How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Jenna · This post may contain affiliate links · 8 Comments

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A simple chicken brine recipe with only 3 ingredients that produces juicy and moist chicken! Flavor it up with your favorite seasonings and BBQ when ready to cook on the grill or smoker.

How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (1)

I love to smoke my chicken or grill it in the Summertime and I decided to smoke my whole chicken. If you decide to smoke your meat, make sure your grill is properly clean and follow the instructions on how to start it up.

My Traeger requires a pre-smoke if you must call it that and every SUMMER I forget that needs to be done and I just turn it to whatever temperature it needs to be at right away. When that happens the smoker reaches the highest temp it can go and then I have to shut it off and wait for the whole smoker to get back down to room temperature. I will have another post on Wednesday for smoking a whole chicken in the smoker.

This brine is perfect for my Smoked Whole Chicken Recipe. I also liked Smoked Corn on the Cob, Smoked Almonds or Easy Smoked Salmon.

Jump to:
  • Why You Will Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients for Basic Chicken Brine
  • Other Ingredients for Brine
  • How to make a Basic Chicken Brine
  • Tips for Basic Chicken Brine
  • Recipe FAQs
  • How to Brine a Chicken - Basic Chicken Brine Recipe

Why You Will Love This Recipe

A simple yet basic chicken brine recipe should only consist of 3 ingredients. My recipe has water, sugar, and salt. THAT IS IT and it produces a moist and juicy chicken no matter what method you decide to cook yours at.

The outcome of this chicken was so flavorful and it reminded me of this Woodfire restaurant near me that makes some of THE BEST smoked chicken. The chicken was so juicy and tender and now I can't wait to make leftovers with it this week. I'll have my method for how I smoke it up on my blog Wednesday

Make this brine before you go to bed at night so the chicken brines all day and night in the fridge and it’s ready to go whenever you decide to cook it.

Ingredients for Basic Chicken Brine

How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (2)
  • Water - No chicken stock is needed for this brine. The chicken flavors the water itself.
  • Sugar - can also use brown sugar
  • Salt - always use Kosher salt
  • Whole Chicken - Chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks, or any type of chicken you have in your fridge or freezer. Just make sure to thaw them out before brining. Turkey is also good brined.
  • See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Other Ingredients for Brine

You can add more ingredients to your chicken brine such as whole peppercorns, lemons, herbs, whole garlic, and oranges but that is a more complex chicken brine recipe.

How to make a Basic Chicken Brine

Step 1: Mix brine ingredients together well with a whisk.

How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (3)

Step 2: Place 1 whole chicken weighing 3 to 6 pounds (thawed) in the brine for 8 hours overnight. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

Note: It's ok if the chicken isn't fully submerged in the brine. Flip it every 2 or 3 hours.

How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (4)

Step 3: Remove chicken from the brine and rinse the chicken well. The chicken is ready to for whatever seasoning is in the pantry. I like Dano's or Stone Wall Kitchen's Blackened Dry Rub seasoning.

Tips for Basic Chicken Brine

  • This also works with turkey or turkey breast meat If doing a whole turkey, put your turkey in an insulated cooler with enough water to cover and add in a 5 pound bag of ice. Brine overnight. Use same measurements for salt and sugar.
  • For those on WW and wondering how to count the points for this recipe I simply wouldn’t since you are removing the bird from the brine and getting rid of any excess brine by rinsing it off under the water. If you are a super tracker count the amount of sugar used. Not sure on how you would count servings for a whole chicken. Depends on the number of pounds and how you end up dividing it into servings.
  • Find whatever cooking vessel large enough to store the chicken in while it is marinating. I just used one of my large dutch ovens and filled it with water. Freezer gallon bags also work well with this!

Recipe FAQs

Can you leave chicken in brine too long?

You can leaveyourchickenin the wetbrinefor up to two days (a larger turkeycan handle more without becoming overly salty), but the liquidwillneed at least 12 hours to work its magic.

Do you rinse chicken after brining?

Some people tend to lean away from brines because of the salt and they think that the end product will be so salty. That is simply not the case here since you’re removing the brine from the bird and patting it dry with a paper towel before you cook it.

If you tried this How to Brine Chicken or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries

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How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (6)

How to Brine a Chicken - Basic Chicken Brine Recipe

★★★★★5 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Jenna
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours
  • Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Basic Chicken Brine - A simple chicken brine with only 3 ingredients that produce juicy and moist chicken!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 galloncold water(16 cups)
  • 1⁄2 cupkosher salt (reduce to ¼ cup if using regular table salt)
  • 2⁄3 cuplight brown sugar

Instructions

  1. Mix brine ingredients together well with a whisk.
  2. Place 1 whole chicken weighing 3 to 6 pounds (thawed) in the brine for 8 hours overnight. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
  3. Remove chicken from brine and rinse the chicken well under water. You are now ready to make a tender juicy chicken dish of your choosing.

Notes

It's ok if the chicken isn't fully submerged in the brine. Flip it every 2 or 3 hours.

