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You are here: Home / Chicken / Simple Chicken Brine For Grilling

Simple Chicken Brine For Grilling

May 22, 2024 By Joe Boyle 53 Comments

2.8K shares
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Last Updated on April 15, 2025

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Chicken brine will bring out flavors and juiciness to the meat. Summer is approaching and grilling season is starting. Time to fire up the charcoal and soak some chicken in this simple chicken brine. You’ll be amazed at how flavorful, tender and juicy your chicken becomes.

Brining chicken serves a few purposes. Firstly, it enhances flavor by allowing the meat to absorb the salt and any other flavorings in the brine. Secondly, it helps retain moisture during cooking, resulting in juicier meat. Lastly, brining can also tenderize the breast of chicken, making it more palatable.

Overall, brining is a simple yet effective way to improve the taste and texture of chicken.

Plate of grilled chicken thighs.

Jump To Contents:

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  • Chicken Brine
  • Ingredients For The Brine
  • Preparing The Brine
  • Use Unprocessed Chicken
  • How Long Do You Brine Chicken?
  • Brine Is Not A Marinade
  • Getting The Chicken Ready To Grill
  • Side Dish Ideas For Grilled Chicken
  • Simple Chicken Brine For Grilling

Chicken Brine

Simple chicken brine for grilling ingredients.

You have probably read or heard that brining is good for chicken.

What brining does, is add moisture to the meat and, along with the salt, the water is absorbed into the flesh.

Well, what you can do is take this principle and add to it some additional seasonings that take the brine to a whole new level. And, as Guy Fieri would say, “straight to Flavortown.”

Ingredients For The Brine

For this flavoring, we used my traditional Italian-style seasonings: garlic, basil, thyme, oregano, fennel, along with Kosher salt, and sugar.

These ingredients get put into a small saucepan along with water, and get boiled and made into an herbal tea of sorts.

I recently saw a recipe from a blog that I follow for “Poultry Seasoning.”  It is a more traditional blend of Thanksgiving-flavored spices and I thought that it would be something to try rather than the Italian blend that I use.

Preparing The Brine

Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Stir to dissolve the salt and let the pot boil for 5 minutes. Then, you will need to cool the brine to room temperature.

Pot of chicken brine boiling on the stovetop.

Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and soak the pot in the cold water until it has cooled. This should take 15 minutes.

Pot of brine being cooled in an ice bath.

Then, place the chicken into a suitable-sized bowl or a good zip-lock bag and cover the chicken with the brine. Refrigerate the chicken covered or zipped in the bag for the time indicated below.

All the great flavors in the seasonings are infused into the water, and as the chicken soaks, all this goodness gets absorbed. It becomes a pot of flavor goodness.

Chicken thighs in a glass bowl covered with brine.

Use Unprocessed Chicken

First off, make sure that the chicken you are using has not already been injected with saline.

If it has been, there will be a statement on the label that indicates this.

You want to start out with unprocessed or organic chicken. Brining a saline-injected chicken will result in too-salty chicken.

 

How Long Do You Brine Chicken?

These tasty chicken thighs were brined for 3 hours. If you’re brining skinless, boneless breasts, 1 to 2 hours is adequate.

Skin on, bone-in chicken, 2 to 3 hours. A whole chicken should be brined for 3 to 4 hours. Any longer than this, the chicken will get too salty.

Use the time you have…it all adds up to added flavor!

Brine Is Not A Marinade

A brine is unlike a marinade. Some meats are left in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, using an acid-based or oil-based marinade. This gives the meat lots of flavor.

If you leave the meat in a brine overnight it will…#1. get too salty and, #2. the watery brine will actually start to pull out some of the natural flavorings of the meat. You don’t want that.

Brining chicken adds moisture and flavor to ensure a tender and tasty piece of chicken.

Close-up of Grilled chicken

Getting The Chicken Ready To Grill

To prep the chicken for the grill, remove them from the brine and pat dry. You can leave on any bits of herbs that stick to the chicken when you take it out of the brine.

