There are many reason you’d want to brine your fowl, foremost is taste and texture of the finished bird and second, it seasons the meat throughout and not just on the surface as rubs do, and it renders a dark crispy skin when cooked. It’s best to start the brine at least 24 hrs before cooking, but you can soak up to three days in advance, just keep the bird cold as you brine. This recipe is for a 15 lb bird so adjust accordingly. You will want to use a container just big enough for the bird to be fully submersed
Ingredients
- 2 cups Brown sugar
- 1 cup Kosher salt
- 1 Onion – sliced then halved
- 6 Garlic cloves – smashed
- 2 TBL Whole Peppercorn
- 2 tsp dried Rosemary
- 1 tsp dried Thyme
- 1 tsp Cloves – optional but know what you’re doing
Process
- Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Brine Bird
- Place 1 gallon of warm water in your brine bucket.
- Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Place bird in brine bucket and add more water to cover the bird.
- Cover and place in fridge until ready to cook.
- Prepare Bird for Cooking
- Two hours before cooking, remove bird from brine.
- Thoroughly rinse bird of brine (inside and out).
- Place on rack and allow to dry or 1 hour.
- Pat dry with paper towels.
- Rub olive oil on surface.
- Smoke or roast the bird as you normally would
