Beer-Brined Roast Chicken
Updated February 27, 2024
Suzy Allman for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 2 hours, plus cooling and brining
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE BRINE
1 cup kosher salt
⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1 leek (white and light green part), quartered
5 sprigs thyme
7 sprigs sage
2 shallots, halved and peeled
3 (12-ounce) bottles lager-style beer
FOR THE CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES
1 whole chicken (4 to 4 ½ pounds)
1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 ½ pounds fingerling potatoes (or other small potato), cut in half lengthwise
2 cups whole peeled pearl onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 sprigs sage
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
81 grams carbs; 256 milligrams cholesterol; 1220 calories; 27 grams monosaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 64 grams fat; 16 grams fiber; 2112 milligrams sodium; 70 grams protein; 30 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the brine: In a large pot combine 8 cups water, the salt and the sugar and bring to a simmer over high heat, stirring to help dissolve the salt and sugar. Remove from heat and add garlic, leek, thyme, sage and shallots; let cool to room temperature.
- Step 2
Place the chicken in a deep container large enough to hold it and the brine. Pour the cooled brine over the chicken. Pour in the 3 bottles of beer until the chicken is submerged; cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Step 3
Prepare the chicken and vegetables: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the brussels sprouts, potatoes, onions, chopped sage and lemon zest in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper; toss to evenly coat.
- Step 4
Remove the chicken from the brine and pat the skin dry with paper towels. Place about half of the vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan or large sauté pan and set the chicken on top. Rub the butter evenly over the top of the chicken to coat. Pour the bottle of beer into the pan and arrange the sage sprigs in the pan around the chicken.
- Step 5
Roast the chicken for 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes with the liquid in the pan.
- Step 6
Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Spread the remaining vegetables on a baking sheet and place on a low rack or the bottom of the oven. Cook until the chicken skin is golden brown and crisp and the vegetables are just tender and slightly charred, 20 to 30 more minutes, stirring the vegetables and basting the chicken once halfway through.
- Step 7
Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. Plate chicken with a mix of roasted veggies and the vegetables from the pan. Spoon the reduced cooking liquid from the pan over the top.
Private Notes
Comments
That's far more brine than needed. It is also too heavy on salt and cost. In a brine there is no gain from using leeks and shallots instead of onion; all it does is double the cost with no flavor benefit.
Revised Brine: 2C water, 1 C beer, 3T salt, 3T sugar, 1C onion diced, 1 clove garlic, 1 sprig thyme, 2 sprigs sage.
Put the bird & brine in a large Ziploc bag, refrigerate overnight.
Roast bird and veg separately, degrease & deglaze drippings. Who needs to eat all that fat?
I would suggest that your house guest has probably only tried overcooked boiled Brussels Sprouts, which are terrible.
I say make recipe this as written. They can try a sprout and change their mind, or not. My guess is, they will realize that properly prepared Brussels sprouts are really good and remember you always as the person who showed them the difference!
Outstanding! I followed the recipe exactly EXCEPT I substituted carrots for the Brussels sprouts. We do not like Brussels sprouts no matter how they are cooked. Chicken was very moist and the veggies were oh so yummy too. Next time I would serve the gravy on the side instead of pouring it over the chicken. Otherwise, perfect!
Based on comments, "adapted by the NYT," and typical brine ratios, I wonder if this recipe was scaled down imperfectly from restaurant quantities. It is a lot of brine for one chicken, which does seem wasteful. Often brine recipes call for a full cup of salt per gallon of water. Between the beer and the water, this brine recipe uses just over 3/4 of a gallon of liquid, so this is definitely on the saltier side. The salt can safely be reduced to 3/4c and still be a good poultry brine.
I made this mainly to use up leftover beer from a party and it may be the best chicken I ever made. Brined as directed. Roasted in cast iron skillet at 425 for an hour. Stuffed cavity with lemons, thyme, onion. Didn’t roast with vegetables but scattered onion, garlic, thyme around and they, along with jus, were divine. A real win. Wow.
This was too salty for me, which is a shame because I can see and taste that it would be delicious otherwise. The vegetables that were sheet baked were fantastic! This is probably the one recipe where I did not study the comments before making and I should have. Next time I will follow Randy's recommendations.