Lemon Brine Chicken

Start this in the brine early in the day, and by evening you’ll have moist, lemony chicken. It’s a classic flavor combination!

I’m not usually the one to do the grilling in our family, but I must have learned a little something watching over the years because this chicken turned out pretty well.

My parents have been brining the Thanksgiving turkey for the last few years.  (Brining is soaking the meat in a salty, spicy solution before cooking.) It makes for very moist, flavorful meat.  I would love to tell you that I always fix chicken this way, but the truth is I don’t usually plan that far in advance.  (That’s why I don’t have a list of crock pot recipes for you too!)

I had to take photos outside to get the last bit of natural light.  The chicken looks pretty good; the taste was even better!

Lemon Brine Chicken

Recipe type: Lemon Brine Chicken

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8 - 10

 

Chicken that's moist and full of flavor

Ingredients

• 4 quarts water
• ⅔ cup kosher salt
• 3 lemons, quartered
• ⅛ cup dried parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small onion, sliced
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 - 5 pounds chicken, cut up (I used a jumbo package of thighs)

Instructions

1. Place water and salt in a large dutch oven, heat just enough to dissolve salt.
2. Squeeze lemons over the  dutch oven, add the fruit as well as the juice.
3. Add parsley, onion, garlic, and pepper.
4. Add chicken to dutch oven.  The water should just cover the chicken.
5. Cover dutch oven and refrigerate 6 - 8 hours.
6. Grill or bake as usual.  I used indirect heat on a gas grill for about an hour and then medium direct heat to crisp up the skin.
7. It looks like this chicken thigh is haning out of Wee Dax’s mouth like some kind of giant poultry stoggie, but it’s an optical illusion. He was just hoping I’d turn my back.