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Alton Brown Brining Chicken

Alton Brown Brining Chicken Recipe

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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
Brining time 7 hours
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2 people
Calories 432 kcal

Equipment

  • One zip-top freezer bag (2 gallons)
  • Pizza stones
  • Heavy kitchen shears
  • Meat thermometer
  • Ordinary household or box-style fan

Ingredients
  

  • 2-4 pounds of chicken
  • ½ cup kosher salt 75g
  • 2 cups hot water 500g
  • 500 g ice
  • 57 g unsalted butter
  • 5 g pepper
  • 4 g za’atar
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt divided

Instructions
 

  • Prepare your chicken. Do this by placing the chicken on a cutting board with the breast side down. Use the shears to cut the ribs on one side of the backbone and remove both simultaneously.
  • Cut through the membrane along the breast to remove the keel bone, separating the breast into halves. You may be forced to work with bare hands to remove this bone.
  • Flip the chicken face up and flatten it as you pull the legs towards you to make the chicken look like a big meaty butterfly.
  • Set the chicken aside, wash your hands and move on to prepare the brine.
  • Take the zip-lock freezer bag and place it in a pot or container, pour in hot water, then the salt. Star the two to mix until the salt dissolves. Add in the ice, then your chicken and seal the bag. Ensure the chicken is properly covered in the water mixture and refrigerate for 7-12 hours.
  • After storing in the fridge to brine, remove it and drain thoroughly. Set it aside on a rack and pat dry with paper towels. Do not remove the skin. Leave the meat in front of a fan to dry for 2 hours or until it feels tight, dry and leathery.
  • Place a rack in the oven and arrange the pizza stones on it. Add another rack 6 inches below it and preheat the oven to 550 °F for 1 hour.
  • In the meantime, prepare the butter and spice mix. Combine butter, za’atar and pepper in a measuring cup and cook on low heat for 3-5 minutes or until butter is red and sweet smelling.
  • Back to the chicken, place it side down and brush it with a generous amount of the butter mixture. Season it with ½ tsp.—kosher salt.
  • Put a cup of water in a pan and place it on the bottom rack in the oven to help absorb smoke and dripping as the chicken roasts. Roast the chicken on the top rack for about 10 minutes.
  • Carefully but quickly remove the chicken rack from the oven, place the bird side up, baste with the remaining butter mixture, and season with the other ½ tsp. salt. Set it back in the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until it gets an internal temperature of 160 °F.
  • Once cooked, remove the chicken from the oven, and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes to give it time to reabsorb the juices and serve.
Keyword Alton Brown Brining Chicken, Brining Chicken Recipe