Apple-Soy Brined Chicken

Brined chicken is one of the easiest ways to get a lot of flavor into an otherwise bland dish. Its so easy and versatile. All it takes is a little planning and a big pot. Brining is essentially the process of marinating chicken in salt water. You can change the recipe to any flavor you want, as long as you keep the salt, sugar and water. I made this chicken for my mom's birthday dinner. I ended up smoking it, which is an unbelievably tasty way to make chicken if you have the time and the smoker. However, baking it in the oven is another tasty way to do this one. By baking it, it really ends up taking little hands-on time so its great for busy moms! Enjoy!

Apple-Soy Brined Chicken

8 lb roaster chicken
2 large onions
6 cloves garlic
3 green apples
3 jalapenos
2 pieces of ginger about the size of golf balls
10oz soy sauce
3/4 C kosher salt
3/4 C raw or brown sugar
About 3 Tbls EVOO

Rinse chicken inside and out. Place in a stock pot big enough to hold the chicken with some room to spare. Cut onion and apples into eighths. Add 1 1/2 onion and 2 1/2 apples to pot. Reserve the rest. Smash garlic with a knife or your palm and add to pot. (Skins and seeds of onion, apples and garlic are fine to add to pot, as the marinade will be discarded.) Cut jalapenos in quarters long ways and add to pot. Slice ginger and add to pot. Add soy sauce, salt and sugar. Add enough lukewarm water to pot to cover chicken. Stir together, cover and allow to marinade in the refrigerator up to 3 days but at least 36 hours.

After chicken has had sufficient time to marinate, remove from liquid and pat dry with paper towels. Discard marinade. Place chicken breast up in a roasting dish. Place reserved 1/2 onion and 1/2 apple into cavity of chicken. Tie legs and tuck the wings. Rub chicken with olive oil. Roast in the oven or smoke on the smoker until internal temperature reaches 180 and juices run clear. (If roasting in the oven, follow directions on temperature and time on the packaging.)

When chicken is cooked through, let it rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

(*For GF, make sure you use GF soy sauce.)