Very lightly oil the skin with olive oil, then grill, skin side down 7 or 8 minutes to get a nice char.

Turn and let cook 10 or 12 more minutes until the internal temperature is around 160°F. Let the chicken rest for 5 or 10 minutes, then serve it. The chicken brine will have done its work!

Side Dish Ideas For Grilled Chicken

First of all would be a nice green salad.

  • Caesar Salad
  • House style salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
  • Tossed Green Salad

Next would be a starch of some kind.

  • Pan-fried potatoes and onions
  • Sauteed shredded sweet potatoes
  • Au gratin potatoes
  • Roasted red potatoes with onions
  • Picnic Potato Salad

Then a vegetable side dish.

  • Green beans with bacon and onions
  • Roasted cruciferous vegetables
  • Parmesan roasted Brussels sprouts
  • Insanely good vegetable side dishes

Chicken that has been brined and grilled.

The flavor of the herbs in the meat is amazing. MaryJo even mentioned that this was the tastiest chicken I had ever made.

Simple chicken thigh brine…that’s good enough for me.

Chicken thighs on a plate.

Simple Chicken Brine For Grilling

This is a salty brine, filled with herbal flavors, to moisturize and enhance grilled chicken.
4.72 from 28 votes
Print Pin Rate Save Saved Recipe
Course: Chicken, Grilled meat, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken brine, chicken brine for grilling
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 1 meal
Calories: 20kcal
Author: Joe Boyle

Ingredients

  • 3 cups water
  • 3 tbsp. Coarse Kosher salt, (approx. 50 grams)
  • 2 cloves garlic, coarse chopped
  • 1 tbsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tbsp. dried basil
  • 1 tbsp. dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp. fennel seeds
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Instructions

  • Place all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt. Reduce the heat to a low boil for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and let cool. Placed the saucepan into an ice bath prepared in a skillet. In 15 minutes the temperature of the brine was less than 80°.
  • Place the chicken pieces into a covered bowl or ziplock type bag and cover with the brine. 
  • Refrigerate 1 to 4 hours depending on your chicken. 1 to 2 hours for boneless, skinless cuts. 2 to 3 hours for skin on, bone in cuts. 3 to 4 hours for a whole chicken.
  • Remove the chicken from the brine, pat dry and lightly oil. A bit of pepper may be added at this time if desired.
  • Grill the chicken until the internal temperature is at least 160°F.

Notes

  1. To brine a whole chicken, you may need to double the recipe to fully immerse the chicken.
  2. Make sure that the chicken you are using has not been injected with saline already.
  3. Try different spices to change up the flavor, especially the Poultry Seasoning as mentioned in the blog narrative.
  4. The ingredient photo shows a bit of sugar in the brine. After further testing, I found that the sugar is not beneficial.

Nutrition

Calories: 20kcal
Simple chicken brine for grilling collage
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Filed Under: Chicken, meats

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Denise

    June 19, 2025 at 7:37 pm

    Can I use himalayan salt or sea salt instead of kosher salt?

    Reply
    • Joe Boyle

      June 19, 2025 at 9:53 pm

      Hi Denise. That would be fine to use either. Thanks for asking.

      Reply
  2. Nancy Pitt

    July 26, 2024 at 11:15 pm

    5 stars
    This is a wonderful brine. Love the fact that you said the sugar is unnecessary. I totally agree.
    I had to let my chicken rest overnight after brining, because it was too windy out to que.
    It was stunningly delicious and oh so juicy!

