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!
Thanks, Nagi for your really great brine recipe, I only use it for chicken these days. Would the same recipe work for pork?
Hi Nagi. Thanks for the great brine recipe. I normally brine smaller cuts for less time than for whole birds. Have you tested the optimum brine time for thighs or breasts?
I only had time to brine for 9 hours and it still turned out amazing! Thanks for the great recipe.
Best brine ever for chicken Thanks Nagi
You make me look like a chef and I hope you are famous. You are in my house. Thanks again so much and I love Dozer~!
Thanks Nanette!! N x
I love the brine and use it for BBQ chicken too as well as loin pork chops and all come out beautiful. Please though would you use grams to measure things like salt, sugar and flour? It makes it so much easier than trying to figure out which cups or tablespoons to use and is easier to make half recipes if there are only 2 of us eating.
Hi Doug – almost all of my recipes have a button at the top that swaps between metric and cups so you can use weight as it’s more accurate. This brine one doesn’t have a button as I put the weights at the side on everything but the salt. 1/3 cup kosher salt weighs 80 grams. N x
The brine made my chicken an absolute banger! Definitely a keeper.
Wow, first time I’ve ever brined a Chicken. So good I’m always cooking them this way now. Thank you.
Can I use this brine to cook chicken stew instead of roast? I’m looking for a way to make a tough home process chicken into a soft one. Now that chicken is scarce, it will be nice to harvest our own. Thank you!
Hi! Thinking of trying brining my 1.1 kg whole chicken tomorrow. Do I need to lessen the amount of brine to adjust to the smaller size chicken? Or can I follow recipe as is?
You can follow the recipe as is but you won’t need to cook it as long. N x
I love your recipes! I’m a chef, have been brining things for years, but this is the best chicken I’ve ever had. Thank you for the detail, and the notes!
Ive made this three times now and invariably guests ask for the secret, thank you.
One variation is that onde I boil the small amount, i add a couple of trays of ice cubes with the cold water to speed things up.
I’m cooking this chicken today but the time didn’t sound quite right. 20 min + 10 min/ lb = 30 min / Lb = 2 hrs for 4 lbs and not 60 min for 4 lbs….right?
The equation is not phrased the best and a little confusing but what it means to say is:
1. 20 minutes base cooking time
2. Then add 10 minutes for every 500g/1lb of chicken.
Therefore, a 4lb chicken is:
1. 20 minutes plus
2. 4lb x 10min = 40min
= 60 minutes total.
I’ve been cooking my 4lb whole chicken for over 2 hours now. Wasn’t getting to temp. Breast finally at temp and I go to cut into drumsticks and they are half raw. What am I doing wrong? Oven is keeping temp (have thermometer in it) but just taking so long to cook through. Now I’m worried the breast is going to dry out while the rest cooks. But don’t want to separate and risk having uncooked parts with the cook – make people sick.
Hi Erin – what temp did you cook it on? N x
15 mins/lb x 4lb so 60 mins @ 350 but took much longer
Nagi can I use already cut up pieces of chicken and follow this recipe?
Just love it 🙌🏻
Nagi, I am cooking some Cornish Game Hens this week and want to brine them with your recipe. Since they are smaller than regular hens should the brine time be shorter? If so, how much?
Sorry Phyllis I haven’t tested that and with the smaller birds would have to try it to determine the timing! N x
I only use small chickens. Approx 0.8kg. I cook them for 40 – 45 minutes. Perfect.
I have roasted chicken by making an herb butter put under the skin…and love it. This method, with the addition of the herbs to the brine was a whole other level of deliciousness! The chicken is very moist, the flavoring is consistent throughout yet subtle. I followed the directions, using dried herbs of Sage, rosemary, thyme, ground black pepper, and added a lemon as shown in the picture, to the brine. My father, who is not a fan of chicken LOVED it. As long as I have the lead time, will make it this way from now on. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!!
Hi Nagi, after brining can I air fry it? If so any recommendation on timing and temp? TIA!
Really like the brine recipe. One thing – because there is so much variability in the density of various types of salt, it’s much better to give the amount by weight rather than by volume. I know you’re specific in telling us to use kosher salt, and even give directions on how to use table salt, but if you just gave the weight, it would be the same for any kind of salt. Volume is treacherous, especially if you’re using cups – they different all round the world. In US, depending on who’s defining it, a cup is 236 or 240 mL. In Australia – 250 mL.
I don’t eat chicken breasts because they are so dry. I spatchcocked a 6 lb chicken and used your brine recipe. Baked it in the oven until 160-170 degrees and boy howdy, was it good. I took a breast and I usually avoid them but I wanted to see how it was. It was just like you said. Moist and tender and not salty at all. I could cut it with my fork. And it was a huge thick breast. Just delicious! I brined that chicken for about 20 hrs. Thanks for the recipe. I’m gonna try some boneless breasts next time. Thanks again! Kevin
Rather than water, I brewed lapsang souchong tea and used that for my liquid. Added salt, a little sugar, garlic. The smokiness of the tea was fabulous!
What a fabulous comment, Penny! When you said this I got so excited because I realized that I had this tea in my pantry and wanted to do something unusual to this recipe. Genius!
So…… other than salt and garlic, you did not follow the recipe. You did something very different. Had you followed Nagi’s THEN experimented with the tea and offered your comment on the smokiness it would have added a culinary wrinkle .instead I got “ how Penny brines a chicken”.
Exactly … why did this person bother? they didn’t use her recipe !!!!