Here’s BEST chicken brine recipe to make juicy tender chicken no matter how you cook it – roast it in oven, grill it or fry. This is complete guide on how to brine, with all the tips and tricks for best moist chicken you’ll ever cook.
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What is brining?
Brining was originally used to preserve food by pickling it in salty liquid.
It’s a process in which meat is soaked in salt water solution (“brine”) before cooking it. Meat is marinated in the salty liquid anywhere from 30 minutes for 12 hours (or more).
Brining tenderizes the meat by making it absorb moisture and flavors. When you cook chicken soaked in salty liquid for few hours, you’ll get most juiciest and tender chicken.
No more unpleasant dry, chewy, tasteless chicken breasts. Because now you can brine your way to the most amazing, moist, succulent and flavorful chicken breasts. The best chicken breast of your life! How? It’s the power of science!
Remember the word “osmosis” from your school books? Yes that’s how brining works! Chicken breast or whole chicken or any meat placed in a bath of salty flavorful liquid, the solution will travel through the meat in order to equalize the salt levels – through osmosis process!
This means the meat has more liquid before it starts to cook compared to meat that wasn’t brined. When you cook, heat will draw the same amount of moisture from the meat, but will still be juicier at the end of cooking.
Benefits of brining
Brining has many benefits. Some meats, especially lean meat like chicken and turkey benefit from it.
As lean meat don’t have fat to make meat moist and flavorful, brining it will help them retain moisture even after cooking. Brining ingredients like fresh aromatic herbs, lemon, bay leaves and pepper makes meat more flavorful.
Ingredients needed
A basic brine recipe only needs water and salt. Other fancy ingredients that goes into this brine recipe is for adding flavors.
You’ll need:
- Water & Kosher Salt – the main ingredients, must use.
- Garlic – I like to crush garlic and add it to brine, will release all it’s flavors and oil into brine.
- Pepper Corns – For seasoning the brine
- Bay Leaves – added for flavor.
- Honey – can use sugar instead of honey. This aids in beautiful browning of the chicken skin.
- Fresh Herbs – Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley – again added for flavor.
- Fresh Lemon Slices & Lemon Juice – aids in tenderizing the chicken along with adding flavor to it.
How to make brine chicken
- Use a pot big enough to hold you meat. Dissolve kosher salt in water in the pot on slow simmer for about 2 minutes. The basic ratio is one tablespoon of salt for every one cup water.
- Now throw in all the fancy flavor enhancing ingredients into water. Add crushed garlic, pepper corns, bay leaves, lemon slices, honey and fresh herbs – rosemary, thyme and parsley.
- Bring water to boil for about a minute, stir to dissolve salt.
- Remove pan from stove. Allow water to cool completely.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT put chicken in the brine before it’s completely cool. Warm temperature of the brine will develop harmful bacteria. It can lead to serious health hazards!
- Cook’s Tip: To help brine cool down faster, allow the pot to cool down a bit and then place the pot in fridge to cool brine faster (if you are in a rush).
- NOTE: whole chicken should be fully immersed in brine.
- Cover pot with lid and place in refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours. Do not go past that. Chicken will begin to absorb salt and will turn overly salty.
- Note: if chicken isn’t fully immersed in water, go ahead and add 1 to 2 cups of extra water (room temperature water).
- After brining, remove chicken, rinse under tap water.
- IMPORTANT: Don’t skip rinsing brined chicken under tap water. This will wash off some of the salt over the chicken. I found when not rinsed, chicken after roasting turned a bit salty.
- DISCARD THE BRINE. Raw meat in the brine marinade can cause contamination if used. Discard brine after removing chicken from it.
How to roast brine chicken
- Remove chicken & rinse it under tap water.
- Pat dry chicken with paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Rub softened butter (unsalted) all over the chicken.
- Sprinkle ground pepper on top.
- Note: Do not add salt.
- Tie the legs of the chicken with a string.
- Place the chicken over a rack lined over baking tray or any other heavy based baking pan like cast iron pan. Set aside in fridge uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Roast chicken in pre-heated oven at 400 degree F for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Using tongs inserted into the chicken, flip chicken to breast side up. Continue roasting for about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Rotate the pan half way through if not browning evenly. And keep brushing the top with butter atleast 3 to 5 times in between roasting time.
- Stick a thermometer around the thighs and if it read 165 degree F chicken is cooked.
- Note: brined chicken cooks faster.
- Remove chicken from oven. Cover it with aluminum foil and rest it for 15 minutes. It’s important to let the chicken rest before carving.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not use the liquid from the pan to drizzle over chicken. It’ll turn chicken salty.
- Serve juicy roast chicken as a meal with sautéed beans and mashed potatoes on sides.
