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Home » Dinner » Chicken Brine Recipe

Published: January 13, 2022 Last Modified: January 13, 2022 By Sara 166 Comments

Chicken Brine Recipe

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Chicken Brine Recipe | Roasted Chicken | Whole Chicken Recipe #brine #chicken #dinner #glutenfree #lowcarb #dinneratthezoo

This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.

If you’ve never had a brined chicken before, you’re missing out! It takes just minutes to make a chicken brine, but the end result is nothing short of fabulous. Serve your brined chicken with glazed carrots and rice pilaf for a complete meal.

This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken. This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.

Chicken brine in a pot with a whole chicken, lemons, herbs and spices.

I always get anxious about cooking large items of poultry like whole chickens and turkeys. It’s just so easy to either overcook the birds until they’re dry as a bone, or undercook them so they’re raw in the middle. This chicken brine infuses a whole bird with tons of flavor and helps to keep it from drying out in the oven. Brined chicken is the best chicken you’ll ever eat!

How do you make chicken brine?

To make this recipe, you’ll need salt, honey, lemons, herbs, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Everything goes into a large pot with water and is simmered until the salt has dissolved. After the mixture has cooled to room temperature, you can add your chicken to the pot, then refrigerate it until you’re ready to make dinner.

Ingredients including honey, lemon, herbs, spices and garlic.

Why do you brine chicken?

Chicken is a naturally lean type of meat which mean it’s prone to drying out. When a chicken is placed into brine, it absorbs some of the brine which helps to both keep it moist and also to season it all the way through. When you’re working with a brined chicken, even if you overcook it a bit, it should still come out tender and juicy.

How long do you brine chicken?

A whole chicken should be submerged in brine for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours. Do not go past the 24 hour mark, as your chicken may be overly salty if it sits in the brine for too long. If you’re looking to brine bone-in chicken pieces such as chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts, you’ll want to soak them for about 4 hours. If you’re working with boneless chicken pieces, you can brine them for about 2 hours.

Salt, water, lemons, herbs and peppercorns in a pot.

Helpful Tips and Tricks

  • This recipe tends to work well with smaller chickens in the 3-5 pound range. This is simply because you’re more likely to have a deep pot to brine a smaller chicken in. If your chicken is larger than the biggest pot in your house, you can use a brining bag.
  • Be sure to use kosher salt, do not use table salt in this recipe. Table salt measures differently than kosher salt and your chicken will be too salty with table salt. I typically use Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
  • Feel free to mix up the flavorings to fit your preferences. You can try orange instead of lemon, brown sugar instead of honey, add dried chiles for a little spice, or use fresh sage instead of thyme.
  • Make sure the liquid is completely cooled before you add the chicken for food safety reasons. Sometimes when I’m in a hurry, I add a cup of ice cubes to help speed the process along.

How do you cook brined chicken?

You can cook this type of chicken in any way that you would normally cook a whole chicken. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

  • Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
  • Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
  • Peruvian Chicken
  • Rotisserie Chicken
  • Fried Chicken

A brined roasted whole chicken.

Once you try a brined chicken, you’ll be hooked! Everyone will think you’re a gourmet chef when they get a taste of your perfectly cooked chicken. While making a this brining solution is an extra step in the cooking process, it’s totally worth it in my opinion.

Sliced chicken garnished with fresh herbs.

Chicken Brine Video

Chicken brine in a pot with a whole chicken, lemons, herbs and spices.
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4.98 from 44 votes

Chicken Brine Recipe

This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.
Course Main
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Cool Time 30 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 185kcal
Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt do not use table salt
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 3 dried bay leaves
  • 5 cloves of garlic smashed and peeled
  • 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 2 lemons sliced
  • 4 lb whole chicken

Instructions

  • Place the water, salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley and lemons in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
  • Cook for 3-4 minutes or until salt has dissolved.
  • Turn off the heat and cool completely.
  • Add the chicken to the cooled brine. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged.
  • Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
  • Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse with cool water; pat dry with paper towels. Proceed with roasting, smoking or frying the chicken.

Notes

Nutritional information includes the whole chicken.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 775mg | Potassium: 176mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 11.5mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @DinnerAtTheZoo or tag #dinneratthezoo!

This post was originally published on January 2, 2019 and was updated with new content on January 13, 2022.

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    Comments

    1. Dale says

      May 26, 2022 at 8:48 pm

      5 stars
      I brined two 4 pounders with this recipe, rinsed, patted dry and seasoned one with my home made pork/ poultry rub, the other with a simple salt/ pepper, smoked both to 160, very moist and flavorful, will do again

      Reply
    2. Prince Harming says

      April 24, 2022 at 8:03 am

      5 stars
      I was looking for a special ‘something’ for chicken breasts B/4 grilling them for luncheon salads. I needed 2 things:
      1- Moist, and 2- Flavor. (I then added a little coarse grind pepper, Mrs. Dash and some garlic salt to some melted butter and dropped them on to a medium heat grill)
      THIS WAS IT! This is now in my Master File.
      Highly recommend.

