Skip to content New Recipes Straight To Your Inbox 40 Aprons Premium Ad free 5 from 36 votes Home Easy Quick Chicken Brine Recipe for Perfect Juicy Chicken Every Time Recipe By Cheryl Malik Updated May 28 2024 80 Comments Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy. This quick chicken brine recipe leads to the juiciest, most tender chicken you’ve ever cooked, and it does it in as little as 2 hours. With savory flavor in every bite, I guarantee you’ll use this simple method every time you roast a whole chicken or pieces of chicken from now on. 💧
What Makes This Chicken Brine Recipe So Good
You only need a couple of hours for this chicken brine, making it totally doable when you remember that, oh yeah, you have to cook dinner tonight, just like every night. You know that’s how it happens, at least in our house. Anyway, this quick chicken brine recipe is everything I ever wanted and more—no hyperbole, I swear. It’s flavorful, simple, and quick. The reasons this quick chicken brine works are simple: 1. The salt content is higher than most brines, so it works more effectively and more quickly than a standard brine. 2. The hot solution extracts the flavors from the aromatics much faster than a standard brine. The ice bath cools things down quickly too, so you don’t risk cooking the chicken as it brines. You can include garlic, peppercorns, herbs, citrus, or any other aromatics you might fancy, but it works wonders without all the fancy add-ins too. Especially if you’re stretching a chicken to use over several recipes, this basic saltwater mixture can be the best choice. You don’t want to find yourself with rosemary-infused chicken in, I don’t know, a Thai dish. Could be cool, but probably not your favorite.
What Goes Into a Chicken Brine
Brining is a simple concept. When making a wet brine, you make a salt solution and flavor it with spices, herbs, and sometimes sugar. Just how high the salt content will depend on how quickly you want to brine the meat. This chicken brine recipe, for instance, has a higher salt content so you can brine quickly. Whereas with your Thanksgiving turkey, you reduce the overall salt density so you can brine it longer. This is necessary because that dang bird is so big. Many people season their chicken brine with sugar too, but we a) don’t love sugar in our food and b) find that a salt-only brine produces a super versatile chicken that truly just tastes better, more tender, and juicier.
Why Should You Use a Chicken Brine?
We’ve all had overcooked chicken—not so good, right? A chicken brine does two things: it gives the poultry flavor, and it keeps the meat tender and juicy. When you brine chicken, you’re essentially installing a failsafe on your dish. You have more wiggle room to cook the bird without it becoming dry after one minute too long in the oven, and you have creative control over the flavors throughout the entire muscle meat of your chicken, not just the skin.
Chefs Tips
Don’t over-brine the chicken. The salt solution is higher than your standard overnight brine, so you want to make sure to limit your brining time to 2-3 hours at room temperature or 4-6 hours in the fridge. I like to brine my chicken in the morning, drain after a few hours, then let it air dry in the fridge until I’m ready to cook it. Air drying allows the skin to really dry out so that when you sear, fry, or roast it, the skin gets unbelievably crisp and delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can chicken be brined too long? Yes, please do not brine your chicken using this recipe for longer than the recommended time. If you do, too much of the salt solution will permeate the meat, resulting in an over-salted bird.
How long does it take to brine a chicken breast? If you’re brining boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you can get away with brining them at room temperature for about 30 minutes or chill for about 1 hour.
Why do you brine chicken? Brining chicken results in the most tender and flavorful meat, and it makes it harder to overcook.
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Nutrition Info
Approximate Information for One Serving
- Calories: 19 cal
- Protein: 1 g
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.03 g
- Sodium: 34932 mg
- Potassium: 58 mg
- Total Carbs: 4 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Net Carbs: 4 g
- Vitamin A: 10 IU
- Vitamin C: 4 mg
- Calcium: 76 mg
- Iron: 1 mg