FAQS
An hour per pound is what you need to follow. For whole chicken you’ll need to brine anywhere from 8 to 12 hours. 12 hours is enough! You can brine it for 24 hours if you want, but do not go beyond that.
Do NOT go past 24 hours for brining chicken. Chicken may turn overly salty. It may also turn the bird tougher.
Chicken without bones like chicken breasts will need less time in the brine. Chicken breasts will need at least 2 hours in the brine. Chicken with bones – wings and drumsticks will need a little longer time. Chicken wing brine or to brine chicken thighs go for 4 hours.
Yes, absolutely. You can use the recipe to brine smaller turkey, pork or turkey breasts.
A sure-fire way to make super juicy chicken (or turkey) meat is wet brine. Wet brining lets lean meat soak up moisture from salt water solution. Using the right amount of salt to liquid ratio is crucial to make the BEST chicken or turkey brine.
The basic ratio of salt to liquid is – 1 cup of salt for 1 gallon water. This is the best brine for chicken.
Salt here refers to kosher salt. Remember not all salt are created same. Each salt has different size and structure, flavor profile and different ability to dissolve.
Important MUST USE KOSHER SALT which are larger grains. It’s 1 tablespoon kosher salt for every cup of water.
If you plan to use table salt or fine salt, reduce the amount of salt added in the recipe. One tablespoon of kosher salt isn’t same as one tablespoon of table salt. Table salt measures differently than kosher salt.
This isn’t ordinary brine recipe. We want to pack in more flavors in the brine. By adding fresh herbs – parsley, rosemary and thyme, crushed garlic, fresh lemon slices, pepper corns, bay leaves and honey is added to make more flavorful brine.
The technique for dry brining is different. Pound kosher salt, a pinch of sugar(to help caramelize meat), dried herbs and spices in mortar and pestle. Rub this over meat, place it in zip lock bags and brine in refrigerator for 12 hours.
There is no use of any liquid in dry brine.
Yes, you can. Scale down recipe to half as chicken breasts are smaller in size.
If you do not want to use whole chicken, use the same recipe (cut down to half) to brine other cuts of chicken. Chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks and chicken wings can be used. Brine chicken breast is very popular among many, as chicken breasts usually cooks dry and flavorless.
No. As raw meat is marinated in the liquid, the brine can cause contamination to food if use. Discard brine once you remove chicken from the brine.
I wouldn’t recommend using frozen chicken to be used to brine. Brine won’t be able to penetrate through the meat that is frozen
It’s highly recommended to use kosher salt to make brine. Table salt can be used if you don’t have kosher salt. But remember table salt, kosher salt are all different grains, sizes and component structure. If using table salt use 2 tablespoons less than kosher salt measurements.
3 to 4 lbs. whole chicken seems to work fine. As you’ll have a pot big enough to hold that size of chicken. If using bigger chicken, recommend you to use brining bags.
You must have heard of buttermilk brined chicken. Buttermilk is used to help tenderize meat. Try this super moist and tender southern fried chicken recipe that has buttermilk brine
Chicken can contaminate pork when brined together. Chicken can have microbes on the surface that can cause bio hazardous contamination.
Use two different brining bags to brine pork and poultry separately. DO NOT mix poultry with pork.
TRY SERVING THIS ROAST CHICKEN WITH THESE SIDES-
Grilled Potatoes in Foil Packs
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📋RECIPE: The BEST Chicken Brine
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs whole chicken
- 8 cups water
- ⅓ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 5 cloves garlic keep it whole, smashed lightly
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 10 sprigs fresh parsley
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 7 sprigs thyme
- 2 lemons sliced
For Roast Chicken-
- 3-4 lb brined chicken
- 2 tablespoon butter unsalted
- Generous pinch of crushed pepper
Instructions
- Use a pot big enough to hold you meat. Dissolve kosher salt in water in the pot on slow simmer for about 2 minutes. The basic ratio is one tablespoon of salt for every one cup water.
- Now throw in all the fancy flavor enhancing ingredients into water. Add crushed garlic, pepper corns, bay leaves, lemon slices, honey and fresh herbs – rosemary, thyme and parsley.
- Bring water to boil for about a minute, stir to dissolve salt.
- Remove pan from stove. Allow water to cool completely.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT put chicken in the brine before it’s completely cool. Warm temperature of the brine will make scary harmful bacteria’s in the chicken. It can lead to serious health hazards!
- Cook’s Tip: To help brine cool down faster, allow the pot to cool down a bit and then place the pot in fridge to cool brine faster and cool it completely.
- Place whole chicken in cooled brine.
- NOTE: chicken should be fully immersed in brine.
- Cover pot with lid and brine chicken inside refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours. Do not go past that. Chicken will begin to absorb salt and will turn overly salty.
