Best 6 Brined Whole Chicken With Lemon And Thyme Recipes

CHICKEN BRINE RECIPE

Steps:

• Place the water, salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley and lemons in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes or until salt has dissolved.
• Turn off the heat and cool completely.
• Add the chicken to the cooled brine. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged.
• Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
• Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse with cool water; pat dry with paper towels. Proceed with roasting, smoking or frying the chicken.

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.

LEMON AND THYME GRILLED CHICKEN BREASTS

Steps:

• Place chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap. Using a mallet or rolling pin, pound each to an even thickness of 1/2 inch. Do not make them any thinner or they could dry out.
• Place chicken in a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Mix in olive oil. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Remove chicken from fridge while you heat the grill.
• Light the grill, building a hot fire, or heat your gas grill to high. Once grill is fully heated, brush breasts lightly with olive oil and place chicken on the grill. Cook until undersides are browned and chicken is about halfway cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip breasts and grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Transfer chicken to a platter. Drizzle with oil and garnish with additional lemon juice, olive oil and basil or mint leaves.

GRIDDLED CHICKEN WITH LEMON & THYME

Steps:

• Mix the chicken breasts with the lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, the olive oil, garlic and thyme.
• Season, then cook on a heated griddle or on a barbecue for 4-5 mins each side. Serve the chicken with a generous dollop of hummus, a drizzle of olive oil, plus the olives and lemon wedges.

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.

ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH LEMON, THYME AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry and place, skin side up, in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in refrigerator, uncovered, for 8 hours or overnight to dry skin. Remove chicken from refrigerator at least 45 minutes before cooking.
• Heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread onion slices and garlic cloves in a baking dish that can hold the chicken snugly in a single layer. Scatter lemon on the onion-garlic mixture and strew with thyme and rosemary sprigs.
• Remove chicken from baking sheet and place on several layers of paper towels, skin side down. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Turn thighs over and season with remaining salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking dish skin side up. Use your hands to arrange the bed of onions and garlic so they're completely under the chicken.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife point. If skin is not a deep golden brown and crispy, turn on broiler and broil chicken close to heat a few minutes to crisp and brown it.
• To serve, move chicken off the bed of onions, garlic, lemon and herbs. Discard lemon and spoon the rest of the ingredients, along with pan juices, onto a serving platter. Place chicken on top and serve.