Darbars Awesome Brined Rotisserie Chicken
- BRINE MARINADE:
- 1 gallon cool water
- 1 quart 100% apple cider
- 1/2 cup Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. black pepper
- 10 juniper berries, crushed
- 1 tsp allspice
- 2tbsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves broken up into little pieces
- THE BIRD:
- 1 6 1/2 to 7 lb free-range roaster chicken, unfrozen
- 1 apple, cored and cut into 6 wedges
- 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, skinned and smashed
- 2 shallots, chopped into several pieces
- BRINE
- In a large bowl or pot, add the water, brown sugar and salt. Stir vigorously until absorbed. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Rinse the chicken, remove anything from the cavities. Put a 2-1/2 gallon Ziplock plastic bag into a large pot, bowl or bucket. Put the chicken in the bag with the large cavity facing up. Pour the brine marinade into the chicken and the bag until the bag is full and the chicken is completely covered. Zip up the bag, squeezing as much air out of it as you can. Refrigerate for 20-24 hours. Believe me, you don't want to skip or shorten the brine/marinade time, it's well worth it!
- THE CHICKEN
- Remove the chicken from the brine marinade and dispose of the liquid. Rinse the chicken a couple of times, inside and out. Chop up the apple, shallots, lemon and smash the garlic. Insert them into the opening. Tie up the bird securely with kitchen string, making sure that the wings and legs are not going to come loose, and the cavity is closed up sufficiently.
- Push the rotisserie through the chicken, making sure to keep it centered so that the weight is distributed evenly. It may take a couple tries. Roll it around on your hands to see if it seems balanced.
- Place the chicken and rotisserie on the grill, start the rotisserie motor and turn the burners to low. Ideally, you want to maintain a 325-350 degree temp throughout. Cook for approximately 2 hours, until the thigh temperature is around 165-170 degrees, or approximately 20 minutes per pound.
- The skin will look glazed and brown nicely, due to the brown sugar. When the chicken is done, remove it from the grill and let it rest, covered with foil for about 15-20 minutes while you prepare your side dishes. Carve and serve.
- I like to serve it with mashed Yukon Gold & buttermilk potatoes, steamed asparagus or corn and gravy made from the drippings, chicken broth and Wondra. Follow these instructions exactly and it will be the most amazing, tasty, moist and juicy chicken you've ever had!
water, apple cider, kosher salt, brown sugar, black pepper, berries, allspice, thyme, bay leaves, chicken, apple, lemon, garlic, shallots
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/darbars-awesome-brined-rotisserie-chicken-50096021 (may not work)