Apple Chicken Brine

I used this very simple to put together brine on my Thanksgiving turkey. It was a frozen one, with some salt already in it so I halved the salt in the brine after thawing my turkey days before in the fridge. My turkey was perfectly seasoned, tender, juicy and got rave reviews! Thanks for a great recipe that I will use on chicken too.

If you're not brining your chicken, you're missing out. I do a half recipe for 1 whole chicken, although I'll be making a big batch of this brine next time and canning it. If you don't have herbs de province you can just use what you have on hand. Sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, any combination of these. I brine the chicken overnight then rinse it out, place it atop a celery "rack" in a casserole dish, stuff it with a couple celery sticks and a few TBSP of butter, and roast at 350 until it reaches temp. Baste a couple times during the roasting. The brine also eliminates the need to season the chicken any further, it turns out perfect, I promise. Not sure how this recipe didn't have more reviews, but it's one that's worth memorizing and passing down to your kids and grandkids.

I brined chicken thighs and smoked them 20 hours later. Very good but I will decrease the salt a little next time.

YUM!!! This chicken is so moist and juicy! So the big question is, to rinse or not to rinse. I read so many things on line that go both ways. So I ended up lightly rinsing. I wasn't making a gravy out of the drippings, and it tasted perfectly seasoned. If your making a gravy out of the drippings, I'd rinse well or it will be too salty. Anyway, loved this chicken brine, perfect!!

I used a this on a young chicken that I smoked and you talk about tender. This was awesome! Thanks for sharing!