Simple Chicken Brine (2024)

  1. Pour warm water into a container that is twice the volume of the water. Add salt, soy sauce, sugar, and olive oil; stir until sugar and salt have dissolved. Allow brine to cool to room temperature.

    Simple Chicken Brine (1)

More About This Recipe:

This chicken brine recipe results in perfectly tender and flavorful chicken every time. Plus, it comes together quickly with just five ingredients you probably already have on hand!

How to Brine Chicken

You'll find a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions in the recipe above, but let's go over the basics:

Chicken Brine Ingredients

These are the five simple ingredients you’ll need to make this chicken brine recipe:

  • Water: This simple chicken brine starts with a gallon of warm water.
  • Salt: Kosher salt tenderizes the meat, helps it retain moisture, and adds flavor.
  • Soy sauce: Soy sauce lends even more salt and flavor.
  • Sugar: White sugar adds subtle sweetness and helps promote browning.
  • Olive oil: Olive oil helps ensure moist and tender meat.

From the Editor

Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of brine ingredients. The actual amount of brine consumed will vary.

How to Make Brine for Chicken

Here’s a brief overview of what you can expect when you make chicken brine at home: Pour the warm water into a large container, then stir in the remaining ingredients until the salt has dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

How Long to Brine Chicken

How long to brine your chicken depends on what kind of chicken you’re using.

  • For skinless breasts, brine for two hours.
  • For bone-in pieces, brine for four hours.
  • For whole chickens, brine for at least four hours or up to overnight.

How to Use Chicken Brine

Always brine foods in a food-grade, nonreactive container such as a stainless steel or enameled stockpot. You can also use a brining bag or a food-grade plastic bucket.

Using the brine is simple: Just place the chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for the recommended time depending on the type of chicken you’re using.

What to Serve With Chicken

Looking for serving inspiration for chicken? We’ve got you covered. Explore these mouthwatering recipe collections for crowd-pleasing ideas:

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“Been using this brine for years,” according toEE L. “I'll add a half teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder and it is great.”

“This is my go-to brine recipe,” saysAlain DeWitt. “I've used it with chicken, turkey, and duck. Easy and adaptable by adding your own seasonings.”

“Delicious,” ravesEmily co*ker Wedgewood. “The only changes I made were to substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce. I added a little bit more salt because the coconut aminos don’t have quite as much sodium as the soy sauce.”

Editorial contributions byCorey Williams

Simple Chicken Brine (2024)

FAQs

What is the simple brine formula? ›

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

How long should I brine chicken? ›

The rule of thumb is to let a chicken brine for approximately one hour per pound of meat, though you may want to lengthen or shorten that time depending on the strength of your salt solution or the level of salt you want to achieve.

What is the best salt brine ratio? ›

What Is the Brine Ratio? The basic ratio of salt to water for a brine is 4 tablespoons of kosher salt per 1 quart (4 cups) of water. If you are using fine table salt, reduce the amount to 3 tablespoons. Keep in mind, also, that different kosher salt brands vary in how salty they actually are.

What is the best brine method? ›

Dry-brining is our preferred method for seasoning both large and small pieces of meat, poultry, and sometimes even seafood. Along with producing juicy, flavorful results, dry-brining also helps us get better Maillard browning and crispy skin.

What is the ratio of sugar to water for brine? ›

As a general starting point, take one gallon of water and add 3/4 cup (preferable - but you can use up to a cup) of salt (Kosher is best), 1/2 cup of sugar and then the rest is up to you. Sliced onions are nice, a few cloves of crushed garlic add a nice flavor and then there's the spices and herbs.

Can you brine chicken in just salt water? ›

Brining is simply soaking your meat in a salt water solution before cooking it.

Do I rinse chicken after brining? ›

What to Do After the Meat Is Brined. After waiting the appropriate amount of time, remove the meat from the brine and pat it dry with a paper towel. You won't need to rinse it with fresh water unless you accidentally brined it for too long.

Is Chick Fil A chicken marinated in pickle juice? ›

One common misconception is that Chick Fil A uses pickle juice as a sole marinade. While pickle juice is indeed a key component, it is just one part of the overall marinade. The use of various spices and ingredients, along with the pickle juice, contributes to the complex flavor profile of Chick Fil A's chicken.

Can you over brine chicken? ›

Not only does this flavor the chicken, but it also helps the chicken retain juices while cooking, giving you a juicier final product. There is a word of caution with this trick. If you over-brine the chicken, you'll end up with some kind of cured chicken with an odd texture, which isn't great.

How to make 2 salt brines? ›

To get a liter of 2% brine, fill a pitcher with 1000 ml. of water (1 liter), multiplying by . 02, which equals 20, which is the amount of salt to add (in grams) to the water.

How to brine chicken breasts? ›

Brine the chicken.

Fill a large bowl with 1 quart of warm water and 1/4 cup kosher salt. Stir to combine until most of the salt is absorbed. Add the chicken breasts and let them sit in the mixture to brine for 15 minutes, or you can also also cover the bowl and refrigerate for up to 6 hours.

What is brine formula? ›

Overall process: 2 NaCl + 2 H 2O → Cl 2 + H 2 + 2 NaOH.

Why do you put sugar in a brine? ›

Sugar: This is an optional ingredient and is typically used to balance the saltiness of a brine. Use about 2 tablespoons per quart of liquid. You can decrease that amount if desired, but I wouldn't recommend using any more or it could make the final cooked protein burn easier and taste too sweet.

Is vinegar a good brine? ›

When Top Chef winner Kristen Kish took over the responsibility of cooking Thanksgiving dinner, she gave her brother the job of roasting the turkey. This recipe, which she taught him, uses cider vinegar as the brine, which tenderizes it and yields flavorful drippings perfect for pan jus.

What is brine solution formula? ›

The chemical formula of ammoniacal brine solution is \[N{{H}_{3}}+NaCl+{{H}_{2}}O. \] Brine is a saturated salt solution of sodium chloride. Ammoniacal brine is a commercially important chemical used in the ammonia soda process. It can be used to make sodium carbonate soda ash and other chemicals.

What is the mixture of brine? ›

A brine is essentially just salted water, but for such a simple solution it can do many things. Brines are used to salt cheeses such as feta and halloumi, not only for flavour, but to inhibit the growth of a variety of moulds, to preserve it and in some cases to draw out moisture, helping it to develop a rind.

What is the ratio for dry brine? ›

You may even want to cut off an end bone if it is small or has little/no meat on it. Pat the racks dry with paper towel. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt) per pound of meat.

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