We brined our first poultry for Thanksgiving and it was amazing. Since then we’ve been brining all of our chickens and they are pretty out of this world. It’s the easiest thing to do and basically guarantees a super juicy a delicious bird.
- Add a gallon of water to a stock pot
- Pour 1 cup kosher salt, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3 bay leaves, a handful of peppercorns, 2 cloves chopped garlic and a generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes to the water. If you have a lemon on hand, cut that in half and add to the water (a few squirts of lemon juice will also work)
- Heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved and allow to cool fully
- Add bird and allow to marinate – at least 4 hours (I like to leave the stock pot on the deck outside in the winter all day)
When the bird is done, remove it from the water and pat dry. Season as you would normally, but omitting the salt (it’s already salted). Cook as you would a roasted chicken and be amazed. Yum.
annie.crafty.pants 