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A skillet with David Leite's best brined roast chicken in a cast iron Dutch oven surrounded by potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, and a halved head of garlic.olden brown brined chicken with vegetables around it.
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4.88 / 31 votes

David Leite’s Best Brined Roast Chicken

This best brined roast chicken is the best method for brining your chicken, as far as I know. It blends aromatic vegetables and herbs to the brining solution before adding your chicken. The meat gets infused with lush flavors and juiciness beyond the average brined chicken.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
1 day
Total Time1 day 1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 274

Ingredients

For the brine

  • 11 cups cold water
  • 1 1/2 cups Diamond Crystal kosher salt OR a heaping 3/4 cup Morton's kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
  • 2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
  • 2 medium leeks, cleaned and coarsely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, scrubbed well and coarsely chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Leaves from 6 stems thyme
  • Leaves from 6 sprigs rosemary
  • 9 cups ice cubes
  • One (4-to-5-pound) chicken, giblet/gizzard packet removed

For the roast brined chicken

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • Freshly ground black pepper
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the brine

  • Add 3 cups of the cold water to a large Dutch oven or pasta pot. Pour in the salt, sugar, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the salt and sugar dissolve, and then turn off the heat.
  • Meanwhile, add 2 cups of the water to a high-powered blender or food processor. Working in batches as needed, add the onions, leeks, carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary.
  • Purée until liquefied.
  • Add the ice to the pot along with the remaining 6 cups of cold water. Stir until the ice cubes melt and the water is cold. Add the puréed ingredients. Submerge the chicken, cover the pot, and refrigerate overnight (8 to 12 hours).

Roast the brined chicken

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Place a rack in a roasting pan.
  • Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Discard the brine.
  • Place the bird on the rack in the pan and tie the legs together with kitchen twine, if desired. Brush with the melted butter and season generously with pepper. Roast (middle rack) for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh meat (away from the bone) registers 165°F (74°C). The skin should be brown and crisp. If it starts to overbrown, loosely cover with a large sheet of aluminum foil.
  • Let the chicken sit, loosely tented with aluminum foil, for 15 minutes before carving.

Notes

  1. Salt–If you’re uncertain about the brand of your kosher salt, weigh it. You want to use 7.5 ounces or 215 g of kosher salt in your brine.
  2. Leeks–Clean the cut leeks by letting them sit in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes so the grit can settle. Lift the leeks out, letting the grit remain in the water.
  3. Pot options–If you don’t have a pot large enough to accommodate the chicken and brine, use a strong, good-quality resealable 2.5-gallon bag. Stash the filled and sealed bag inside a large pot or bowl, just in case it springs a leak.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.01g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 74mg | Sugar: 0.01g