Simple chicken brine can elevate your regular chicken to the next level! Let’s learn why it’s so important and how to make 3 perfect recipes for it!
What is Chicken Brine, and Why Does It Matter?
A lot of you may already know about the simple chicken brining method as a fantastic way to enhance the flavor and texture of your chicken dishes. My favorite way to prepare a whole chicken is to be as moist and tender as possible. Who wants a dry piece of chicken, right?
Simple chicken brine may sound superfluous and unnecessary because some may argue that they can just marinade the chicken with some basic spice rubs for less than an hour, and their food comes out alright. As a passionate home cook, I can tell you that chicken brining is worth all your time and effort.
First of all, none of the chicken brine recipes are hard at all; it only requires a few steps and several ingredients.
Secondly, it’s the best way, in my opinion, to help the chicken hold on to a lot of liquid. When it’s cooked, the meat turns out super juicy. The enzymes from vinegar and acids will break down the proteins and make in incredibly tender.
All the spices and herbs in the chicken brine absorb deeply into every layer of the chicken. So when you taste it, you will be amazed by how well-seasoned it is.
Last but not least, where is the fun if you don’t explore and experiment with plenty of different cooking methods in the kitchen?
I think unless you are super busy and need a quick fix, a few seasonings will do. Otherwise, have fun with all the chicken brine recipes and master the chicken brining to create awesome meals for yourself and your loved ones!
Ultimate Guide to Simple Chicken Brine
The chicken brining process is very easy. I will go through it step by step with you to make sure you understand the method perfectly.
The chicken brining process is very easy. I will go through it step by step with you to make sure you understand the method perfectly.
1. Prepare a simple chicken brine
Depending on which ingredients you want to put in your brine, make a big bowl of it so that you can fit all the chicken. In the next section, I will show you 3 wonderful chicken brine recipes.
2. Brine the chicken
Fully submerge the whole chicken (or all of your chicken pieces) in the brine liquid. That way, the meat is going to be evenly brined and seasoned. Do not miss any spot of flavor goodness, guys.
3. Cover and keep cool
After brining the chicken, you will let it sit for hours. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it at a safe temperature to avoid unwanted bacteria and other contaminations.
4. Rinse and dry
The last step in the chicken brining process is to rinse off the brine and pat dry/ air dry to remove extra moisture.
After these 4 easy breezy steps, then you’re ready to cook your favorite chicken dish!
Simple Chicken Brine Recipe with Herbs
This first simple lemon and herb chicken brine is the classic go-to recipe for everybody. It actually takes less than 10 minutes to make. Anybody can do it.
All of the ingredients are very easy to find. In case you can’t access fresh herbs, feel free to use dry ones. Just deduct half of the amount.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup kosher salt (no table salt)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 5 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 fresh lemons
- 4 lb whole chicken
Directions:
- Pour water into a crockpot.
- Add bay leaves, garlic, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.
- Cut 2 lemons into thin slices and add to the pot.
- Add salt and peppercorns.
- Add honey. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Put the chicken in the pot and brine in the fridge for 8-24 hours before cooking. Enjoy!
Tips & Tricks for Perfectly Brined Chicken Every Time
This is the I-tried-and failed-so-you-do-not-have-to segment! I have tried multiple chicken brine recipes so many different times to come up with the following tips and tricks. I am sure some of my answers can help you. Just take them into consideration, and who knows, you will perfect your simple chicken brine right from the first time!
1. How long should the chicken brining process be?
Ideally, I would say at least 6 hours up to a day. The rule is about 1 hour for each pound of chicken.
If you take the chicken out too soon, it will not have enough time to absorb flavors and tenderize. If you leave it in the chicken brine for too long, the meat will start to disintegrate due to the enzyme-breaking process.
2. How to speed up the chicken brining?
A trick you might not know is that the cooler the salty brine liquid is, the faster the chicken brines. So make sure to keep the chicken in the fridge. If you are really in a hurry, put ice in the bowl of liquid to fasten the process.
3. Can you brine frozen chicken?
I absolutely do not recommend you brine your chicken when it’s frozen. The brine water will not be able to absorb evenly into the meat, and the texture will not be good at all. Please thaw the chicken to room temperature.
4. Should you reuse the simple chicken brine?
No, you should not. There are possibly a lot of bacteria in the raw chicken. You need to discard the brine water right away after finishing the chicken brining process.
Here is another quick chicken brine recipe. This simple chicken brine is made with vinegar and other tasty spices. This technique produces a juicy, tender chicken every time! A definite way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked, or fried chicken. Hope you love it!
Spicy Vinegar Chicken Brine – Recipe No. 2
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of water
- 2 tbsp kosher salt (no table salt)
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- Pinch of Jamaican Allspice
- 1 tbsp red pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
Directions:
- Pour water into a big bowl/bucket.
- Add salt, black pepper, Jamaican Allspice, red pepper, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
- Pour in rice vinegar and apple vinegar. Mix well until combined.
Buttermilk Chicken Brine – Recipe No. 3
Here’s one more simple chicken brine recipe for you! This creamy and rich buttermilk brine is what you need in your life. Combine with your chicken and chill in the fridge for up to 24 hours, and there you go! Perfect prepped chicken for an amazing meal!
Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 3-4 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- Bay leaves
- 1/4 onion
- 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 3 tbsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Pepper
- Hot sauce to taste
Directions:
- Whisk together buttermilk, sugar, peppercorns, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.
- Add apple cider vinegar and keep whisking until all the sugar and salt dissolve.
- Pour the brine all over the chicken.
- Add garlic, onion, thyme and rosemary, and bay leaves.
- Put lemon slices in. Massage the chicken for 2 minutes from the inside out.
- Cover the chicken and let it rest in the fridge until you’re ready to use. Good luck!
Tips and Praise
Brenetta Ingram, “I tried this for Easter dinner, and for the first time ever, I had a moist chicken breast and a chicken full of flavor. I have been using your level-up A & B seasoning and the Creole kick on other meats and my food has taken a LEVEL UP!
ADivaX3, “Mr. AB you are my favorite YouTuber! I love your recipes and so does my husband. I made your lemon pepper wings and he loved them. Thank you.”
Herr Prepper, “Something to remember about buttermilk. Commercial, store bought buttermilk is pasteurized, so the bacteria in the buttermilk are dead… kaput… inactive. The best buttermilk is homemade, non pasteurized.”
frankie sledge, “I’m sure that is going to be FLAVOR-FUL!”
Editor’s Note
Hopefully, the 3 simple chicken brine recipes give you some inspiration for cooking.
Please check out other chicken recipes on the website: