Overnight Chicken Brine Recipe for Roasting
Learn the easiest way to brine the whole chicken for further roasting it in the oven!
Servings 6 people
Calories 420kcal
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken raw (around 1.5 kg)
- 6 cups water
- 6 tbsp kosher salt (or 3-4 tbsp. table salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper (to your taste)
- 4-6 tbsp compound butter of your choice (around 50-80 g)
Instructions
- You should brine only thawed chicken. Do not brine frozen chicken. Dissolve salt in water for the brine. Add chicken to the brine. Make sure to have enough liquid to cover all the chicken. It has to be fully submerged. If necessary take a plate and some weight and put it over the chicken. Refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- In 8 hours, take the chicken out of the brine. Rinse it under cold running water and pat it dry with paper towels.
- If you want, you can stuff the chicken cavity with fresh rosemary, thyme, and lemon slices and tie the chicken thighs together. Beforehand, you can also sprinkle some freshly ground mixed pepper and rub it into the meat. You can roast it without all of this.
- Preheat oven at 400°F/200°C.
- Take the roasting pan and smear its surface with vegetable oil.
- Now is the time to take compound butter. My top advice would be to choose compound butter which contains paprika. It adds such a perfect color to the roasted chicken skin. Rub in the butter all over the chicken and place the poultry onto the pan.
- Calculate the roasting time based on the weight of the chicken. 0.5 kg takes 30 minutes to cook. I have 1.5 kilos, so I should cook it for an hour and a half in the oven.
- Check the color of the chicken skin every 20 minutes. If it gets dark too quickly, cover the chicken with foil and keep cooking the rest of the time with foil.
- Take the chicken out of the oven and let it cool down a bit. Serve with fresh vegetables, salad leaves, or other side dishes.