ROASTED HERB BRINED CHICKEN

Brining chicken before roasting makes the meat more tender and flavourful. This tasty roast chicken is great as a weeknight supper or as a centerpiece for a special occasion dinner.

Yield: Serves 4.

ROASTED HERB BRINED CHICKEN

Ingredients

  • 4 quarts water
  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp rosemary, crumbled
  • 1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
  • 1 tsp thyme, crumbled
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 broiler chicken (3 lb)

Directions

  1. To prepare brine, combine all ingredients except chicken in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar.
  2. Remove from heat; cool completely. Pour brine into a large food-safe nonreactive container.
  3. Submerge chicken in brine. As chicken will float, weigh it down using a plate with a jar of water on it. Keep chicken submerged completely. Cover container and refrigerate for 4 hours.
  4. Remove chicken from brine; discard brine.
  5. Rinse chicken under cold running water; pat chicken dry with paper towels.
  6. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast at 500ºF for 20 minutes.
  7. Reduce temperature to 450ºF and continue roasting for 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into chicken registers 180ºF.
  8. Transfer chicken to a platter and cover with foil. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving.
Nutritional analysis per serving:

399 calories, 10 g fat, 69.5 g protein, 3.1 g carbohydrate, 0 g fibre, 5822 mg sodium