This is a chicken brine that will yield the most succulent, juiciest roast chicken you will EVER have in your life! Brining injects flavour and moisture as well as tenderising – you will be blown away how juicy the chicken breast is!
Once you learn how to brine chicken and taste the incredible results, you will never look back!
Chicken Brine
Brining is the process whereby chicken (or other meat) is submerged in a salty liquid (“brine”) and left to marinate to add flavour, tenderise AND add moisture so the chicken stays juicier when roasted.
It injects flavour and seasoning right into the flesh of a whole chicken in a way that no other method can, even by slathering liberally with herb and garlic butter under the skin which is my favourite non-brining way to roast chicken.
It’s a technique widely used by chefs. In Sydney, there are a handful of restaurants famous for their roast chicken – such as Glebe Point Diner, Boronia Kitchen and Restaurant Hubert – and they are all brined!
This brine recipe is adapted from a recipe by Thomas Kellar, one of the greatest culinary masters of the world.
What does brined chicken taste like?
The chicken is seasoned with salt all the way through the flesh, with a hint of the flavourings of the brine. The brine flavourings are not intended to be dominant – it’s more of a subtle perfume rather than a strong flavour. You don’t need strong flavours when the flesh of chicken is seasoned this way because you’ll taste chicken flavour in a way you never have before!
The juiciest chicken breast EVER!
Here’s an up close and personal of the breast of brined roast chicken – LOOK HOW JUICY IT IS! It’s hard to believe your eyes but it’s true, it IS possible to make chicken breast this succulent – but only with a chicken brine!
What you need for Chicken Brine
To make chicken brine, all you need is water and salt. Everything else is for flavour so it’s optional and customisable – see below for substitutions for each.
Salt and water – the only two ingredients that are non negotiable, they are the brine!
Honey – for a touch of sweet, sub with sugar
Parsley, thyme and rosemary – 100% optional, switch with other herbs, or use dried
Peppercorns – use ground instead
Lemons, garlic and bay leaves – for flavour, optional
How to brine chicken
It’s as easy as this:
Bring all the brine ingredients to a boil with a bit of water – just to bring out flavour a bit and dissolve the salt;
Add cold water to bring the temperature down, then refrigerate until fully chilled;
Submerge chicken upside down (ie drumsticks and breast facing down) and brine for 24 hours in the fridge (even 12 hours is terrific);
pat dry, brush with butter and roast!
How long does it take to roast a 2 kg / 4lb brined chicken?
60 minutes at 180°C/350°F or until the internal temperature is 75°C/165°F or until juices run clear.
The formula is: About 15 minutes for every 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, also smaller chickens will take about 20 minutes per 500g/1lb).
Brined chicken roasts about 20% faster than chicken that is not brined. A 2 kg / 4 lb chicken that is not brined takes 1 hour 25 minutes (see classic Roast Chicken recipe).
Can you use this for other meats?
Absolutely. I use this for pork, turkey breast and small whole turkey. For large whole turkeys, the better way is using a Turkey Dry Brine – more convenient, better result.
Difference between brining and marinating?
Brining is different to marinating in that there is a much higher liquid to meat ratio – a whole chicken is completely submerged in the chicken brine. Marinades usually have far less liquid and the chicken is mostly coated in it, rather than submerged (examples: my favourite Everyday Chicken Marinade, Greek Marinade, Vietnamese Lemongrass Marinade).
What to serve with roast chicken
Something carby and something green! Here are a few suggestions:
Potato and Bread sides for roast chicken
Potatoes au Gratin – my favourite make-head-looks-and-sounds-impressive option, “it’s French, darling”
Paris Mash – for something sinfully rich, and very fine dining style
Everyday Creamy Mashed Potato which we will never, ever tire of
Creamy Mashed Cauliflower for a low carb option (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it)
Warm homemade No Knead Dinner Rolls or an easy, crusty, no yeast Irish Soda Bread
Side salad options for roast chicken
Crisp Garden Salad with Balsamic Dressing, French Dressing or Italian Dressing
Classic Rocket Salad with Shaved Parmesan (aka Arugula) – very fine dining / bistro style and also the world’s fastest side salad
Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, a crispy, juicy Cucumber Salad with Herb & Garlic Dressing or, for something different, a Carrot Salad (bet you can’t stop eating this….)
The chicken is so moist, you can serve it as is with a tiny drizzle of the pan juices (which are quite salty, so don’t go overboard!). If you’d like a gravy, make it while the chicken is resting – the recipe is in the notes.
I’ve also been known to drizzle with a touch of melted butter and squeeze of fresh lemon juice – it’s divine! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chicken Brine
Ingredients
Brine
- 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
Roast Chicken
- 1.5 – 2 kg / 3-4lb chicken , whole
- 3 tbsp / 40g butter , melted
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
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.
- 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.
Roasting Brined Chicken:
- 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.
