most succulent, juiciest roast chicken you’ll EVER have in your life! Brining injects flavour and moisture in addition to tenderising – you can be blown away how juicy the chicken breast is!
When you discover ways to brine chicken and style the unbelievable outcomes, you’ll by no means look again!
Brining is the method whereby chicken (or different meat) is submerged in a salty liquid (“brine”) and left to marinate so as to add flavour, tenderise AND add moisture so the chicken stays juicier when roasted.
It injects flavour and seasoning proper into the flesh of a complete chicken in a approach that no different technique can, even by slathering liberally with herb and garlic butter underneath the pores and skin which is my favorite non-brining method to roast chicken.
It’s a method broadly utilized by cooks. In Sydney, there are a handful of eating places well-known for his or her roast chicken – resembling Glebe Level Diner, Boronia Kitchen and Restaurant Hubert – and they’re all brined!
This brine recipe is customized from a recipe by Thomas Kellar, one of many best culinary masters of the world.
What does brined chicken style like?
The chicken is seasoned with salt throughout the flesh, with a touch of the flavourings of the brine. The brine flavourings are usually not meant to be dominant – it’s extra of a delicate fragrance somewhat than a powerful flavour. You don’t want sturdy flavours when the flesh of chicken is seasoned this fashion since you’ll style chicken flavour in a approach you by no means have earlier than!
Right here’s an up shut and private of the breast of brined roast chicken – LOOK HOW JUICY IT IS! It’s onerous to imagine your eyes but it surely’s true, it IS doable to make chicken breast this succulent – however solely with a chicken brine!
To make chicken brine, all you want is water and salt. Every thing else is for flavour so it’s non-compulsory and customisable – see under for substitutions for every.
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Salt and water – the one two elements which might be non negotiable, they are the brine!
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Honey – for a contact of candy, sub with sugar
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Parsley, thyme and rosemary – 100% non-compulsory, change with different herbs, or use dried
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Peppercorns – use floor as a substitute
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Lemons, garlic and bay leaves – for flavour, non-compulsory
It’s as simple as this:
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Carry all of the brine elements to a boil with a little bit of water – simply to convey out flavour a bit and dissolve the salt;
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Add chilly water to convey the temperature down, then refrigerate till totally chilled;
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Submerge chicken the wrong way up (ie drumsticks and breast going through down) and brine for twenty-four hours within the fridge (even 12 hours is terrific);
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pat dry, brush with butter and roast!
How lengthy does it take to roast a 2 kg / 4lb brined chicken?
60 minutes at 180°C/350°F or till the inner temperature is 75°C/165°F or till juices run clear.
The method is: About quarter-hour for each 500g/1 lb. So a 2 kg / 4 lb chicken will take 60 minutes, and a 1.5kg / 2 lb chicken will take 45 minutes (give or take 5 – 10 minutes, additionally smaller chickens will take about 20 minutes per 500g/1lb).
Brined chicken roasts about 20% quicker than chicken that isn’t brined. A 2 kg / 4 lb chicken that isn’t brined takes 1 hour 25 minutes (see traditional Roast Chicken recipe).
Can you employ this for different meats?
Completely. I exploit this for pork, turkey breast and small complete turkey. For giant complete turkeys, the higher approach is utilizing a Turkey Dry Brine – extra handy, higher outcome.
Distinction between brining and marinating?
Brining is totally different to marinating in that there’s a a lot greater liquid to meat ratio – a complete chicken is totally submerged within the chicken brine. Marinades often have far much less liquid and the chicken is generally coated in it, somewhat than submerged (examples: my favorite On a regular basis Chicken Marinade, Greek Marinade, Vietnamese Lemongrass Marinade).
One thing carby and one thing inexperienced! Listed here are a couple of strategies:
Potato and Bread sides for roast chicken
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Potatoes au Gratin – my favorite make-head-looks-and-sounds-impressive possibility, “it’s French, darling”
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Paris Mash – for one thing sinfully wealthy, and really nice eating fashion
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On a regular basis Creamy Mashed Potato which we’ll by no means, ever tire of
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Creamy Mashed Cauliflower for a low carb possibility (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it)
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Heat home made No Knead Dinner Rolls or a straightforward, crusty, no yeast Irish Soda Bread
Facet salad choices for roast chicken
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Crisp Backyard Salad with Balsamic Dressing, French Dressing or Italian Dressing
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Basic Rocket Salad with Shaved Parmesan (aka Arugula) – very nice eating / bistro fashion and likewise the world’s quickest aspect salad
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Inexperienced Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, a crispy, juicy Cucumber Salad with Herb & Garlic Dressing or, for one thing totally different, a Carrot Salad (guess you may’t cease consuming this….)
