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).
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 5 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 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
- 1
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
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.