Any form of filling may be used as a lining for this basic empanada dough before it is fried or baked.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 3 hrs |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 1 gallon |
Ingredients
- 16 cups water
- ¾ cup kosher salt
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup dried sage, or to taste
- ¼ cup dried basil, or to taste
- 2 heads garlic, crushed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 large bay leaf
Instructions
- Bring water, kosher salt, sugar, sage, basil, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat; this could take upwards of 20 minutes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until salt and sugar are dissolved completely, about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Let brine sit at room temperature for 2 hours; this lets the dried herbs steep and really enhances the flavor of the brine. Refrigerate to finish cooling before using, at least 1 hour.
- Brine should be completely cooled before using. Follow the directions for your chicken recipe, but in general, a whole chicken can be brined for up to 8 hours, while bone-in pieces can be brined for up to 4 hours.
- Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of brine ingredients. The actual amount consumed will vary.
Reviews
This is my go to brine for chicken. I absolutely love the tender juicy chicken I get from this brine. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
Amazing and easy recipe. Stick to the prescribed brining period. Otherwise might be a little salty for some tastes.
Test run with a chicken before Thanksgiving and this was fantastic! Added a few drops of sesame oil just because. Definitely keeping this recipe on hand. Much appreciated
My husband hasn’t wanted boneless, skinless chicken breasts at home for a while. Chicken is not the way it used to be, tender! I made this brine, and I let the boneless chicken breasts in the brine for about 2 hours. The chicken was SO tender you could cut it with a fork. I’ll be doing this to all my chicken from now on. Thank you for the recipe!
Very good brine. Will definitely make again. Next time we will plan ahead and brine for longer although even this short time made for very moist meat!
I added a tablespoon of McCormick’s California Lemon Peel to the brine and loved the result. This brine is just amazing…… the chicken always turns out so juicy and is full of just the right amount of flavor no matter how you decide to cook your chicken.
Perfect! I added a 1/4 cup of dried onion because I had so much on hand. Best baked chicken I’ve ever had.
Used my new Nu Wave oven. Followed recipe to the letter. Chicken is moist, tender and just awesome. Thanks for posting.
I have made a number of brines and this is the best one I have come across so far. Remarkable given the simple list of ingredients. Make sure you simmer the brine per the instructions prior to use. That is really important. Also, while it seems like the recipe calls for an awful lot of dried herbs, do not skimp on them. The quantities are necessary (it seems) to get the flavor you will want from the brine.
Used ground sage in a pinch 😉 but still tasted great
Awesome. Very easy to follow. Chicken came out very tender. My family loved it. Will definitely be using this recipe again
this is a fantastic brine for grilling chicken breast on the BBQ! so juicy and moist!
Followed the recipe exactly – with the exception – I substituted ROSEMARY for the BASIL (I was out of basil). Turned out so good. Exceptional, even. A new evolution in chicken at my house. The kids asked for THIRD helpings (which is rare to never). The baby screamed for it. Cooked this as a whole chicken – Rotisserie (Brined for 10 hours, rested in fridge [out of brine] for 6 hours – didn’t rinse). Look forward to trying it as FRIED CHICKEN. Well worth the effort.
Chickens (organic & pastured) were juicy and delicious using this brine. I chose this recipe because my granddaughter has Celiac Disease, and this was the only recipe I found WITHOUT SOY SAUCE.
I had never brined a bird before and selected this recipe for a chicken that I rotisserized. Rotissary chicken is extremely tender so I wasn’t able to notice a huge difference right away but when I ate the chicken as leftovers…Holy Moly….it was so very tender….not dry after having been refrigerated overnight. Additionally, I thought the brine was too salty but that was because I salted the bird additionally as part of my seasonings. I’m about do make another bird, but this time I will not add additional salt when I season my bird. I don’t have another point of reference since, like I said before, I’ve never brined a bird before but why mess with perfection? Many thanks for sharing this recipe!
I reduced the quantity – only made 1/4 of the recipe for pork chops. Excellent. People – if you have time, brine your chicken and pork all the time. Really makes it moister!
Chicken was delicious
We have tried many brines over the years. We have even invented a few of our own. I know some people say you don’t need to bother with a brine, you do! And you need to try this one. This is, hands down, the best brine. The meat comes our super moist and full of flavor. This doesn’t saw how long to brine your meat…. we were in a time crunch and didn’t plan well the first time we tried this, but three hours was fine. We have done more, but never less.
Great brine. Just don’t forget to rinse the chicken off before cooking so it won’t be salty.
This was my family’s absolute favorite brine! We taste tested a few and this one out-weighed them all! Yummy! Moist! Flavorful!
Made my chicken very moist and tasted – will definitely use again!