The Best Dry-Brined Roast Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long should you dry brine a chicken? ›

Add the chicken and rub the brine in really well, ensuring it is well covered inside and out. Put a cooling rack over a tray and sit the chicken on top. Chill uncovered in the fridge for at least 4 hours and preferably overnight, but no longer than 24 hours.

Better Browning and Crispier Skin

Dry surfaces brown, wet ones don't. So when you blast a dry-brined piece of meat with heat, whether searing in a skillet or finishing in a hot oven, you achieve Maillard browning really fast, which means you're less likely to overcook your food in the quest for a mahogany crust.

METHOD 1: OVERNIGHT DRYING WITH SALT

In proper roast chicken speak, showering the bird with salt and letting it chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days, is referred to as air-drying or dry-brining—an easy technique that many cooks use to achieve a crispy-skinned bird.

No, there is no need to rinse dry brined chicken! The salt will have penetrated the chicken, so it won't be too salty. Just make sure you don't salt it again before cooking!

The best salt for dry brining is kosher salt because it sticks the best and distributes evenly. Coarse sea salt will also work, though, if you have it handy. Steer clear of fine sea salt or regular table salt — if it's all you have, it'll work, but you'll need to cut the recommended amount in half.

So, what is dry brining? Simply put, it involves salting and then resting food before cooking it. Dry brining uses the food's own moisture to form the brine that then soaks back in. Along with producing juicy, flavorful results, dry brining also helps us achieve better browning and crispy skin.

The difference is that a dry brine does everything that wet brine does but without liquid, which is great for a few reasons. One, it's a hell of a lot less messy—if you've ever tried to find a container to hold a whole chicken and a bunch of saltwater, you know what we're talking about.

Cover the pot with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 2 days. Some recipes mention brining your bird in an ice filled cooler, but to be sure your brine and bird stay cold enough and avoid any food safety issues, it's best to keep it in the refrigerator.

The soaking chicken in brine leads to the meat being wet and soggy. This then leads to the chicken skin being soft and not crispy, which can also make the skin rubbery. Alternatively, try dry brining. Applying salt the day before will enhance the chicken's flavor.

Do you season after brining? You can absolutely season your meat after brining. Keep in mind that the brine is very salt-rich, so you won't need to add any extra salt. Feel free to season with your favorite dry rub after brining.

Is cornstarch or baking soda better for crispy chicken? ›

Ingredient Tips

My not-so-secret tip to the best fried chicken is a combination of FLOUR, CORNSTARCH, and BAKING POWDER. When mixed with the flour, the cornstarch makes the flour coating crispier and gives it that golden brown color!

Basic Brine

Place that volume of water in a container large enough to hold the brine and the meat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt for every cup of water you used and mix until the salt is completely dissolved. For example, if you are using 1 gallon (16 cups) of water, add 16 tablespoons (1 cup) of salt.

Dry brining is actually a bit simpler than traditional wet brining, and is much more convenient for large pieces. I wholeheartedly recommend that you try dry-brining a turkey, for instance.

You can leave your chicken in the wet brine for up to two days (a larger turkey can handle more without becoming overly salty), but the liquid will need at least 12 hours to work its magic. Don't want to go through the trouble of making a wet brine? Just don't add water.

Time is clearly an important factor in brining a chicken. Generally, the longer the better, but it can vary depending on the thickness of the meat. As mentioned before, for whole chickens, classic wet brines can be left on for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 2 days.

A good dry brine takes anywhere from 24-48 hours but you can short cut it if you need to. Dry brining steak is a great way to make sure your steak is super flavorful. Use this method on anything from ribeye to flank to filet cuts – in fact, this will work well on any beef cut!

Dry brining seems to be a miracle of delicious proportions. Possible drawbacks would include the space needed to dry brine, which is still considerably less than wet brining. There is also the time factor. It can range from 45 minutes to 72 hours.