Best Honey Barbecue Brined Chicken Recipes

HONEY BBQ CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Set aside. Pour 1/2 of the sauce in a small bowl for basting the chicken.
• I like to pound the chicken a little before I grill it so it cooks evenly. Grill the chicken on medium high heat, you want to cook it 7 to 10 minutes on each side. It tastes best if you only turn it once.
• Baste generously with the small bowl of sauce every 3 or 4 minutes. Serve with the remaining sauce on the side for dipping.

GRILLED HONEY BBQ CHICKEN

Steps:

• To a large ziptop plastic bag, add all ingredients except the optional fresh herbs. Seal bag and squish the contents around so chicken is evenly coated.
• Place bag in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour (overnight is great if you can plan ahead).*
• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat (or indoor grill pan) and grill the chicken for about 7 minutes, or until done; flip intermittently to ensure even cooking. Optionally garnish with fresh herbs and serve immediately.
• Chicken is best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.

BONELESS, SKINLESS HONEY-BRINED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Add the water, salt, and honey to a 4-quart container. Whisk until the salt is completely dissolved. Add the chicken breasts, and place a small plate on top to assure the chicken is submerged.
• Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 2 hours. Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. They're now ready to cook in any recipe that calls for boneless skinless chicken breasts.

HONEY-BRINED FRIED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Mix cold water, kosher salt, and honey in a large bowl; stir until salt dissolves. Add chicken breasts, and weigh them down with a plate to keep them completely submerged. Cover entire bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove bowl from refrigerator; drain and dry chicken. Pour buttermilk over chicken in a large bowl. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Combine flour, black pepper, garlic salt, onion salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
• Coat each chicken breast in flour mixture until well covered on all sides; place flour-coated chicken breasts on a cooling rack to dry for 15 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cook chicken breasts until browned and no longer pink in the center, about 10 to 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Transfer chicken to a cooling rack; allow to cool for 5 minutes.

HONEY BRINE

Steps:

• Bring water, salt, and honey to a simmer in a medium-size saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until salt dissolves. Let cool completely.
• Place chicken or pork in a bowl, and pour cooled brine over top. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 to 3 hours. Remove meat from brine, rinse under cold water, and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with pepper before grilling.

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.

PICKLE BRINED FRIED CHICKEN WITH HOT HONEY SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the sugar, vinegar, pickling spices, bay leaf, 1/4 cup salt and 2 cups cold water in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring, until the salt and sugar dissolve. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice. Remove the brine from the heat and pour it over the ice to cool to room temperature. Add the chicken skin-side down, being sure to keep the chicken submerged. If the chicken is not completely covered in brine, add more cold water. Cover the pot and let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate up to overnight.
• When you're ready to fry the chicken, pour enough oil into a large Dutch oven to reach about a third of the way up the side and deep enough to submerge the chicken. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with wire racks.
• Remove the chicken from the brine and place in a large bowl with the buttermilk. Put the flour in a large paper bag. Season the flour with the dill, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and remaining tablespoon salt. A few pieces at a time, transfer the chicken to the bag with the flour and shake well to coat. Place the coated chicken on the wire rack-lined cookie sheet.
• Fry the chicken in batches until golden brown and the internal temperature measures 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to another wire rack-lined baking sheet and transfer to the oven while you cook the rest of the chicken. Let cool slightly before serving with the Hot Honey Sauce.
• Stir together the honey, butter, hot sauce, paprika and cayenne in a small saucepot over medium heat. Heat and stir until smooth and all ingredients are combined.

HONEY-BARBECUE BRINED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Bring dressing just to boil in small saucepan. Add sugar and salt; cook 5 min. or until dissolved. Pour water into 2-gal. stockpot or large bowl. Stir in dressing mixture and pepper. Add chicken. Refrigerate 4 hours.
• Heat grill for indirect grilling: Light one side of grill, leaving other side unlit. Close lid; heat grill to 350ºF. Remove chicken from brine; discard brine. Rinse chicken thoroughly. Place chicken, top side down, on cutting board. Use kitchen shears to cut along one side of the backbone, then cut along the other side to remove bone. Open chicken; place, top side down, on board. Pound to even thickness.
• Mix remaining ingredients until blended.
• Place chicken on grate over unlit area; cover. Grill 40 to 50 min. or until done (165ºF), monitoring for consistent temperature and turning chicken after 20 min. and brushing with the barbecue sauce mixture for the last 15 min.

HONEY ROTISSERIE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients, except the chicken and heat in micro till honey is melted and mixture is incorperated.
• Clean and prepare chicken for rotisserie. Baste chicken with sauce and place on rotisserie on preheated grill.
• Cook for about 35 to 40 minutes at a temperature around 400 degrees F basting occasionally with sauce. When done remove from grill and wrap tightly in foil. Let rest for about 15 minutes, then carve and serve.