Basic Brine for Chicken
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 9:26PM 1/3 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 quarts of water
1 Chicken
Combine the sugar salt and water in a large bowl. Add the chicken, breast side down, and submerge in brine. Allow to brine for at least 8 but no more than 24 hours. Follow your favorite recipe to cook the chicken!
Some Variations:
Use Maple Syrup instead of Sugar
Add rosemary, thyme, and sage
Add a 1 inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced, 1 Tbs Five Spice Powder, and a few star anise, and replace salt with 1 cup soy sauce
Add 1 apple, the peal of 1 orange, and the peal of 1 lemon (just be careful that the solution doesn't become too acidic or else the brine will become a marinade and the protein in the chicken will turn into mush. If you use this variation, I recommend only brining the bird for 8 hours)
The possibilities are endless!
Reader Comments (2)
I brined! Thanks Mary for the tips and recipe for brine. I brined my simple BBQ chicken in maple syrup variation, and it turned out juicy, plump and delicious!
yay! I'm so glad that you brined and it turned out well! you will have to send us your BBQ chicken recipe. it sounds delicious!