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Roasted Brined Chicken, How to Brine a Whole Chicken for Roasting

  • Español
Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 625kcal

If you have never brined meat, you don't know what you've missed. Try this whole brined chicken roast and be convinced too, it will be the juiciest, most flavorful chicken you would have ever cooked, try it and it will become your family's favorite.

Why I ❤️ it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation

Brined whole chicken roasted

Why I ❤️ it

We have heard before the old maxim that while cooking is an art, baking is science. Well, that's not entirely correct, there is just as much science in cooking. And it is science that tells us that brining chicken for roasting works for its intended purpose: making meat juicer, more tender, more flavorful.

A little investment of some extra time can hugely improve your chicken roasts (works for other meats too). You can leave the chicken brining in the morning get it ready for roasting at lunch time. Your brined chicken will be the juiciest whole chicken roast you've ever tried, the perfect weekend meal.

Whole roasted brined chicken recipe

This awesome free recipe contains Amazon affiliate links, I receive a small commission from any purchase you make at no extra cost to you. Thanks!

The juiciest, most flavorful chicken you would have ever cooked, try my best brined chicken roast recipe and it will become your family's favorite.

Course: Dinner, Lunch
Inspiration: American
Category: brine for roast chicken, brined roasted chicken, brining a whole chicken, brining a whole chicken for roasting
Author: Clara González

Prep Time4 hrs
Cook Time1 hr 30 mins
Total Time5 hrs 30 mins

Utensils and tools

  • 20-quart pot (5 gallon [22 liters])
  • Roasting tray with wire rack
Brined roasted chicken
Brined roasted chicken

Ingredients

For the brine

  • 1 cup of kosher salt
  • ½ cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 red onion, cut into quarters
  • 6 clove garlic, sliced
  • 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
  • Rind of half an orange
  • 2 tablespoons peppercorns

For the chicken

  • 1 whole chicken, (about 4 lb [1.8 kg])
  • ½ cup of vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1

To make the brine, pour 1 gallon [4 liters] of water into the pot, and combine with the ingredients for the brine (kosher salt, red wine vinegar, onion, garlic, and parsley).

Step 2

Butterfly the chicken (cut open through the breast plate and flatten).

Butterflying the chicken
Butterflying the chicken

Place the chicken in a deep pot and cover completely with the brine mix. Place the chicken in the fridge and let it rest for 4 hours.

Step 3

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F [175°C].

Take the chicken out of the brine and discard the brine. Rinse the chicken to eliminate the excess salt (be mindful of salmonella cross-contamination). Pat dry with paper towels and brush all over with oil. Sprinkle the chicken with pepper.

Step 4

Place the chicken skin side up on the roast tray with rack.

If you have a meat thermometer

Roast until the thermometer reaches 71 °C [160 °F], start measuring at 1 hour.

If you don't have a meat thermometer

Roast for an hour, remove from the oven and turn around, the chicken will be ready when you can pierce between the thigh and body and the juices run clear. If any red or pink shows, return to the oven for another 15 minutes and repeat the test.

What's brining?

Brining is the practice of bathing meat in brine (water with a high concentration of salt) to make it tenderer and juicier.

Using red wine vinegar, salt, and a few other ingredients and herbs of choice, I ended up with the juiciest chicken roast I have made so far. It was plump, tender and bursting with flavor, you will be sure to incorporate this technique in your cooking after you try it.

Top tips

You can also add other herbs if you like, adding a sprig of rosemary or some thyme are two of my favorite, if I have them at hand.

Serving suggestions

You can roast potatoes, carrots and other vegetables along with the brined chicken, and make your meal in just one step.

Roasted brined chicken
Roasted brined chicken

Nutritional information

Calories: 625kcal - Carbohydrates: 3g - Protein: 39g - Fat: 50g - Saturated Fat: 10g - Cholesterol: 156mg - Sodium: 534mg - Potassium: 432mg - Fiber: 1g - Sugar: 1g - Vitamin A: 290IU - Vitamin C: 5.6mg - Calcium: 33mg - Iron: 2mg

FAQs

What is brining chicken?

