Yum! This was worth the effort and my neighbors, aka The Guinea Pigs, loved it too. It is way better than your average roast chicken and perfect for company. I prepared two, four pound chickens for dinner and we all enjoyed the white meat. It was the most succulent and tender meat I have ever had – like buttah! 😉 I’m going to use the dark meat for chicken noodle soup once I make the chicken stock with the bones. If there is any meat left, then M can have it for his fave chicken salad sandwich. I will make this again for my family when I’m feeling extra generous…or I just want really amazing roast chicken. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Brined and Roasted Chicken with Herb Butter – heavily adapted from Ad Hoc at Home via Jun-Blog

Brine:

• 20 cups water, divided
• 3/4 cup Kosher salt
• 5 TBSP sugar
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 6 cloves garlic, halved at equator
• 1 lemon, halved
• 5 bay leaves
• 2 TBSP peppercorns
• 2 whole chickens

Herb Butter:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (freeze the leftover herb butter)
• 1 TBSP fresh, chopped rosemary
• 1 TBSP fresh, chopped thyme
• Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

*special equipment –

brining bag, or a two gallon Ziploc bag, kitchen string, probe thermometer, roasting pan or half sheet pan

Directions –

Add all the brine ingredients and half the water to a large pot. Bring to boil, and stir to dissolve salt, then remove from heat and chill completely. Once brine is cold, add the remaining water and chicken then refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight.

Meanwhile, prepare the herb butter – in a small bowl, mix together the softened butter and fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Next, remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and pat dry. If you have time, let chickens dry uncovered in the refrigerator for a few hours. Truss chickens and coat generously with the herb butter, (I only used a few tablespoons per chicken). Add salt and pepper to taste and place in roasting pan, insert probe thermometer into the thickest part of one of the breasts. Roast the chicken until the thermometer reads 160-165 degrees, (about 70-75 minutes with my convection roast setting).

Once the desired temperature is reached, loosely cover with foil and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Carve, serve and enjoy!