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Deliciously moist and flavorful Brined and Roasted Chicken. This easy recipe is perfect for when you have just a few people eating chicken for dinner. This also works perfectly for turkey pieces so you don’t have to roast a whole turkey for thanksgiving.
Serve this chicken with one pot Creamy Mushroom Orzo for an easy to make dinner!
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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
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Recipe development
Dan started working on Brined and Roasted Chicken to make it great for his World Famous Gumbo. He likes to make the chicken separately so that I can eat the Gumbo as a vegetarian dish.
Since then, we’ve noticed that people will take a simple piece of chicken, and be very happy with it. We also like to do a mini Thanksgiving where he’ll make chicken instead of turkey (he really can’t eat a whole turkey all by himself, and this makes him just as happy as a turkey would).
Perfect for adding chicken to stews and other dishes
After roasting it he will cut some into smaller pieces for people to take a bit of chicken, especially the kids like their food plain, so this works well for them. And, then he’ll shred some of the chicken to add into the his gumbo.
The leftover shredded chicken also works well for his lunches. I’ll mix the chicken with a little sauce, maybe teriyaki or enchilada sauce, throw that on some rice with whatever veggies are in the fridge, and voila! a nice easy lunch that he thinks is delicious!
Or, I’ll toss a small handful of shredded chicken into a quesadilla with some veggies so he can have a chicken quesadilla. I also like to put some on a salad for him, like this Farmer’s Market Salad.
Serve this chicken with a simple side dish or Air Fryer Ranch Carrots or Creamy Poblano Spaghetti (Espagueti Verde) for a delicious and easy family friendly dinner.
Top some of my one pot rice cooker meal with this chicken for a family pleasing meal!
Spice on top
In some of the pictures you’ll see some spices on top of the chicken. Dan used his favorite mesquite spice blend. This Summer Grill Spice comes really close to his recipe. Give it a whirl on top of this Brined and Roasted Chicken.
And, one of the things I really like about this oven roasting method of cooking chicken is that it keeps any mess off of the stove, so clean up’s a breeze!
Thanksgiving dinner
Suggestions for mini Thanksgiving dishes include Simple Roasted Cranberry Sauce, Potatoes Fondantes (Smashed Potatoes with Rosemary), Vegetarian Stuffing, Maple Thyme Roasted Carrots, and Chipotle-Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
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Use this recipe for thanksgiving turkey as well
This year, 2019, we decided to make a smaller amount of turkey for Thanksgiving. I went to the store and got 2 bone in turkey breasts and 2 bone in turkey thighs. We used this recipe to brine and roast the turkey for thanksgiving dinner.
The turkey turned out perfectly. Moist. Flavorful. Easy to make. Clean up was super easy. And we didn’t have a whole turkey to carve and clean up after.
We will be doing this again for thanksgiving next year. Oh, and it’s perfect for Friendsgiving!
Recipe
Brined and Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup kosher salt or 1/4 cup table salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon ground thyme optional
- 1/2 tablespoon sage optional
- 1 quart water
- 1.5-2 pounds of chicken bone-in thighs
- 2-2.5 lbs boneless skinless breasts chicken
- Sprinkle of Grill Spice optional https://lifecurrentsblog.com/summer-grill-spice/
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except chicken and grill spice, in a large bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add chicken to brine, and refrigerate, covered for 1 hour.
- Remove chicken from brine, and dispose of the brining liquid.
- Use large roasting pan or foil tray with edges, and place chicken in the tray. Sprinkle with Grill Spice if desired.
- Roast, uncovered, in 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Flip chicken over, and continue to roast for an additional 30 minutes. Use an instant read thermometer to temp the doneness of the poultry. Remove the chicken/turkey from the oven when the temperature reads 160 degrees for the white meat, and the dark meat is 175 degrees. Cover the pan with foil, and the temperature will continue to rise in the meat. Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes for chicken, and 10 to 20 minutes for larger turkey pieces. The final temps should be: white meat 165 degrees F and the dark meat should be 180 degrees F. Chop, carve, or shred as desired.
Video
Notes
The sodium will be calculated into the recipe nutrition analysis. This amount is incorrect. All of the salt is not absorbed into the chicken.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
CulinaryGinger (@culinaryginger)
I am a huge fan of brining, even if I making bone in chicken breasts I see a huge difference. Loving your grill spice.
Molly ~ EasycookingwithMolly
This looks like such a simple yet delicious recipe. I love the idea of brining and then roasting teh chicken, must have added so much flavor.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
Wow this looks so yummy and juicy and I love how easy it is to make!! Thanks for sharing!
Ludmilla
I love brining chicken breast!! It makes so moist and flavorful!!
ginger and scotch
I’m also a huge fan of brining chicken breasts to keep them nice and moist.
Annemarie @ justalittlebitofbacon
That’s a great method for making chicken! I love how easy and juicy looking it is. 🙂
Florian @ContentednessCooking
This looks so easy! I bet this will impress a bunch of people.
pattyanderson54p
We haven’t brined anything in a while. Thanks for the reminder. I LOVE the color on the skin.
fabfood4all
I’ve heard about brined chicken but I’ve never tried it, I think I have to give it a go now as it looks delicious:-)
peter @feedyoursoultoo
Brining is such an important first step. This looks delicious and you made it look so good.
foodyschmoody
brining is key for a nice chicken breast. these ones look and sound absolutely perfect!
Angela
I really love chicken thighs! They are budget friendly, juicy and easy! This recipe sounds really fantastic! The brining is such a great idea!
April J Harris (@apriljharris)
Love this, Debi! I’ve heard so much about brining turkeys but never pieces of chicken. Your recipe is easy, it can be stored in the fridge while brining and the chicken looks so good! I’m excited to give this a try!
KC the Kitchen Chopper
Thanks for the inspiration. I cook chicken in so many ways but have never brined any. On my “to do” list.
taranoland
We love brining poultry, makes such a difference, this looks great!!