Best Brined Whole Chicken With Lemon And Thyme Recipes

LEMON-HERB CHICKEN BRINE RECIPE

Steps:

• Make the brine, by mixing warm water with the salt and honey in a large glass bowl or baking dish; stir until the salt and honey are dissolved. Cool completely then add the lemon slices, fresh parsley, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves, and black peppercorns.
• To use brine, place chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for two hours for skinless breasts, 4 hours for bone-in pieces, and 4 hours to 24 hours for whole chickens.
• After brining, remove the chicken from the brine (discard brine), rinse the chicken under cold water then pat dry. For best results, place the chicken on a plate and place it in the refrigerator for an hour to dry the skin completely.
• Take the chicken out of the refrigerator an hour before seasoning then roasting, baking, or pan searing. Enjoy.

HONEY BRINED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND SAGE

Steps:

• Mix honey, salt, water, bay leaves, and garlic together. Pull skin away from chicken just enough to place sage leaves and lemon slices under skin. Truss the chicken and tie the other end of the butcher's twine to the pot handle for a quick retrieval of the brined chicken. Place chicken in liquid and let sit in cooler for 12 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place chicken on roasting rack in oven and brush with olive oil. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until juices run clear.

HONEY-LEMON-GARLIC BRINED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• In a large plastic bag placed in a large, deep pot (a stockpot is good) combine the water, salt, honey, dried thyme, garlic halves, black pepper and sliced 1/2 lemon.
• Add chicken breasts to brine and tie up bag tightly.
• Allow chicken to brine in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 12 hours, preferably no more than 18 hours.
• When brining time is up, remove chicken from brine (no need to rinse) and place in a baking dish.
• Bake chicken, covered, in a 375 degree F oven for one hour.
• After one hour, remove cover, sprinkle the juice of 1/2 lemon over chicken breasts; drizzle each chicken breast with just over a tablespoon of honey; gently spoon some pan juices over them, and season to taste with black pepper.
• Return to oven for 20 more minutes, or until breasts are nicely browned a little.

LEMON THYME CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Set aside 4-1/2 teaspoons for sauce. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture over both sides of chicken. , In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook until juices run clear, 7-9 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm. , In the same pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender, 3-5 minutes. Stir in thyme and reserved flour mixture until blended. Gradually stir in broth and lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve over chicken. Sprinkle with thyme.

DRY-BRINED TURKEY WITH SHEET-PAN GRAVY

Steps:

• Prepare the turkey: Strip the leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme, and coarsely chop the leaves. Place in a medium bowl along with salt, brown sugar and pepper; mix to blend well.
• Place the turkey on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack. (If you do not own a wire rack, just place the turkey directly on the baking sheet.) Make sure the giblets (the bagged heart, kidneys and liver, and the neck) are removed from the cavity. Using paper towels, pat the turkey dry on all sides. Sprinkle with the salt mixture, making sure to distribute the seasoning evenly to all the bits and parts.
• Refrigerate turkey, uncovered, for 8 to 24 hours - the longer, the better.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Remove turkey from the fridge, and transfer it to another clean rimmed baking sheet (discard any liquid that has accumulated on the first baking sheet). Stuff turkey with remaining bunch of thyme, a few of the quartered onions and half of the lemons and garlic. Scatter remaining onion quarters, lemons and garlic around the turkey.
• Combine olive oil and 6 tablespoons butter in a small pot over medium heat until butter is melted. Pour half of the mixture over the turkey and onions. Toss the onions lightly to evenly coat; season everything with salt and pepper.
• Roast, rotating the baking sheet every hour or so, until the turkey has reached 160 degrees when a thermometer is inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The turkey will be cooked through and tender, and the skin will be brown, but you can and should get it browner.
• Increase temperature to 425 degrees. Pour remaining butter mixture over the turkey (warm it slightly if solidified) and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees and the skin is very deeply browned all over, 20 to 25 minutes. It's O.K. if the internal temperature is just shy of 165 degrees, it will come to temperature as it rests. (If you find the skin is browning too quickly, especially on the top at the breast, feel free to place a sheet of foil over the breast.)
• Remove turkey from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for 30 minutes (and upward of 45 minutes). Tip the turkey, cavity-side down, making sure the aromatics stay inside the cavity and letting any juices run out onto the rimmed baking sheet. (This is what we will use to make our gravy.)
• Transfer the roasted onions, lemons and garlic to another dish and set aside. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and let it continue to rest while you make the gravy.
• Make the gravy: Pour about 1 cup Cheater's Turkey Stock or chicken broth onto the baking sheet. Using a spatula (a fish spatula is great for this), scrape up the bits from the turkey drippings, just like you're deglazing a skillet after searing a piece of meat.
• Carefully pour the contents of the baking sheet into a large measuring cup or other spouted vessel. Add remaining stock until you have 4 cups of liquid; you may need more or less stock depending on how juicy the bird was.
• Melt 6 tablespoons butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is sizzling furiously and well toasted, about the color of a graham cracker, 4 to 6 minutes. (The mixture will be thick at first but will thin as the flour cooks.)
• Slowly whisk in fortified stock mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, letting it bubble, thicken and incorporate completely between additions until all of it has been added.
• Add soy sauce and vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Continue simmering until gravy is at your desired viscosity and the flavors have all melded together, 5 to 8 minutes. Add more soy sauce if you feel like it needs more depth of flavor, vinegar if you want more acidity, and salt and pepper for seasoning. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.
• To serve, carve the turkey and arrange on a large platter (or two of your largest plates) with the onions, lemons and garlic. Reheat the gravy until it's very hot and transfer to two gravy boats (glass measuring cups or coffee mugs work well if you do not own a gravy boat) and serve alongside.

BRINED WHOLE CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND THYME

Steps:

• Make the brine--in a big pot, combine the sugar, salt, and dried thyme; squeeze the lemon juice into the pot and add the juiced lemon halves.
• Add 1 gallon of cold water and stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar and salt.
• Remove and discard the neck, giblets, wing tips, and any excess fat from the chicken; submerge teh chicken in the brine, breast side down, and cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the pot and discard the brine; pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
• Lightly brush the outside of the chicken with oil.
• Season with pepper inside and out.
• Place the garlic and fresh thyme in the cavity of the chicken; tie the legs together.
• Grill, breast side up, over Indirect Medium heat until the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 170° in the breast and 180° in the thickest part of the thigh, 1 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for about 10 minutes before carving; serve warm.