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perfect roasted chicken or turkey

(3 ratings)
PansyAlvaris avatar
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Jessica Hannan
@PansyAlvaris
Austin, TX

I love brined chicken! (or turkey!) I originally started brining poultry because of my contrary nature. I was going to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family....but I wasn't going to do it the regular way!

Blue Ribbon Recipe

The brining technique really made the chicken moist! The flavors are wonderful and your guests are sure to be impressed.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(3 ratings)
yield 10 serving(s)
prep time 8 Hr
cook time 2 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For perfect roasted chicken or turkey

  • 1 c
    kosher salt
  • 2 lg
    whole chickens
  • 2
    bay leaves
  • 1 lg
    trashbag with a drawstring
  • 1
    ice chest
  • 1
    bag of ice
  • 4 gal
    water
  • THE VEGGIES
  • 1 lb
    baby carrots
  • 2 lb
    small potatoes
  • 3 stick
    celery
  • 8 clove
    garlic, peeled
  • 1 lg
    yellow onion
  • 1 lg
    lemon
  • THE SPICE RUB
  • 2 Tbsp
    herbs de province
  • 2 tsp
    sea salt
  • 1/4 c
    vegetable oil
  • THE EXTRAS FOR THE SAUCE
  • 2 Tbsp
    white wine

How To Make perfect roasted chicken or turkey

  • 1
    Dissolve salt in water.
  • 2
    Trim extra fat from around the cavity of the chickens. Rinse well and drain.
  • 3
    Place trash bag in the ice chest, and place chickens in it. Pour water over the chickens, add the bay leaves and ice. If the chickens are not covered, add more water. Tie bag shut, close ice chest and let soak for 8 hours.
  • 4
    Preheat oven to 400*
  • 5
    Cut celery into 1 inch chunks and cut the onion into 1/4 inch wedges. Slice the lemon into 8 wedges. Place in bottom of large roaster.
  • 6
    Add carrots, potatoes, lemon and garlic the pan. Shake to mix the veggies up.
  • 7
    Mix the herbs de province, salt and oil. Smear over both sides of chickens, half of the mixture for each one.
  • 8
    Place chicken on top of veggies, breast side down.
  • 9
    Cover and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Flip chickens half way through to brown both sides, if desired.
  • 10
    Turn off oven. Remove chickens and lemon from the roaster, discard the lemon. Add the white wine to the drippings, stir and cover again. Put roaster with veggies back in the oven.
  • 11
    Let chickens rest for 20 minutes and the veggies continue to cook. Remove veggies from pan, and carve the chicken. Serve with the pan gravy over the chicken.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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