Brining Chicken

Thanks to Olay, I recently discovered there's such a thing as brine for chicken. What? Aren't brines just for pickles? I googled around and found many brine recipes. In summary, you make a salt water mixture and add whatever spices and seasoning you want, and marinate the chicken in it for no more than 24 hours. Above is one of the 3 brines I made. This one had limes, rosemary, peppercorns, and McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning.

I also made others with Mesquite BBQ seasoning and garlic powder. Also one with just Montreal Chicken seasoning. Feel free to experiment. After 24 hours, I put the chicken in the oven and broiled at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Here's the Montreal Chicken seasoning with peppercorns.

We had it for dinner with orzo pasta cooked in chicken stock and roasted grape tomatoes. I also had some broccoli threatening to go bad so I nuked them in the microwave and we dipped them in soy sauce. This turned out to be a very nutritious meal.

Brining is great for busy folks like me. I make the brine after dinner and soak my chicken in it overnight. By the time I come home from school the next day, the chicken only needs 20 mins in the oven and its done and tasty. Brining gives the chicken more flavor and keeps it from overdrying. The skin also gets really crispy. Crispier if you remove it from the brine, pat dry, and let it sit for an hour (but who has the time for this step?). I've made this 3 times so far and we loved it. We're a little chickened out for now but I'm sure this will come back onto our dinner menu.