Poultry Brine Recipe & Method

close up view of poultry brine in a large bowl with two cockerels

This poultry brine recipe is a beautifully balanced mix of earthy herbs like sage and thyme with warming notes from spices like cinnamon and star anise, all married together with bright fresh flavor notes from raw garlic and citrus.

Course Roasting

Cuisine International

Keyword brine, Chicken, Roasting, turkey

Prep Time 10

Brine Time 10

Total Time 10 10

Servings

Calories 119kcal

Equipment

1 large container with lid large enough to fit poultry and brine

Ingredients

salt solution

1 liters water about a quarter of a gallon
2 tablespoons salt

flavouring ingredients

3 tablespoons dried star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh sage about half a cup
1 bunch fresh thyme about half a cup
1 bunch fresh rosemary about half a cup
4 cloves raw garlic sliced
1 lemon quartered
1 orange quartered

Instructions

Place the poultry in a container with a lid and add all the flavouring ingredients.*
Depending on the size of the container, mix up a liter of salt solution at a time by adding the salt to water and stirring until dissolved.
Pour it over the poultry. Mix more as needed.
Once the poultry is fully covered in brine, place lid on container and put it in a cold place (fridge or outside if below 4 C / 40 F).
Leave the poultry in brine for at least 10 hours or up to 24.
Take the poultry out of the brine one hour before you want to put it in the oven.
Pat the poultry dry and roast it, setting the time to 20% less than you normally would.
Poultry is ready when an internal read thermometer reads 74 C / 165 F.

Notes

* The flavouring ingredients are enough for up to 4 liters / 1 gallon of salt solution. Any more than that and you can add more but it doesn't have to be exact scaling.

Nutrition