    Reply
    • Joe Boyle

      July 27, 2024 at 8:14 am

      Hi Nancy,
      Thanks for the nice comment. Glad you liked it.
      Joe

      Reply
  3. Ray Williamson

    June 4, 2024 at 12:13 pm

    How much water & how much of each spice

    Reply
    • Joe Boyle

      June 4, 2024 at 1:09 pm

      The recipe card has all the quantities needed. Scroll to the bottom of the article. Joe

      Reply
    • Connie Mellott

      July 2, 2024 at 4:09 pm

      5 stars
      I tried this recipe and was pleasantly surprised! Was used to boiling chicken off before grilling to be sure it was cooked thru but with this brine it is perfection without pre-cooking. A family favorite now in the grilling rotation. Thank you for the recipe and I trust you for more good recipes–tried and made the warm potato salad w/sun dried tomatoes multiple times and it, too, was well-received. Just one question: i printed the brine recipe a year ago or so and went today to it in my pins and they are different- only one has sugar. ?? I am curious as to which you use. Thanks & happy summer!

      Reply
      • Joe Boyle

        July 4, 2024 at 8:21 pm

        Hi Connie, thanks for the comment. I decided to take the sugar out of the recipe because I thought that it didn’t add that much to the final results. Add sugar if you would like. It may help slightly to crisp the chicken skin.

        Reply
  4. Sandy Axelrod

    May 24, 2024 at 4:10 pm

    5 stars
    Your chicken looks amazing and very juicy! Looking forward to trying this brine!!! Hope you and MJ are doing well and get to enjoy your boat all summer long.

    Reply
  5. John G

    January 19, 2023 at 3:46 pm

    Thank you for the recipe, I want to try it soon! I’m curious as to the amount of sodium in the chicken after brining. Can you estimate what the finished sodium content would be in milligrams? 7 and 3/4 teaspoons of salt seems like a lot.

    Reply
    • Joe

      January 19, 2023 at 3:56 pm

      Hi John, That would be hard to determine depending on the brining time etc. The chicken only absorbs a fraction of the sodium in the liquid. A guess would be 450 to 500 mgs per serving. I hope that helps and thanks for asking.

      Joe

      Reply
  6. John Nihart

    September 26, 2022 at 6:26 pm

    5 stars
    Very tasty, moist chicken with one hour of brining.

    Reply
    • Joe

      September 26, 2022 at 7:57 pm

      Hi John,

      I’m glad you found my website and tried the brine.

      Thank you for the comment.

      Joe

      Reply
  7. Gretchen

    September 11, 2022 at 2:15 pm

    5 stars
    This was wonderful! I’ve always heard about brining, but never tried it. Wow, I’m a believer! I didn’t have fennel seeds, so I subbed star anise. I also forgot to add the sugar. It was still delicious. Thank you, Joe.

    Reply
    • Joe

      September 11, 2022 at 4:07 pm

      Hey Gretchen,

      I’m happy that you found my website and tried the brine recipe. Substituting ingredients is fine for the brine. The most important is the salt for moisture and tenderness.

      Thanks for the nice comment.

      Joe

      Reply
  8. Deb, RN

    August 5, 2022 at 1:05 am

    5 stars
    This brine is amazing, Joe! I have made this twice with bone-in chicken breasts … to die for!! You nailed it! My husband had a stroke 4 years ago so now I’m the “grill master” on a charcoal Weber grill. Thank you so much for a tasty dinner!

    Reply
    • Joe

      August 5, 2022 at 7:51 am

      Hey Deb,

      Thank you for the nice comment. I’m so glad that you like the brine recipe.

      Joe

      Reply
  9. seekyum

    July 17, 2022 at 1:41 am

    5 stars
    The Chicken tastes amazing,love it

    Reply
    • Joe

      July 17, 2022 at 8:14 am

      I’m glad that you liked it!

      Reply
  10. Melinda

    July 11, 2022 at 10:57 am

    5 stars
    Hi! I doubled the recipe and added a couple of bay leaves, the juice of a lemon, and fresh basil and thyme along with the dried herbs. I had some leftover peach whisky BBQ sauce I had made for ribs, so I finished the chicken off with that. Boy the brine was so flavorful! I ain’t skeered of experiments lol!

