Posted: 05/22/24
Updated: 05/27/24
/5
77 Comments
This quick chicken brine results in the juiciest, most tender chicken you’ve ever cooked, and it does it in as little as 2 hours. With savory flavor in every bite, I guarantee you’ll use this easy method each time you roast an entire chicken or pieces of chicken any longer.
💧 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- You only need a few hours for this brine, making it totally doable whenever you keep in mind that, You know that’s the way it happens… at the very least in our house. Anyway, This quick chicken brine is I ever wanted and more (no hyperbole, I swear). It’s flavorful, easy, and .
- The reasons this quick chicken brine works are easy: 1) The salt content is higher than most brines, so it really works more effectively and more quickly than a regular brine. 2) The hot solution extracts the flavors from the aromatics much faster than a regular brine. The ice bath cools things down quickly, too, so that you don’t risk cooking the chicken because it brines.
- You can include garlic, peppercorns, herbs, citrus, or some other aromatics you may fancy, but it surely works wonders without all the flowery add-ins, too. Especially in case you’re stretching a chicken to make use of over several recipes, this basic salt + water mixture may be the very best selection. You don’t want to search out yourself with rosemary-infused chicken in, I don’t know, a Thai dish. Could be cool, but… probably not your favorite.
🧂 What Goes Into a Brine?
Brining is a straightforward concept: when making a wet brine, you make a salt solution and flavor it with spices, herbs, and sometimes sugar. Just how high the salt content will depend upon how quickly you wish to brine the meat – this brine, as an illustration, has the next salt content so you may brine quickly. Whereas, along with your Thanksgiving turkey, you reduce the general salt density so you may brine it longer. This is obligatory because that dang bird is so big
Many people season their chicken brine with sugar, too, but we a) don’t love sugar in our food and b) find that a salt-only brine produces a brilliant versatile chicken that actually just tastes higher and more tender and juicier.
🤔 Why Should You Use a Brine?
We’ve all had overcooked chicken – not so good, right? A chicken brine does two things:
- It gives the poultry flavor, and
- it keeps the meat tender and juicy.
When you brine chicken, you’re essentially installing a failsafe in your dish. You have more wiggle room to cook the bird without it becoming dry after one minute too long within the oven, and you’ve creative control over the flavors throughout the whole muscle meat of your chicken, not only the skin.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Don’t over-brine the chicken! The salt solution is higher than your standard overnight brine, so you wish to make certain to limit your brining time to 2-3 hours at room temperature or 4-6 hours within the fridge.
- I prefer to brine my chicken within the morning, drain after a number of hours, then let it air dry within the fridge until I’m able to cook it. Air drying allows the skin to essentially dry out, in order that whenever you sear, fry, or roast it, the skin gets crisp and delicious.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Please, please don’t brine your chicken using this recipe for longer than the beneficial time. If you do, an excessive amount of of the salt solution will permeate the meat, leading to an over-salted bird.
If you’re brining boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you may get away with brining them at room temperature for about half-hour or chill for about 1 hour.
Brining chicken ends in probably the most tender and flavorful meat, and it makes it harder to overcook!
🍋 More Recipes You’ll Love
Quick Chicken Brine
An easy, quick chicken brine that creates probably the most flavorful and tender chicken and poultry.
Instructions
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Pour ½ liter water into medium saucepan. Add 5 tablespoons kosher salt, 3-6 sprigs fresh herbs of selectionand 4 large cloves garlic to saucepan and quickly stir to include.
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Place saucepan on stovetop over high heat. Bring water to violent boil.
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Once water boils violently, stir mixture until salt is totally dissolved, then move saucepan to chill burner and canopy with lid. Let mixture stand, covered, 10 minutes.
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Place 1 pound ice in large bowl. After brine mixture has stood 10 minutes, remove lid and thoroughly pour mixture into bowl over ice. Stir mixture gently until ice is totally melted.
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When ice has melted, place 1 4-pound whole, uncooked chicken in large container. Carefully pour brine over chicken, ensuring chicken is entirely submerged.
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Let chicken rest in brine 2 to three hours at room temperature. Alternately, let chicken rest in brine 4 to six hours in refrigerator.
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After chicken has brined for appropriate length of time, remove chicken from brine and drain well. Pat chicken completely dry with paper towels, then cook chicken as desired.
Notes
- After brining your chicken, don’t add any salt whenever you cook it or the chicken will likely be way too salty.
- Fresh Herbs: You can use only one kind of herb or a mix of your favorites.
- Chicken: If you wish to brine boneless, skinless chicken breasts as a substitute of a complete chicken, you may cut the brining time back to 30-60 minutes at room temperature and 1-2 hours refrigerated.
- For a very crispy chicken skin, brine the chicken then let it air dry within the fridge until you’re able to cook it.
Alternate Brine Add-Ins
- 1 white onion, sliced
- 1-2 lemons, sliced into coins
- bay leaves
- cracked peppercorns
- Italian seasoning
- carrots
- sweetener (white sugar, brown sugar, or honey)
- fresh cilantro
- sliced fresh jalapeños
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 prepared brine, Calories: 19cal, Protein: 1g, Fat: 0.1g, Saturated Fat: 0.03g, Sodium: 34932mg, Potassium: 58mg, Total Carbs: 4g, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 0.1g, Net Carbs: 4g, Vitamin A: 10IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 1mg
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