Brining chicken is soaking it in highly concentrated salt water to add moisture and improve the texture of the chicken.

How to brine chicken with vinegar?

Vinegar can be added to the brine to soak the chicken and improve its flavor prior to roasting.

Print card

This is just a printer-friendly summary, some useful details are found in the recipe above.

Print

Brined chicken roast, brining chicken for roasting

Ingredients

For brining

  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • ½ cup red wine Vinegar
  • 1 red onion cut into quarters
  • 6 garlic cloves sliced
  • 1 bunch parsley
  • Rind of half an orange
  • 2 tablespoons peppercorns

For the chicken

  • 1 whole chicken (4 pounds, [1.8 Kg])
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)

Instructions

  • Mix [4 lt] of water with the ingredients for brining.
  • Butterfly the chicken (cut open through the breast plate and flatten).
  • Place the chicken in a deep pot and cover completely with the brine mix.
  • Place the chicken in the fridge and let it rest for 4 hours.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°F [175°C].
  • Take the chicken out of the brine and discard the brine.
  • Rinse the chicken to eliminate excess salt. Pat dry and brush all over with oil. Sprinkle with pepper.
  • Place the chicken skin side up on a a roast tray with rack (Amazon affiliate link).

If you have a meat thermometer

  • Roast until the thermometer reaches 71 °C [160 °F], start measuring at 1 hour.

If you don't have a meat thermometer

  • Roast for an hour, remove from the oven and turn around, the chicken will be ready when the juices run clear, return to the oven until there is any red or pink liquid.

Notes

Why not add some potatoes to the pan and make your dinner in just one step.

Originally published on Dec 3, 2012

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nelly

    November 23, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    Very good chicken. I added more herbs and garlic, it has good flavor.

    Reply
  2. Mary

    September 12, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    I made this brine chicken which was good. I used lemon juice instead of wine vinegar about 2 Tablespoons honey several cloves of garlic a whole onion tsp dried thyme tsp rosemary. Oil and water are same as above.

    Reply
  3. Edna

    January 11, 2014 at 3:01 pm

    Hi. is the recipe for 2 chickens or just one?

    Reply
    • Tia Clara

      January 14, 2014 at 12:01 pm

      1 whole chicken.

      Reply
  4. Michelle

    October 23, 2013 at 8:13 am

    5 stars
    Hi Clara. I made this yesterday and me and my family loved it. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for this simple recipe.

    Reply
  5. Kankana

    December 07, 2012 at 1:17 am

    I never tried brining and I do agree with you on the chemistry part! Baking is more tricky than cooking. These looks perfect and love the styling!

    Reply
    • Tia Clara

      December 25, 2012 at 12:27 pm

      That depends on what you cook. Meat is pretty trick, trickier than any baking I've done.

      Reply
  6. Mayra

    December 06, 2012 at 4:03 pm

    I've always heard people raving about brining turkeys, I have never tried it, but now I have too. I want to dig into that chicken.

    Reply
  7. Julia | JuliasAlbum.com

    December 05, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    I've heard that brining makes the best chicken. I am yet to try it. Your photos are so beautiful!

    Reply
    • Tia Clara

      December 25, 2012 at 12:28 pm

      Thanks, Julia. It does make it a lot juicier. Instead of the chicken losing its own juices, it loses the water it gains.

      Reply
      • Paul-David Cooper

        July 14, 2013 at 11:00 am

        5 stars
        I brined a turkey for two days outside in a plastic liner filled with things like sea salt, cinnamin sticks, Raspberry wine vinegar, basil, oregano crushed garlic and onion wedges. Of course it was very cold outside and perfect for brining large birds. The turkey was magnificent. I had never had anything so moistand juicy. I recommend brining to anyone that wants something exquisite and tasty.

  8. Carol Lovett

    December 03, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    I've never brined my chicken but I would love to try one of these days.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Tía Clara! I have been a recipe developer, and recipe writer for 20 years, and here I share easy recipes you'll love.

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