- Note: if chicken isn’t fully immersed in water, go ahead and add 1 to 2 cups of extra water (room temperature water).
- After brining, remove chicken from brine. Rinse under tap water.
- IMPORTANT: Don’t skip rinsing brined chicken under tap water. This will wash off some of the salt over the chicken. I found when not rinsed, brine chicken after roasting turned a bit salty.
- DISCARD THE BRINE. Raw meat in the brine marinade can cause contamination if used. Discard brine after removing chicken from it.
How To Roast Brine Chicken
- Remove chicken from the brine. Rinse it under tap water.
- Pat dry chicken with paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Tie the legs of the chicken with a string.
- Rub softened butter (unsalted) all over the chicken.
- Sprinkle pepper powder on top.
- Note: I did not add salt.
- Place the chicken over a rack lined over baking tray or any other heavy based baking pan like cast iron pan. Set aside in fridge uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Roast chicken in pre-heated oven at 400 degree F for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Using tongs inserted into the chicken, flip chicken to breast side up. Continue roasting for about 30 to 40 minutes.
- Rotate the pan half way through if not browning evenly. And keep brushing the top with butter atleast 3 to 5 times in between roasting time.
- Stick a thermometer around the thighs and if it read 165 degree F chicken is cooked.
- Note: Brined chicken cooks faster.
- Remove chicken from oven. Cover it with aluminium foil and rest it for 15 minutes. It’s important to let the chicken rest before carving.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not use the liquid from the pan to drizzle over chicken. It’ll turn chicken salty.
- Serve this crazy-juicy roast chicken as a meal with sautéed beans and mashed potatoes on sides.
Notes
- DO NOT put chicken in the brine before it’s completely cool. Warm temperature of the brine will make scary harmful bacteria’s in the chicken. It can lead to serious health hazards!
- Don’t skip rinsing brined chicken under tap water. This will wash off some of the salt over the chicken. I found when not rinsed, brine chicken after roasting turned a bit salty.
- DISCARD THE BRINE. Raw meat in the brine marinade can cause contamination if reused.
- This recipe is for whole chicken brine, you can easily substitute whole chicken with chicken breasts, or wings and drumsticks.
- MUST USE KOSHER SALT. If using table salt use 2 tablespoons less than kosher salt measurements.
Bernadette
Delicious! We actually smoked it and the flavor was fantastic and the meat was quite juicy…we only rubbed it with butter to crisp the skin.
Jyothi Rajesh
So glad you liked it
Diane
This is the type of brine I have been searching for! Most brines are, to me, just lacking in full flavor like this one does. I do batches of meat to freeze, so I have work ahead. Thank you so much!
Jyothi Rajesh
So glad you are liking the recipe! Thank you
Debra Murphy
Third time using the brine for BBQ chicken. So moist and tasty. Plan on using this recipe on a whole chicken soon
Jyothi Rajesh
Thanks so much. So glad you are liking the recipe!
Cm dunbar
There are so many ads I couldn’t even read this….smh
I’ll use some other recipe
Please do bout send me emails
Jyothi Rajesh
Please click on the “RECIPE” tab right on top of the post to land directly on recipe card!
Jennifer Banz
This was an amazing chicken brine…even better than my old standby mix from William Sonoma !
Jyothi Rajesh
Glad you liked it Jennifer!
Natalie
I never used brine to marinade whole chicken. But you got mi interested now to try. I love the combination of herbs and spices you used here. I bet meat taste delicious after soaking in this brine. I will definitely put this on my to try list.
Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you Natalie, you’ll love how juiciest and flavorful brined chicken turns out!
GUNJAN C Dudani
This is a wonderful recipe. Love all the ingredients and doable also.
Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you
Kay
I have never soaked my chicken in brine before? Will have to give it a go and see the difference
Jyothi Rajesh
Try brining, you’ll see the difference!
Tammy
I love to brine my chicken (and turkey) most times before roasting…it’s just adds so much flavor. Great staple recipe here and I love the tips on dry brining too!
Jyothi Rajesh
You are right, it make moistest meat and amazing flavors as well!
Paige
I love this recipe and technique! You have some really good ideas about what to add for extra flavor here, and I’m going to try it out for sure. Love the fresh lemon addition!
Jyothi Rajesh
Glad you liked it Paige!
Shannon
This is super helpful! Thanks for sharing such an informative post on how to brine chicken. And that photo at the end of your post with the fully cooked chicken looks super tasty!
Jyothi Rajesh
So glad you liked it Shannon
Bernice Hill
Once you brine a chicken, there is no going back. It is so flavourful and moist. There’s no other way for me.
Jyothi Rajesh
Absolutely!