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Roast Brined Chicken

Roast Brined Chicken

Roast Brined Chicken - how to brine and then roast a whole chicken!

Course Main
Cuisine International
Prep Time 12 hours
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 13 hours 30 minutes
Author Audax Artifex & Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

Simple Brine

  • 1 lt – 4 cups cold water
  • 70 gms – ¼ cup table salt or 70 gms – ½ cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
  • 2 tbsp sugar optional – I used it!
  • Peppercorns optional – I used it!

Roast Brined Chicken

  • 1 Whole Brined Chicken
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 2 rosemary sprigs
  • 4 sage leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tbsp garlic powder
  • ½ tbsp paprika
  • ½ lemon juiced
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Simple Brine

  1. Heat 1 cup of water to the boiling point, add the salt and sugar and stir until dissolved.

  2. Place the brine in a non-reactive container. Add the remaining water and stir. Keep aside until the brine has reached room temperature.

  3. Add your chicken to the brine. Make sure that it is completely submerged (I weighed it down with a clean plate).

  4. Cover the container with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 3 to 8 hours (or overnight) to soak.
  5. If desired you can air-dry your poultry (usually over night) in the fridge. This will ensure that you get crispy skin on your bird. You should also pat dry your brined chicken (inside and out) with paper towels before cooking it.

Roast Brined Chicken

  1. Discard the brine and dry the skin and the inside of the chicken with paper towels.
  2. If you desire crispy skin then leave the bird on a rack for several hours or overnight in the fridge so the skin can dry.
  3. Squeeze the juice of the lemon on the skin of the chicken and rub it with ground pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
  4. Drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil.

  5. Put the squeezed half lemon, garlic cloves, bay leaves, rosemary and sage in the chicken cavity. If you want, you can tie the chicken legs together with some kitchen twine.

  6. Roast in a preheated oven at 220°C – 425°F for the first 15 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 180°C – 350°F and roast for a further 12-15 minutes per 450 grams – 1 pound. Your chicken will be ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F – 84°C (or when the juices run clear when you pierce the chicken between the leg and thigh).
  7. Let it rest for approximately 30 minutes covered loosely in foil before serving it.

Recipe Notes

I served it with some potatoes, pumpkin and carrots that I dressed with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. I added them to the chicken after about 30 minutes and let them cook together for the remaining time. They were delicious!