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This quick chicken brine 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 Recipe So Good
- You only need a couple of hours for this 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 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 salt + water 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 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 brine, 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 and more tender and juicier.
🤔 Why Should You Use a 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.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s 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
Yes! Please, 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.
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.
Brining chicken results in the most tender and flavorful meat, and it makes it harder to overcook!
🍋 More Recipes You’ll Love
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- Air Fryer Chicken Legs
- How to Cook a Turkey Perfectly (With Gravy)
- Best Ever Easy Roast Chicken (With Gravy + Whole30, Paleo Options)
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
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- Sous Vide Chicken Breast
- Grilled Baked Potatoes
Quick Chicken Brine
Equipment
- medium saucepan with lid
- Large bowl
- Large wooden spoon
- large food-safe container heavy pot, sealable bag, or sous vide tub
Ingredients
For the Brine
- ½ liter water approximately 16 ounces or 2 cups
- 5 tablespoons kosher salt 100 grams or approximately 3 ounces
- 3-6 sprigs fresh herbs of choice rosemary, thyme, parsley, etc.
- 4 large cloves garlic smashed
- 1 pound ice
For the Chicken
- 1 4-pound whole, uncooked chicken or 4 pounds of uncooked chicken pieces
Instructions
- Pour ½ liter water into medium saucepan. Add 5 tablespoons kosher salt, 3-6 sprigs fresh herbs of choice, and 4 large cloves garlic to saucepan and quickly stir to incorporate.
- Place saucepan on stovetop over high heat. Bring water to violent boil.
- Once water boils violently, stir mixture until salt is completely dissolved, then move saucepan to cool burner and cover with lid. Let mixture stand, covered, 10 minutes.
- Place 1 pound ice in large bowl. After brine mixture has stood 10 minutes, remove lid and carefully pour mixture into bowl over ice. Stir mixture gently until ice is completely melted.
- When ice has melted, place 1 4-pound whole, uncooked chicken in large container. Carefully pour brine over chicken, making sure chicken is entirely submerged.
- Let chicken rest in brine 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. Alternately, let chicken rest in brine 4 to 6 hours in refrigerator.
- After chicken has brined for appropriate length of time, remove chicken from brine and drain well. Pat chicken completely dry with paper towels, then cook chicken as desired.
- After brining your chicken, don’t add any salt when you cook it or the chicken will be way too salty.
- Fresh Herbs: You can use just one type of herb or a blend of your favorites.
- Chicken: If you want to brine boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken, you can cut the brining time back to 30-60 minutes at room temperature and 1-2 hours refrigerated.
- For a really crispy chicken skin, brine the chicken then let it air dry in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it.
Alternate Brine Add-Ins
- 1 white onion, sliced
- 1-2 lemons, sliced into coins
- bay leaves
- cracked peppercorns
- Italian seasoning
- carrots
- sweetener (white sugar, brown sugar, or honey)
- fresh cilantro
- sliced fresh jalapeños
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Really great! I love the quickness it provides for a last minute brine. It makes the chicken SO tender. Used this several times!
So glad you love it, Tara! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’m trying this today. I am wondering how it’s okay to leave it out of the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, though, once it’s in the bag with the brine. Seems like it’s a potential bacterial problem? Wouldn’t it take the same amount of time to brine if in the fridge? I’d like it to use the method that takes the least time, but I’m a bit afraid to just leave it on the counter.
According to the USDA, raw chicken and cooked chicken are both fine to leave at room temperature for 2 hours. The “danger zone” for bacteria growth is 40°-120° Fahrenheit, but this brine should keep the chicken under that 40° threshold for a good while at the beginning of the brining window. Make sure to use plenty of ice to bring the temperature down before adding the chicken to the brine!
Hello. Used your Quick Chicken brine and loved it. How would I best adjust the ingredient quantities (mainly water and salt) for a turkey?
We actually have a whole post specifically about brining a turkey! You can check it out here: https://40aprons.com/how-to-brine-a-turkey/
Best, easiest chicken brine. I now can’t think of making chicken WITHOUT using this brine.
So, so happy to hear that, Marta! Thank you so much for your review!
A note on my previous comment… I’ve tried making the brine with regular table salt and with coarse kosher salt. Coarse kosher salt gave it a depth of flavor that I enjoyed more. Folx might want to try using different salts to see if they notice a difference.
I am a firm believer in brining poultry. It makes such a difference. This recipe is great because it speeds up the process. Super handy and delicious results.
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I grabbed frozen chicken from my freezer (part of a 40 pound box). I had wrapped it very well (individual pieces tightly double wrapped in plastic wrap, then packed tight into quart bags (1/5-2 pounds each). I hate it how chicken I have made in the past has been very dry (to the point of almost giving up on chicken). Anyway, I doubled the recipe, and the chicken dish I made for a large family meal (serving 19) turned out great and very tender. I was surprised when I checked in my trash to see the date on the chicken ziploc bags that the chicken was 7 years old. I guess it’s good I didn’t look at the date beforehand! I’m not planning to buy chicken in bulk again, but I know that if I’m using older meat, brining is a way to help it be tender. By the way, there were not signs of freezer burn. I must have had to do with the way it was packaged.
Glad this brining method worked so well for you!
I’ve always just winged it when it comes to brine for my bird. I figured I’d try to pin down the correct ratio of water to salt. I did this brine for the 4th over about 8 boneless, skinless thighs. Honestly, this seems too salty for my liking. I received praise from almost everyone who ate it, but I’m pretty critical of my grilled chicken. If you prefer a restaurant level of saltiness, stick with this mixture. Personally, I will cut the salt by at least 25% or more and try again. Overall, it will make for a juicy bird, but I’ll take less salt in mine please.
Great info and simple as. Result is amazing. Really
So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the wonderful review!
I just wanted to add, I actually brine my chicken overnight… sometimes over 24 hours because our plans changed, and the chicken didn’t taste salty. I used one teaspoon of salt for the 7 wings in approx. one cup of liquid. I also didn’t boil or ice. I mixed straight herbs in the liquid in a bag, put it in the frig and cooked the next day! Yummy every time for the last 10 years. Friends always ask my recipe!
I use this recipe on bone in, skin on chicken thighs EVERY time. Get a kitchen scale for precise measurements. I always do the 2-3 version as that is what fits into my schedule. A tremendous bribe. Literally throw any herb you have into this brine for added flavor. My favorites? Fresh rosemary, thyme, crushed garlic and peppercorns. Love love.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