How to Brine a Whole Chicken : The 'How to Cook' Blog

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How to Brine a Whole Chicken

Posted by Kimberly on Apr - 30 - 2012 with 0 Comment

The most effective, easiest and inexpensive way to impart flavor into your whole bird (albeit a chicken, duck, turkey, hen) is to use a brine.

If you’ve never brined a chicken or turkey before, you really don’t know what you’re missing. The increased flavor intensity, as well as the moisture it imparts, and the dark, crispy skin it lends itself to, make brining an amazing trick in your flavorful kitchen.

This is a basic recipe for brining a bird, but also be sure to check out my Ultimate Holiday Turkey Brine for that unmistakable holiday flare.

Try it! You’ll love it, and never go back to roasting a bird that hasn’t gone for a swim in the brine first!

Type: Chicken Recipe
Prep Time: 7 min
Brine Time: 1 hr – overnight
Yield: about 1 gallon

The ingredients & instructions are listed below the video for measurements & directions. Please enjoy the video below.

Ingredients:

16 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp peppercorns
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion – sliced
1 whole chicken

Instructions:

Into a large pot, add all ingredients. Stir thoroughly to dissolve the salt & sugar.
To an oversized soup pot, brining bag or oven-roasting bag inside of a cooler, gently place cold-rinsed chicken breast-side-down, if possible.
When you’re ready to start preparing your chicken, remove bird from brine and rinse thoroughly, pat dry and prepare your bird as usual. * Tip: Discard brine and clean everything thoroughly.
Enjoy your roasted chicken.

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I hope you enjoyed this How to Cook Video on Cooking with Kimberly. Until next time…

Eat Deliciously!