    Reply
    • Joe

      July 11, 2022 at 11:28 am

      Hi Melinda,

      That sounds terrific. The brine really makes the chicken tender and juicy. I’m glad you found my website and recipe. And thank you for taking the time to post a great comment.

      Joe

      Reply
  11. CC

    May 4, 2022 at 6:44 pm

    Can you use other herbs like jerk chicken seasoning in the brine to get a Jamaican flavor vs an Italian flavor?

    Reply
    • Joe

      May 4, 2022 at 7:59 pm

      Hi CC,

      Jerk seasoning could be added after the salt brine. I think it would be hard to get enough jerk seasoning to impart the flavor you are looking for while brining. Apply your jerk seasonings after patting the chicken dry after the brine.
      If you would not like the Italian flavors, just brine your chicken with the salt in cold water. This will give your chicken the added salt to keep it tender and juicy while cooking.
      Have fun grilling your bird. Jerk seasoning sounds great by the way.

      Joe

      Reply
  12. Linden Hillman

    January 17, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    How much water to use with this brine mixture to be able to cover a whole chicken in a zip lock bag? Can I use the same quantty of ingredients in let’s say two quarts of water? Thank you!

    David

    Reply
    • Joe

      January 18, 2022 at 7:39 am

      Hi David,

      I think you should double all the ingredients in the amount of water you will need to cover a whole chicken.

      Thank you for the comment.

      Joe

      Reply
  13. Steve

    February 19, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    5 stars
    Joe, this is so good and so easy. My wife thinks it’s the best chicken I’ve ever made. I’m now required to do it every time I grill!
    Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Joe

      February 19, 2021 at 4:10 pm

      Hi Steve,
      Thanks for finding my blog.
      It’s a little cold in Minnesota to grill right now, but I know that chicken needs this boost of flavor.
      Your wife has good taste.
      Thank you for the comment.
      Joe

      Reply
      • Steve

        February 21, 2021 at 12:49 pm

        I’m sure. I’m in San Diego so the weather’s a bit different right now. 🙂
        Thank you for sharing your recipes!

        Reply
  14. Sofia Mochan

    September 23, 2020 at 11:23 am

    Can we brine frozen thighs or the chicken has to be completely defrosted?

    Reply
    • Joe

      September 23, 2020 at 7:14 pm

      The thighs should be defrosted.

      Reply
  15. Steve

    August 17, 2020 at 2:05 pm

    5 stars
    Love it . It’s every thing you said it is .I don’t do sugar so I sub stevia brown sugar . worked great . Sorry to change your recipe

    Reply
    • Joe

      August 17, 2020 at 2:21 pm

      Thanks Steve….last weekend I also grilled some brined legs and thighs. Tasty.

      Reply
  16. Diane

    August 12, 2020 at 11:45 am

    5 stars
    Chicken tastes amazing!! My family LOVES it!

    Reply
    • Joe

      August 12, 2020 at 12:58 pm

      Thanks for the nice comment Diane.

      Reply
  17. Mark Raddatz

    July 19, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    5 stars
    I am a widower now for 12 years. I an slowly learning to cook great food. This brine recipe for chicken is exactly what I was looking for. I soaked 5 legs for about 1.5 hours. Patted dry, brushed with olive oil. The flavors were fantastic without covering the taste of the meat. Thank you so much…

    Reply
    • Joe

      July 19, 2020 at 10:10 pm

      Thanks Mark…so glad you liked it.

      Reply
  18. Lou

    July 5, 2020 at 3:54 pm

    5 stars
    I followed this recipe (with exception of doubling amount of water…hey, that’s what we do)
    This was arguably the best tasting grilled chicken that I have ever made. Chicken was flavorful and juicy. I got a bottle of Sweet and Spicy BBQ sauce, added a can of orange soda, and a tablespoon of good soy sauce, and used that to baste the chicken toward the end of grilling time. As a foodie, this was a religious experience.
    Thanks for this recipe, Joe!