      Reply
    3. Jizza says

      April 11, 2022 at 7:49 pm

      5 stars
      Can I reuse the brine?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        April 12, 2022 at 8:29 am

        If you’re planning to reuse it, you’d want to do so within 24 hours, otherwise I’d be concerned about food safety issues.

        Reply
    4. Shawn Alton says

      March 9, 2022 at 8:07 pm

      5 stars
      I typically don’t write a comment to a recipe unless it WOWS me. This WOW’d me. I put some chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on) and made 1/2 the brine. Let the meat sit for 5 hours in the brine. Rinsed the thighs, dried them, brushed with oil, seasoned the skin with my favorite seasoning, and then air fried the thighs. Holy crap. Best chicken thighs I’ve ever made. This brine is fantastic. At first, I wasn’t too keen on the smell of the brine as it simmered, so I was a little skeptical. I was SO wrong. It’s amazing.
      Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ll be using it many times.

      Reply
    5. Eliza says

      January 20, 2022 at 4:11 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you for a great recipe. Brining adds so much flavor, and the combination of flavors you developed is just divine. Another winner from Dinner at the Zoo!

      Reply
    6. Anjali says

      January 20, 2022 at 3:48 pm

      5 stars
      This looks like the perfect brine – love all of the flavorful spices in it – I can’t wait to try it the next time we make chicken at home!

      Reply
    7. Kristen says

      January 20, 2022 at 2:34 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for family and they all thought the herbs gave such a refreshing spin. Thank you!

      Reply
    8. Jess says

      January 20, 2022 at 1:20 pm

      5 stars
      The secret to a juicy and tender chicken is always in the brine! This is a good one!

      Reply
    9. Tiffnany says

      December 31, 2021 at 1:07 pm

      I don’t like the taste of lemons so I replace with limes. Otherwise I love this brine recipe adding other seasonings like turmeric or cardamom is simple and doesn’t mess up the taste.

      Reply
    10. Nicogf says

      December 10, 2021 at 5:47 pm

      This is my absolute favorite brine and here I am ready to submerge my chicken and I have NO Lemons! I can easily use a substitute of white wine or vinegar for lemon juice – is there anything similar I can do for this brine that won’t ruin it? I realize I likely won’t get a response quickly enough, but this may happen again at some point. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sara says

        December 13, 2021 at 8:30 am

        I’d just omit the lemon or use something like orange instead!

        Reply
    11. McKenna says

      November 26, 2021 at 7:35 am

      Hi Sara! I made this for Thanksgiving and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you for yet another winner 🙂 .

      I wanted to make it again today, but I used up the rest of my honey. Do you think maple syrup or granulated sugar would be a good replacement?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        November 26, 2021 at 8:20 am

        Yes either of those will work!

        Reply
    12. Jennifer says

      November 22, 2021 at 8:38 am

      5 stars
      Just a fabulous brine recipe 👍💕 it is my go to for brining all of my chicken! I didn’t have thyme so I added fresh oregano and just threw everything in a Ziploc bag with my spatchcock chicken. It transforms a “good” chicken dinner into a GREAT one. Thank you for posting and sharing! Your recipes are fabulous!

      Reply
    13. Carole Blaney says

      October 23, 2021 at 8:06 am

      Could about 1 teaspoon or so each of dried rosemary, thyme, and parsley be used in place of fresh? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Sara says

        October 25, 2021 at 8:17 am

        Yes that’s fine!

        Reply
    14. Laura says

      October 19, 2021 at 7:01 am

      Could I add the brine and the chicken into a larg ziploc bag to ensure it is fully submerged? It seems too shallow for a pot.

      Reply
      • Sara says

        October 19, 2021 at 1:40 pm

        Yes that’s fine!

        Reply
    15. Jami says

      October 17, 2021 at 6:45 am

      Takes a lot more water than 8 cups to submerge a chicken. Had to add more cold water.

      Reply
    16. Annette says

      September 17, 2021 at 4:40 am

      5 stars
      Makes the best moist chicken when left in this brine. I personally leave in the brine for a minimum of 24 hours. I smoke my whole chickens and usually make two different flavors. My chickens come out super moist, super flavorful. I would give this recipe 10 Stars if I could. 🌟

      Reply
    17. Victor Ibarra says

      August 29, 2021 at 8:24 pm

      I want to do three chickens combine total weight is 15 pounds do I just triple all the ingredients?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        August 31, 2021 at 8:54 am

        You could probably double the brine and add a little extra water to make sure the chickens are fully submerged!

        Reply
    18. Diane says

      August 15, 2021 at 7:13 am

      5 stars
      We love this brine. The chicken comes out perfect every time!

      Reply
    19. paula says

      July 14, 2021 at 6:11 am

      can i use this for chicken breast?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        July 14, 2021 at 1:08 pm

        Yes you may just want to cut the recipe in half! And chicken breasts will only need to brine for 2-4 hours.

        Reply
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