SWEET TEA BRINE

Sweet Tea Brine image

Provided by Staci Cakes

Time 1h

Number Of Ingredients 11

4 lb chicken
2 of your favorite family-sized tea bags
4 c water
2 c ice
1/8 - 1/4 c salt (i use kosher or sea salt) you can safely use 1/8 cup of salt if watching your sodium
1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 large lemon, thinly sliced

Steps:

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover and let steep for 10 minutes.
2. Remove tea bags. Add sugar and salt to tea, stir until dissolved.
3. Add rosemary, pepper, garlic, onion, and lemon to tea, mixing well. Cool completely. When completely cooled, stir in 2 cups of ice until melted - brine should be cold.
4. Transfer cold brine to plastic bowl(with lid) or heavy duty zip locking freezer bag. Completely submerge chicken in brine. Place in fridge 24 hours before cooking. *If you use a freezer bag, do yourself a favor and put the bag in a large bowl in case of leakage.
5. Before grilling, drain and discard brine and then pat chicken dry before grilling. Do not rinse chicken.