Brine: Your New Culinary Secret Weapon
I think it's safe to say that it's officially “summer in the U.P.”
Lilacs bloomed, beaches warming up, gardens going in.
(My garden is currently a dust bowl right now, so I wouldn't be sad to see more than a sprinkle.)
With all of the ado, I am always looking for a quick, simple, yet feel good and taste great meal.
Enter: Chicken.
And I'm not talking about a package of chicken thighs or a bag of Tyson frozen chicken breasts, either.
I mean a literal whole, roasted chicken, that takes only five minutes of prep work, and then it just thaws out in the refrigerator overnight.
And it tastes PHENOMENAL.
I pinky-promise, I'm not making this up.
You see, I love preparing whole chickens because they are thrifty and versatile (bring on the left-over chicken salad sandwiches!).
But, I don't like two things:
I always seem to forget to take them out to thaw in enough time
It's always a task to prepare all of the lemons, butter, herbs, make sure to get under the skin , messy hands, blah blah...
And then, you slice into the breast... and you reach for the salt shaker.
Not anymore.
I have found the perfect solution to my whole chicken dilemma: BRINE.
And not just any brine, THE brine that is so flavorful, healthy, and simple, that you can't bring yourself to ever go back to just tossing a huge chunk of meat in the oven without brining it first. (I have been brining every cut of meat imaginable! Pork chops, shoulder roasts, planning for that Thanksgiving turkey…)
Simply toss some salt, honey, and herbs into a pot with some water, heat just until dissolved, cool and toss it, (chicken and all) into the refrigerator overnight.
The next day: Pat it dry, butter and pepper the skin, roast at 350.
Done!
No mixing up rubs, making sure to get under the skin (without tearing it!), just to find yourself with a top layer of flavor and wishing it had penetrated all the way through (although, I will admit, our pastured chickens don't need much)
Seriously, this brine has changed my life!
I get to just toss a chicken in some seasoned (magic) water, throw it in the fridge to thaw out, and pat dry and bake. No more messy, buttery hands.
When I made this for the first time, my family went on about it being the best chicken I had ever made. They keep asking for it!
Oh, and the leftover drippings in the pan and the bones?
Soup taken to the next level!
So, after telling you about it for so long, I want to finally give you the recipe.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, it is truly a game changer.
If you are out of our pastured, non-GMO chickens, we have them in the Farm Store! Just take a ride over and grab one, thaw that bad boy out in this brine, and tell me what you think, we'd love to see you!
And, if you haven't already, make sure to place your deposit on your custom whole, pastured chickens for the year by calling, emailing, or just stopping on in!
Ingredients:
2 Quarts of cold water
1/3 Cup of good salt, like Kosher, Sea Salt, Celtic Salt, etc. (NOT table salt)
2 lemons Quartered (I omit these when using the brine for pork)
10 sprigs of fresh parsley
7 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
3-5 chives, cut into pieces
5 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried
¼ cup honey (or raw sugar)
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Tablespoon peppercorns
Steps:
1)Pour about a third of the cold water into a pot large enough to accommodate the whole chicken
2) Throw in the rest of the ingredients (yes, it's that simple), bring to a boil, and stir (you're just trying to dissolve the salt here)
3) Remove from the heat and pour in the remainder of the water
4) Place the pot in the the refrigerator to cool for 1.5-2 hours before adding the chicken (warm brine + raw chicken = not good
Submerge the chicken in the brine, with the legs and breast on the bottom, (if there is not enough liquid to cover the chicken, just add more) lid the pot and refrigerate overnight.
Even if you prepare this early in the morning and prepare that same evening, it is still better than NOT brining. Just don't let the chicken sit in the brine for more than 24 hours, it then gets too salty.
Once the chicken is brined:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F
Take the chicken out and pat it dry
Place it in your pan, breast up
Rub the skin with melted butter and sprinkle with pepper
Let it rest for twenty minutes before popping it in the oven
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F, and bake until done*
*Brined chicken bakes 15-20 minutes faster than un-brined chicken