    Reply
    • Joe

      July 5, 2020 at 4:29 pm

      Thanks Lou. You’re making my mouth water!

      Reply
  19. Edward Werner

    June 16, 2020 at 11:58 am

    Can you make the brine the night before and put the chicken in it the next day.Ed

    Reply
    • Joe

      June 16, 2020 at 1:00 pm

      That would work just fine Ed.

      Reply
  20. Pam

    May 11, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Once I brine the chicken and then rinse it..can I keep it for two days before grilling?

    Reply
    • Joe

      May 11, 2019 at 9:45 pm

      Hi Pam, I just don’t think that would work very well. By rinsing you would remove much of the herbs which give the chicken flavor. Best to brine the day of grilling. Leave some of the herbs in the brine on the skin of the chicken before grilling. If you want to try this, after rinsing the chicken, strain the solids from the brine and coat the chicken skin as best as you can with the herbs. I’ve never tried it, but it may turn out really great. Store the chicken refrigerated in ziplock bags. Good luck and let us know how it turned out.

      Reply
  21. Gail

    March 19, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    Mine was so salty! I followed the recipe exactly. What went wrong? I checked 3 times and it said nothing about rinsing the chicken after brining.

    Reply
    • Joe

      March 20, 2019 at 3:42 pm

      Hi Gail, Sorry the brine didn’t work for you. All I can think of that could go wrong is if you used fine table salt rather than Kosher salt. Table salt weighs twice as much as Kosher salt so the brine would have double the amount of salt. I’m going to make that note in the recipe card right now. Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
    • Trish

      May 31, 2020 at 11:24 pm

      2 stars
      I used Kosher salt and marinated for about 2 hours and it came out tender but is SOOOOO salty….I wound up throwing it in the trash as I could not eat it. Thinking this much salt is not good for people with heart disease/hypertension. I might try this again with much less of the salt as the meat stayed moist.

      Reply
  22. Josie

    June 17, 2018 at 2:31 pm

    5 stars
    We’ve had this recipe twice now, and both times the chicken came out so tender I couldn’t believe it ! This is the only way to do chicken on the grill, for sure! The fennel gives it a nice flavor. Next time I might use fresh herbs with the brine. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  23. Alan Howie

    June 11, 2018 at 10:56 am

    5 stars
    We tried your chicken brine recipe this weekend and the entire family loved it. We doubled the recipe for 9 thighs, 12 legs, and 2 breasts. We used two large freezer bags and brined the chicken for 2 1/2 hrs. Excellent!!!!!! We plan to use this a lot this summer,

    Reply
  24. Alan Howie

    June 6, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, do those thighs look good! They happen to be my favorite part of the chicken and your picture makes them look so darn good I could take a bite out of the picture!!!!!! That brine is absolutely on our list for our next grilled chicken (which is coming very soon). Thank you Joe!

    Reply
  25. Lauren

    June 5, 2018 at 9:18 am

    Hi Joe,

    I’m not an expert on chicken, so I’m wondering could you just bake this after brining or does that defeat the purpose? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Joe

      June 5, 2018 at 9:35 am

      Hi Lauren. You can definitely bake the chicken rather than grilling. The flavors will still be great. Thanks for the question.

      Reply
  26. Megan | 3 Scoops of Sugar

    June 4, 2018 at 10:53 pm

    Joe, I am going to have to try this!! Your pictures had me drooling and I love those seasonings you used! I can’t wait to taste this recipe!

    Reply
    • Joe

      June 4, 2018 at 11:07 pm

      Thanks Megan. The brine sure adds another level of flavors.

      Reply
  27. MaryJo

    June 4, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    5 stars
    I swear, this was the best grilled chicken I’ve ever had! This is the only way to prepare chicken on the grill.

    Reply
4.72 from 28 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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