Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 8 cups strongly-brewed sweet tea
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • ½ cup coarse kosher salt (do not use table salt)
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 3-4 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces or 1 whole chicken (about 4-5 lbs.)

Instruction

  • In a large pot, combine sweet tea, lemon juice, kosher salt, pepper, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, garlic and onion. Bring to a simmer over high heat. You do not need to rapidly boil the liquid; just whisk to make sure that the salt is dissolved.
  • Remove from heat and cool completely.
  • Once the brine is cool, add chicken to the brine and submerge in the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours (for bone-in chicken pieces) or 8-24 hours (for a whole chicken).
  • Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse with cool water. Pat dry.