The chicken is so moist, you may serve it as is with a tiny drizzle of the pan juices (that are fairly salty, so don’t go overboard!). When you’d like a gravy, make it whereas the chicken is resting – the recipe is within the notes.
I’ve additionally been recognized to drizzle with a contact of melted butter and squeeze of contemporary lemon juice – it’s divine! – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 2 litres / 2 quarts water , cold tap water
- 1/3 cup kosher or cooking salt, NOT table salt (Note 1)
- 2 lemons , quartered
- 10 sprigs parsley , fresh
- 7 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 5 bay leaves, fresh (or 3 dried)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 6 garlic cloves, smashed (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1.5 – 2 kg / 3-4lb chicken , whole
- 3 tbsp / 40g butter , melted
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Pour about 1/3 of the water into a large pot (large enough for the brine and submerged chicken) with remaining Brine ingredients. Bring to boil boil 1 minute, stir to dissolve salt.
- Remove from heat, pour in remaining water. Cool completely before using (I cool about 30 min then refrigerate 1 1/2 hours). DO NOT put chicken in before full cool, this is a health hazard (Note 4).
- Flip chicken upside down (so legs and breast are on underside. Submerge chicken in brine, cover and refrigerate for 12 – 24 hours (Note 5). Don't worry if underside of chicken doesn't stay under water – the the breast side is, that is what matters.
- Remove chicken from brine and pat dry to remove excess moisture.
- Tie legs with string (if desired), tuck wings under. Drizzle/brush with most of the butter all over, including underside (butter will firm up on contact).
- Sprinkle with pepper and the TINIEST pinch of salt, place chicken on a rack in a heavy based roasting tray. Set aside for 20 minutes.
- Preheat fan forced oven to 220°C/430°F.
- Turn down the oven to 180°C/350°F, then roast chicken for 50 minutes to 1 hour (Note 7) or until the internal temperature at the joint between the leg and thigh is 75°C/165°F, or until juices run clear.
- Check at 45 minutes, rotate the pan if not browning evenly, and brush top with remaining melted butter.
- Remove chicken from the roasting tray, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Chicken is so juicy, it needs little more than a tiny drizzle of the juices in the pan (go easy, it's salty). Otherwise, make a gravy while the chicken is resting – see Note 8.
Notes
1. SALT – important!! Must use kosher salt or cooking salt (same thing, different name in different countries) which are larger grains than table salt.
If using table salt (ie the fine grains of salt served at the table that you put on your food), decrease by 2 tablespoons.
2. Brine flavourings substitutions:
Honey – sub same amount maple syrup, or 1/4 cup brown sugar
Fresh herbs – use more of one of them, switch out with sage leaves or other fresh herbs of choice. OR use 1 tbsp dried herbs of choice
lemons – lime, or oranges, or leave out
Peppercorns – sub 1/2 tsp ground pepper
3. Garlic, smashed – smack palm of hand down on side of knife to make garlic burst open but largely stay in one piece. Can sub 2 tsp jar paste, in emergency.
4. Warm brine = cosy environment for bacteria to start forming in chicken = health hazard! Brine must be completely chilled before putting chicken in.
5. Brining time – 12 hours is enough, 18 to 24 hours is ideal. Don’t go longer than 24 hours because the chicken starts getting too salty. Can take chicken out, pat dry and refrigerate for a while until cooking.
6. Taking chicken out of fridge a while before cooking helps it cook more evenly.
7. Cook times: 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for every 500g/1 lb. So a 2 kg / 4 lb chicken will take 60 minutes, and a 1 kg / 2 lb chicken will take 40 minutes.
Note: Brined chicken cooks faster than unbrined chicken by about 15 to 20 minutes.
8. GRAVY option: Pan juices are very salty so gravy needs to be made with salt reduced broth plus water (gravy for “normal” roast chicken uses only chicken broth/stock)
50g / 3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp / 40g flour (any white)All liquid from pan topped up with LOW SODIUM / Reduced Salt chicken broth to make up 1 cup1 cup / 250ml water
Melt butter over medium heat, add flour, stir for 1 minute. Add half the liquid while whisking. Once incorpoated and lump free, add remaining liquid & water. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until gravy thickens. Season with pepper – I highly doubt you will need salt!
9. Frozen chicken can be put in the brine once it’s partially thawed. It will finish thawing in the chicken while it brines.
10. Source: Brine based on a recipe by Thomas Keller, one of the great masters of the culinary world! Known for high end iconic restaurants such as Per Se in New York and the French Laundry in the Napa Valley.
11. Nutrition per serving, chicken only.
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