If you’ve ever wondered how restaurants get their chicken so juicy and flavorful, the secret is simple — it’s all in the brine! This easy chicken brine recipe takes just a few minutes to mix up, and it transforms your whole chicken into something truly special.

The salt and honey work together to lock in moisture while the lemon, garlic, and herbs add a beautiful depth of flavor. Once you try it, you’ll never roast chicken without brining again!

Why Brining Makes the Best Chicken

Brining helps poultry stay juicy. The salt in the brine actually changes the structure of the meat’s proteins, allowing them to absorb and hold onto more water. That means less moisture loss during cooking and a tender, succulent bite every time.

The salt also tenderizes the meat slightly, breaking down muscle fibers so the chicken cooks up more tender and evenly.

Instead of just seasoning the surface, brining also lets flavor soak deep into the meat. Every bite tastes perfectly seasoned — not bland in the center and salty on the outside.

Simple Ingredients for a Flavorful Brine

• Water: The base that helps distribute the salt and flavors evenly.
• Kosher Salt: Draws moisture in and out of the chicken, resulting in juicy, seasoned meat.
• Honey: Adds a subtle sweetness and helps with browning during roasting.
• Peppercorns: Infuse mild spice and depth into the brine.
• Lemons: Brighten the flavor and help tenderize the meat.
• Bay Leaves: Add an earthy, aromatic note.
• Parsley & Thyme: Fresh herbs that lend light, savory flavor.
• Garlic: Deepens the flavor and complements the herbs beautifully.
• Whole Chicken: The star of the show — brined to tender, juicy perfection.

Step-by-Step: How to Brine a Whole Chicken

1. Dissolve: Mix the water, salt and honey in a large pot over medium heat and stir until the salt is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let the water cool.
2. Brine: Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, then add the chicken to the brine solution and let it brine in the fridge overnight.

How Long to Brine Chicken

For best results, brine your chicken for 8–12 hours, or overnight.

Once you start brining your chicken, you’ll never go back! It’s such a simple step, but it makes all the difference — juicy, flavorful, and perfectly tender every time. Whether you’re roasting for Sunday dinner or meal prepping for the week, this chicken brine will take your cooking to the next level.

Now if you’re wondering how to cook this perfectly brined whole chicken, our go-to chicken recipe is our melt-in-your-mouth b

If you’ve ever wondered how restaurants get their roast chicken so juicy and full of flavor, the secret is simple — it’s all in the brine! This brined Roasted Chicken and Potatoes is one of those meals that makes you slow down and savor every bite.

The kids voted this was the best chicken and potatoes I’ve ever made and it was one pan and so dang easy.

The overnight brine infuses the meat with moisture and a subtle, herby flavor, while the garlic butter under the skin keeps every bite tender and golden. Add in roasted Yukon Gold potatoes that crisp up in the chicken drippings, and you’ve got a family dinner that is pure comfort food — with hardly any effort.

Why Brining Makes the Juiciest Chicken

The short answer is science! First, the salt in the brine breaks down the tight protein strands in chicken (or any poultry) which makes the structure more open to holding liquid molecules so it can retain more moisture.

When the chicken is submerged in the brine, the chicken soaks up the brine making it more juicy and more flavorful. The additional flavor in the brine like the lemon, fresh herbs and garlic all soak into the chicken so it’s flavored from the inside out!

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Brine

• Water: The base that helps distribute the salt and flavors evenly.
• Kosher Salt: Draws moisture in and out of the chicken, resulting in juicy, seasoned meat.
• Honey: Adds a subtle sweetness and helps with browning during roasting.
• Peppercorns: Infuse mild spice and depth into the brine.
• Lemons: Brighten the flavor and help tenderize the meat.
• Bay Leaves: Add an earthy, aromatic note.
• Parsley & Thyme: Fresh herbs that lend light, savory flavor.
• Garlic: Deepens the flavor and complements the herbs beautifully.

For the Chicken

• Whole Chicken: The star of the recipe — roasting the entire bird keeps it juicy, flavorful, and beautifully golden while naturally basting the potatoes as it roasts.
• Kosher Salt: Enhances flavor, draws out moisture for crisp skin, and seasons both the chicken and potatoes evenly.
• Butter: Adds richness and helps the skin turn golden and crispy while keeping the meat tender and moist.
• Garlic: Brings depth and savory aroma to the butter mixture and infuses flavor into the chicken and potatoes.
• Fresh Thyme: Adds bright, earthy notes that complement the chicken’s richness and balance the buttery flavor.
• Lemon: Infuses the meat with a fresh citrus aroma, helps tenderize the chicken, and

How to Smoke Salmon Recipe [+Video]

Smoked salmon is a delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed as a snack, appetizer, or part of a main course. Learn how to smoke salmon at home with our easy-to-follow recipe and video tutorial below.

We start this recipe with a dry brine that loads the salmon fillets with flavor and prepares them to soak in all the smoky flavor. This is a hot-smoked salmon recipe made on a wood pellet smoker.

We have covered all our bases when it comes to salmon here on the blog. We have air fryer salmon, grilled salmon, baked salmon, salmon in a salad, salmon bowls and stuffed salmon. We have been working on a smoked salmon recipe for years, and we have finally nailed it!