Recipe Notes:
- 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 tbsp / 40g flour (any white)
All liquid from pan topped up with LOW SODIUM / Reduced Salt chicken broth to make up 1 cup
1 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.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2014, updated November 2019 with fresh photos, video and most importantly, Life of Dozer added!
Life of Dozer
Dozer taking me for a walk in Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall!
Staying in an Air BNB for a week, cramming in meetings and generally pretending to be a Melbourne-ite for a week. First time I’ve driven down – it’s a long 10 hour drive – but I REALLY wanted to bring Dozer down with me this time and I’m so glad I did. He’s having a blast, more photos to follow – he’s causing a riot down here!
I’ve become the “brine it all” queen since finding this recipe!
Last night, here in Canada was our first brined turkey, and let us say :FABULOUS bird, if only just a tad too salty for the stuffing (bird was rinsed, but brined about 4 hrs longer than planned), but who cares! I should have tied the peppercorns in a cheesecloth bag, as they migrated into turkey crevices, but again, we didn’t care! I’ve brined pork chops, chickens, and now turkey with this, and will continue to try and convert the “OMG so much salt”, not yet brine fans 🙂 Thank ever so much for the lovely meals we’ve discovered..now to share the Montreal Steak Spice fridge pickle love!
Best chicken I’ve ever roasted. Will definitely make this again. Perfect flavor, very juicy!
Excellent recipe. I have made it 3 times now and its the best way to have wonderful taste and juicy chicken. The brine is very easy to make, and it really does make the chicken the best!
I thought this was too salty although I don’t think it goes above tradition salt/water ratio. The other thing is the brine made it taste like supermarket rotisserie, which I don’t like. I’ll stick with my good quality chicken with a salt, black pepper, garlic, herb rub.
Just a suggestion: Rather than waiting for the water to cool off after boiling, you could just add ice to cool it off faster.
I made this yesterday/today, and it was the best chicken I’ve ever cooked! I will never make chicken again without brining it 1st! I didn’t have a roasting pan, so I put the chicken on a cookie rack placed over a big frying pan, and I put chicken broth into the frying pan. After about 40 minutes, the broth started to burn. I added more broth and kept cooking. The juices left in the pan were added to the roux, burnt parts too. It was so delicious! I added about a half cup of whipping cream to the gravy, and it was to die for! It didn’t need any salt. This was the juiciest chicken I’ve ever had! Yum 😋
My daughter is a chef. She came home to visit and I smoked a 7lb chicken using this brine recipe. She said it was the absolute juiciest chicken she’s ever had. Also, she said the chicken skin was outstanding. I used cherry wood, smoked at 250 and fired the smoker for the last 10 min at 400 to crisp the skin.
Best Chicken everrrrrr!!! Made it for Christmas dinner and the family loved it. Thank you for sharing🤩🙌🏾
This chicken was so delicious!
question;
Could the same brining solution, or what’s left of it, be used for a second chicken or maybe for pork chops?
Don’t reuse brine as increased chance of bacterial growth.
Hi Nagi. I don’t have a fan forced oven so I’m not sure what to set my oven temp at and how long to cook the chicken.
Someone may have mentioned it but too many comments to read. Two more tips from Tomas was he used clarified butter and he let the chicken dry in the fridge for 2 or 3 days to make it even crispier.
Makes the juiciest chicken every-time!
Definitely worth the extra effort to guarantee a perfect chicken. The breast is so tender and moist.
After making it a couple of time the extra steps of brining seem second nature and don’t take up much time.
Thanks Nagi!
This recipe is so easy to follow and the chicken was delicious, so succulent. I served with roast potatoes, steamed buttered peas and carrots, and with the gravy recipe from this site. Delicious!
Hi Nagi!
I love all your recipes. I wonder if you could do chicken wings in this brine? Maybe for a shorter time? 6-10 hours???
Hi Nagi! I LOVE recipe tin. I barely touch my cupboard full of cookbooks anymore – your recipes are spot on every time!
I’ve been trying to find a way to cook chicken that doesn’t have the ‘chicken stink’ as partner my calls it. Found something online saying to bath the chicken in vinegar before cooking. Wondering if this brine might do the job instead? Or could I do both? And how long would you brine a single breast?
Thanks for all your incredible tips and recipes. You’re a household name in my family xx
First time raising Cornish rocks
this recipe made my 8 lb bird the best I’ve ever eaten! The recipe was simple and made me look like a star!
Wonderful! Husband asked me to use this brine with every chicken recipe I make. Thank you for such a great site.
Nagi, all your recipes are absolute gems. Thank you. The brining of the chook is a game changer for me.
Keep them coming and best wishes.
PS. Love Dozer
Hi Nagi ,I am a Nagi devotee ,a very ordinary cook but it’s something I like ,I find all of your recipes easy to follow and the ingredients easy to obtain in Melbourne ,this recipe rocks also , thank you