Thursday's Recipe-24 Hour Brined Chicken

This recipe is another one that is easy, but it takes some waiting around to see the results. My recommendation is to prepare this the night before you're going to eat, while you are cooking that evenings' meal. That way, it cuts down on the mess you'll make.

Ingredients:

1 whole 5-7 lb fryer
1 qt apple juice
1 qt water
1/3 cup + a little extra BigSpill's Basic Rub (recipe to follow)
2 t liquid smoke

Combine the apple juice, water, 1/3 cup of Rub, liquid smoke and chicken in a non-reactive bowl and allow to brine for at least 24 hours. 1/2 hour before you're ready to cook, remove the chicken from the brine and let it sit on a plate, followed by sprinkling a little extra rub all over the bird.

Now you have a decision to make. You have to decide how you would like to cook the bird. When I do it, I like to split the chicken in two and bbq on a charcoal grill for about 45 minutes. You can also cook it "beer can" style, using the brine in the can instead of the beer. Another route would be roast it whole in the oven at 375 for 1.5-2 hours. Or, just throw it on the hood of a 67 Chevy.

However you decide to cook the bird, check for your final temp of 170 degrees by piercing the meaty part of the thigh with your meat thermometer. Whatever you do, DO NOT CHECK THE TEMP BY POKING THE BREAST! Sorry, I know my capital letters are loud, but I just don't want all of the juices to roll out.

BigSpill's Basic Rub

1.5 T Salt
2 T Garlic Powder
1/2 t onion powder
1 T Black Pepper
1/4 t celery salt

I hope you enjoy this, and as always, let me know what you think.

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