Ingredients for Smoked Salmon

Aside from the salmon filets, you’ll need just a few ingredients for the dry brine rub and then a few ingredients for the seasoning mix you rub all over it before smoking it. Here is what you will need:

Dry Brine

• Kosher Salt: adds flavor
• Brown Sugar: adds sweetness and flavor
• Black Pepper: adds flavor and tiny bit of heat

Smoked Salmon

• Salmon Filets: You can get smaller individual filets or get one big filet and then slice it into servings afterward
• Dijon Mustard: adds flavor
• Butter: adds rich flavor and helps keep the salmon moist
• Brown Sugar: adds a little sweetness and helps caramelize the outside of the salmon
• Dill: I almost always prefer fresh herbs for recipes, but for this one, I prefer dried dill.
• Smoked Paprika: adds more smoky flavor
• Salt and Black Pepper: adds flavor
• Maple Syrup: used to baste the fillets as they smoke

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

What is the Best Salmon for Smoking?

I always look for farm-raised salmon when it comes to smoking. They tend to have a higher fat content which helps them stay tender and flaky through the smoking process. King salmon is my go-to. Coho or Atlantic salmon is my backup. You want to avoid really lean salmon like sockeye salmon.

Why Brine Salmon

This brining process will eliminate some of the moisture from the inside of the fish while simultaneously infusing it with salt, which will help preserve the salmon and its moisture and help create a pellicle (see section below).

What is a Pellicle?

The Best Oven Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey Ever [+Video]

A classic turkey recipe for making the best oven roasted Thanksgiving turkey ever! It starts with a brine, gets smothered in lemon herb butter, and ends with a perfectly roasted whole turkey to feed your Thanksgiving crowd!

I’ve done it all. Over cooked, undercooked, bland, you name it. Thanksgiving has always been a stitch lame to me because the turkey was absolutely never exciting, hence why I loved the leftover sandwiches the best!

Mmmmm, potato rolls, mayo, turkey and a little cheese! Or, lately I’ve been doing a little cream cheese, poppyseed dressing, cheese and turkey on a roll and oh my goodness it’s life-changing.

But back to the turkey, you guys I’m serious I have spent every year for the past 15 years trying to figure out the best Thanksgiving turkey recipe and this is it. The secrets are for sure brining and proper herbs and rest time three things to make the perfect combo.

Turkey Basics

Before we jump in to making this roasted whole turkey, I want to cover a few of the basics:

• A frozen turkey will need thaw 24 hours per every 5 pounds.
• Turkey will need to cook for 13-15 minutes per pound.
• Safe internal temperature for a turkey is 175 degrees F the thigh and 165 degrees F in the breast.

So let’s assume you are going to roast a 12 pound turkey that is frozen when you purchase it and you want to have your meal on Thursday afternoon. Here is your brief timeline:

• Remove turkey from freezer to thaw in the fridge: 4 1/2 days ahead of time (Sunday morning – Tuesday afternoon)
• Brine: 24 hours (Tuesday afternoon – Wednesday afternoon)
• Turkey rests in fridge: 4-12 hours (overnight Wednesday to Thursday morning)
• Turkey rests at room temperature: 1 hour
• Turkey roasts in the oven: 3 hours
• Turkey rests: 30 minutes

Now the turkey is ready to carve and eat Thursday afternoon! Now here are those same steps in a little more detail…

How to Roast a Whole Turkey

Roasting a whole turkey starts with a 24 hour brine. Head to our favorite turkey brine recipe for all the details of why to brine, how to brine and what goes into the brine.

Turkey Prep

After the turkey brines, remove the turkey from the brine, pat it dry with paper towels and put it on a baking sheet uncovered. St

My Favorite Turkey Brine Recipe [+Video]

Looking for the perfect turkey brine recipe? Look no further! This delicious brine not only adds flavor to your turkey, but also keeps it moist and juicy. Watch our video tutorial and try it out for yourself!

Every year I test, and test and test recipes for Thanksgiving. But not my simple turkey brine recipe. It’s perfect, and I use the same one every single year regardless of how I make my bird.

Whether your roasting turkey or making Thanksgiving turkey in a slow cooker, I use the same brine on both of them.

There’s nothing quite like a perfectly cooked turkey and that 100% starts with a turkey brine. You CANNOT skip it. Trust me, I’ve tested enough to know that it really is a game changer.

Turkey Brine Basics

Brining a turkey needs two specific ingredients and then the remaining ingredients vary based upon your own individual recipes.

1. Liquid- Your turkey breast (or whole turkey) will sit in a liquid anywhere from 8-24 hours. The kind of liquid does in fact make a difference as they will help to flavor the meat. Brining, as well as marinating, is not made to soak into the center of the meat, but to flavor the outside so well that as it cooks that flavor emerges.
2. Salt- It’s preferred that you use Kosher salt for brining as it’s a more coarse salt which will help to break down the meat, soak in the liquid for a more juicy meat and finally, the salt helps to flavor the meat more than just a rub later on.

How to Brine a Turkey

Brining a turkey might sound fancy or complicated but it’s as easy as dunking a turkey in salty liquid with some extra flavors if desired and letting it sit. Easy peezy! The brine is used to lock flavor and moisture into the turkey.

A few simple ingredients is all you need for my best turkey brine recipe:

• Apple Cider – apple juice can be used if you can’t find cider
• Water
• Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt
• Bay Leaves
• Garlic Cloves
• Fresh Rosemary
• Orange Peel
• Lemon Peel

Grab a large stock pot and pour all the ingredients into the pot. You can also use a brining bar if you want. They are great! Stir everything together until the sugar and salt dissolve. Place the turkey carefully into the brine, put the lid on the pot, and set it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

PRO TIP: If your stock pot doesn’t fit into your fridge, put it in a cooler and surround the pot with ice. It will store great for 24 hours.

How to Make A Turkey Brine