Here’s BEST chicken brine recipe to make juicy tender chicken no matter how you cook it – roast it in oven, grill it or fry. This is complete guide on how to brine, with all the tips and tricks for best moist chicken you’ll ever cook.
It’s a process in which meat is soaked in salt water solution (“brine”) before cooking it. Meat is marinated in the salty liquid anywhere from 30 minutes for 12 hours (or more).
Brining tenderizes the meat by making it absorb moisture and flavors. When you cook chicken soaked in salty liquid for few hours, you’ll get most juiciest and tender chicken.
No more unpleasant dry, chewy, tasteless chicken breasts. Because now you can brine your way to the most amazing, moist, succulent and flavorful chicken breasts. The best chicken breast of your life! How? It’s the power of science!
Remember the word “osmosis” from your school books? Yes that’s how brining works! Chicken breast or whole chicken or any meat placed in a bath of salty flavorful liquid, the solution will travel through the meat in order to equalize the salt levels – through osmosis process!
This means the meat has more liquid before it starts to cook compared to meat that wasn’t brined. When you cook, heat will draw the same amount of moisture from the meat, but will still be juicier at the end of cooking.
- 2 quarts hot water.
- 1 cup kosher salt.
- 1 cup brown sugar.
- 2 quarts cold water.
- â…“ cup Louisiana Hot Sauce.
- 1 whole lemon.
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced.
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary.
The Best BBQ Chicken | Brine/Rub/Grill Recipe
Grilled Beer-Brined Chicken đź”—
Brining chicken offers the ultimate in moistness and flavor of grilled chicken.
Prep: 55min
Total: 10
Serving Size: 1 Serving
Nutrition Facts: calories 380 , Carbohydrate 0 g, Cholesterol 130 mg, Fat 1 1/2 , Fiber 0 g, Protein 40 g, Saturated Fat 6 g, servingSize 1 Serving, Sodium 900 mg, Sugar 0 g, Trans Fat 1/2 g
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup kosher (coarse) salt
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 4 cans or bottles (12 oz each) beer or nonalcoholic beer, chilled
- 2 cut-up whole chickens (3 to 3 1/2 lb each)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instruction:
- In 6- to 8-quart noncorrosive (stainless steel, enamel-coated or plastic) container or stockpot, mix water, kosher salt and brown sugar, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in beer. Add chicken. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
- Line 15×10-inch pan with sides with foil. Remove chicken from brine; rinse thoroughly under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Discard brine. Place chicken in pan. Refrigerate uncovered 1 hour to dry chicken skin. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix all rub ingredients except oil; set aside.
- Heat gas or charcoal grill for indirect cooking. Brush oil over chicken; sprinkle rub mixture over chicken. For two-burner gas grill, heat one burner to medium; place chicken on unheated side. For one-burner gas grill, place chicken on grill over low heat. For charcoal grill, move medium coals to edge of firebox; place chicken over drip pan. Cover grill; cook 15 minutes.
- Turn chicken over; cover grill and cook 20 to 30 minutes longer, turning occasionally, until juice of chicken is clear when thickest piece is cut to bone (170°F for breasts; 180°F for thighs and drumsticks).
FAQ
Should I brine my chicken before grilling?
An extra step to make your grilled chicken extra juicy and the skin crispier is to brine the chicken. A simple brine of 2/3 cup salt and 2/3 cup sugar per gallon of water will do the trick. You should brine boneless chicken for no longer than an hour, or the meat will become too salty.
How long should I brine my chicken?
What is the ratio of salt to water for a brine?