How To Brine A Whole Chicken For MAXIMUM Flavor/Moisture
Smoking a brined whole chicken is incredible in flavor. It’s hard to use another method for chicken once I learned how to prepare it this way.
Ingredients:
Recipe is for one 3-4 lb whole chicken
3785 g in 1 gallon water
264.95 g salt or roughly 1 c kosher salt (round to 265 g salt)
2 tbsp honey
2 jalapeños
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/4 c black peppercorns, crush for more flavor
3 small oranges, juiced (lime, lemon, grapefruit is also good)
Tools needed:
Measuring cups and spoons
Big container to hold chicken while it sits in the brine
Wire whisk
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Paper towels
How to make it:
The recipe is written for a 7% brine solution. I want to let the chicken brine for 24 hours to get maximum flavor. The brine solution is perfect for that long of a time frame. If you want to use a higher brine solution, say 10%, go with 1 hour per pound of chicken.
Rinse chicken, pat dry with paper towel. Cut oranges in half and slice jalapeños into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Add the water, salt and honey into the large container. Mix thoroughly with wire whisk to dissolve the salt. Add the orange halves, jalapeño medallions and the chicken to the brine.
Cover the container and place into the refrigerator. Brine the chicken for 18-24 hours. This won’ t get too salty since I went with a 7% brine. However, you can go for 8-13 hours if it is too strong.
After the brine period, pull the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel inside and out.
Here’s a few recipes to try out with your brined chicken:
Enjoy!
Logan