  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Brine
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1

Keywords: how to make chicken brine

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Ann Hardesty says

    this is my first time and going to try it today , hoping for juicy fajitas . will keep you posted

  2. Deb says

    By far the best juicy chicken made at home in my Pampered Chef quick cooker. I did not rinse the brine off. Patted dry and added rotisserie season all over before quick cooking for 35 minutes. Fall off the bone delicious. I’ve made 3 and will use this often.

  3. Jenna says

    Definitely! 🙂

  4. Emily says

    Great base recipe to branch off!
    Love.

  5. Brandi says

    Sounds very easy and yummy. I'm doing this today.

  6. iqos uae says

    Very useful content.. loving it. Thank you

  7. Jenna says

    Rinsing off the brine is fine if you so wish to do so before patting it dry. But it is not necessary.

  8. RN says

    This sounds great! Thank you for sharing! So it sounds like you don’t rinse off the brine but pat it dry only. Is that correct? Thank you!

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How to Brine a Chicken for Smoking - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

How long should you brine a chicken before smoking? ›

Let chicken brine for 30 minutes – 3 hours for breasts and thighs or 12-24 hours for a whole chicken. Remove from brine and pat dry with clean paper towel. Then smoke however you wish (we love these Smoked Chicken Thigh and Smoked Chicken Breast recipes).

What is the formula for brine? ›

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 formula for brining chicken? ›

My standard brine recipe is essentially: 4 cups of cold water and 6 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt OR 4 1/2 tablespoons Morton's kosher salt OR 3 tablespoons fine or table salt. Note that it really matters what kind of salt you have and how much you use.

How long should chicken sit in brine? ›

How long to brine your chicken depends on what kind of chicken you're using.
  1. For skinless breasts, brine for two hours.
  2. For bone-in pieces, brine for four hours.
  3. For whole chickens, brine for at least four hours or up to overnight.
Nov 9, 2023

Should you pierce chicken before brining? ›

While poking holes in your chicken while marinating it can be helpful, it's not mandatory. Mostly, this method helps if you don't have several hours to spare when marinating your poultry. Poking holes in your chicken can allow the marinade to penetrate better in a shorter period.

Do you rinse brine off chicken before smoking? ›

Do You Rinse Chicken After Brining? You do not have to. Simply remove the meat from the solution and pat it dry with a paper towel. Discard the brine.

Do I need to put sugar in brine? ›

Along with salt, sugar (either brown or white granulated) is a dry-brine must-have, essential both for its browning capabilities and flavor-enhancing properties.

How much sugar do you put in brine? ›

Ingredients
  1. 4 cups water.
  2. ¼ cup packed brown sugar.
  3. ¼ cup kosher salt.

How much sugar goes in a brine? ›

Mix 1 cup (227 grams) of salt for each gallon (3.78 liters) of water you use in your brine. If you make sweet brine, mix 1 cup (227 grams) of brown sugar plus 1 cup of salt per gallon. Cut the salt and sugar by half if you need just a half gallon (1.89 liters), or by 3/4 if you need just 1 quart (. 946 liter).

Do I rinse chicken after brining? ›

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. From here, cook the meat according to your favorite recipe.

How much salt do you put in a chicken brine? ›

Bone-in Chicken Pieces (4 pounds): Mix 2 quarts cold water with ½ cup table salt; brine ½ to 1 hour. Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts (up to 6 breasts): Mix 1½ quarts cold water with 3 tablespoons table salt; brine ½ to 1 hour. Note: Do not brine longer than recommended or foods will become overly salty.

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

Tips & Techniques > Salt Ratios for Brining
  1. Standard Brine: 2 tablespoons table salt per liter or quart of water/liquid.
  2. Moderate Brine: 3 tablespoons table salt per liter or quart of water/liquid.
  3. Strong Brine: 4 to 5 tablespoons table salt per liter or quart of water/liquid.

Do you refrigerate chicken while brining? ›

Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 6. It's just that easy.

Should chicken be refrigerated while brining? ›

Chicken can safely rest in its brining solution for anywhere from a few hours to two days, but generally, for a liquid based brine, you'll want to stick to about one hour of resting in the fridge per pound of meat you're preparing.

Is 2 hours long enough to brine chicken? ›

Pour hot brine over ice and stir to dissolve completely. Add chicken or chicken pieces and brine for 2-3 hours at room temperature or 4-6 hours in the refrigerator. Drain, discard herbs and garlic, and pat very, very dry.

Can you brine chicken too long? ›

If you go to extremes, such as leaving chicken in brine for more than 24 hours, you'll get overly-salted chicken. It can also change the texture of the chicken. When in doubt, 1 hour per pound is always a good plan.

Is brining chicken for 2 hours enough? ›

Chicken can safely rest in its brining solution for anywhere from a few hours to two days, but generally, for a liquid based brine, you'll want to stick to about one hour of resting in the fridge per pound of meat you're preparing.

What is the minimum time for brine? ›

Brine Times
Shrimp or scallops:15 to 30 minutes
Turkey breast:4 to 12 hours
Whole turkey:12 to 24 hours
Boneless pork chops:30 minutes
Bone-in pork chops:30 minutes to 1 hour
8 more rows
Oct 23, 2020

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