DESCRIPTION
After doing a series of tests and comparisons, this is the recipe and method that I’ve found works best for brining a whole chicken.
Ingredients
- 8 cups cold tap water
- 9 Tbsp. Morton’s Kosher Salt*
- 2 Tbsp. garlic powder (optional)**
- 1 (3-5 lb.) whole chicken
Instructions
- In a large pot stir together water and salt until salt is dissolved. Add the garlic powder, if using.
- Add the chicken. Make sure it is fully submerged. If not, use a narrower pot/bowl, or make more of the brine mixture.
- Transfer pot with chicken and brine to the refrigerator. Allow chicken to sit in brine for 4-6 hours. See chart above to determine optimum time.
- Remove chicken from brine. Discard brine. Pat chicken dry with paper towels.
- Cook the chicken however you would normally cook it, but do not add any salt to it. Other seasonings are fine to add.
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Notes
*Different kinds of salt have different sized crystals so you need different amounts depending on the type. Use 12 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, OR 9 tablespoons of Morton’s kosher salt, OR 6 tablespoons of fine or table salt.
**If you’d like to add more flavors to your brine, know that they don’t always penetrate well into the meat. I’ve had the most success with pureeing the ingredients into the brine. A recipe and instructions for this method are given in my turkey brine recipe here, and is explained a bit above under the heading Adding Flavor To Your Chicken Brine.