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Clean recipe · recipetineats.com

Chicken Brine

Recipe video above. BRINING is the secret to the most succulent, tender roast chicken you will EVER have in your life! Adapted from a recipe by Thomas Keller, one of the great masters of the culinary world. The flesh is seasoned all the way through with a hint of the brine flavourings (herbs, lemon, garlic).

Original recipe: recipetineats.com

Yield:
5 servings
Prep:
15 min
Cook:
60 min
Total:
1515 min
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Chicken Brine

Ingredients

  1. 2 litres / 2 quarts water (, cold tap water)
  2. 1/3 cup kosher or cooking salt, NOT table salt ((Note 1))
  3. 2 lemons (, quartered)
  4. 10 sprigs parsley (, fresh )
  5. 7 sprigs thyme
  6. 2 sprigs rosemary
  7. 5 bay leaves, fresh ((or 3 dried))
  8. 1/4 cup honey
  9. 6 garlic cloves, (smashed (Note 3))
  10. 1 tbsp black peppercorns
  11. 1.5 - 2 kg / 3-4lb chicken (, whole)
  12. 3 tbsp / 40g butter (, melted)
  13. Salt and pepper to season

Instructions

  1. Brining

    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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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.

  4. Roasting Brined Chicken:

    Remove chicken from brine and pat dry to remove excess moisture.
  5. 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).
  6. 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.
  7. Preheat fan forced oven to 220°C/430°F.
  8. 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.
  9. Check at 45 minutes, rotate the pan if not browning evenly, and brush top with remaining melted butter.
  10. Remove chicken from the roasting tray, cover loosely with foil and rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
  11. 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.