Garlic Rosemary Chicken Brine

Very tasty!  I like marinating whole chickens in brine because it creates a moist and tasty flavor.  I usually marinate for close to 24 hours.  Very easy.  For those of you New Englanders,  when I brine, it reminds me of chicken served at Boston Market..



8 cups water
1/2 cup salt
3 tablespoons honey
12 garlic cloves either smashed or chopped
2 tablespoons ground pepper
Several sprigs of fresh rosemary (I left the stalks on)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• In a large pot, mix water and salt together until dissolved
• Stir in honey and garlic
• Add ground pepper and rosemary.  Stir in oil
• Place chicken (breast side down) into the container
• Add more water if necessary to cover up chicken
• Cover, refrigerate and marinate overnight to 24 hours
• Before placing on a baking sheet, rinse off brine and discard

-Queenie Cuisine

Easy Chicken Brine

I am back to listening to my audiobooks about a caterer who solves mysteries.  "Goldy"  placed her chicken in brine, so I had follow suit.   The hardest thing about this recipe was finding a container large enough that would still fit in my refrigerator.  Once cooked, the chicken was tender and flavorful....mmmmm!!


One gallon of brine is enough for a 6 lb whole chicken or bone in chicken pieces, or up to 10 lbs of boneless chicken breasts.

1 gallon warm water
3/4 cup Kosher salt
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil

• Pour water into a container that will hold twice the amount of volume
• Pour in salt, sugar, soy sauce and olive oil
• Stir until all ingredients are dissolved
• Allow the brine to cool to room temperature
• Place chicken in the brine (I kept the skin on, and removed it after cooking.  The meat was very flavorful!)
• **Refrigerate two hours for skinless chicken, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 4 hours to overnight for whole chickens
• Drain and pat dry chicken before cooking
• (I kept some brine and basted the chicken a couple of times during cooking)

-Queenie Cuisine

**This recipe is from allrecipes.com**