Beer Brined Chicken

This post is 24 hours in the making. I was going to make this yesterday, but decided too late to brine a chicken. This was a small roaster that I was just going to stick on the grill, but found this recipe at homebrewchef.com. A friend brought over a bunch of beer we weren't going to drink, so I figured this was a good a way as any to use it. Of course, I had to change it just a little bit because of what I had on hand.



Beer Brined Chicken

1 whole roaster chicken

4 Bottles of Beer (I used Corona)
1 Cup Kosher Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
4 Bay Leaves
2 Tbls. Dry Oregano
1 Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped
1 Lime, quartered
4Each Garlic Cloves, peeled and sliced

Water or ice to cover chicken



In a large pot, add beer, salt, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, onion, lime and garlic. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool in fridge or add ice. Place chicken in pot (or large tupperware) with cold brine and top with cold water to completely cover the chicken. Place in fridge for 6 - 24 hours. Cook as usual.



The beauty about this brine is that you can use just about any beer, herbs or veggies that you have on hand. It is the salt that helps this brine work - but won't make your meat salty. Ask Alton Brown why - I don't know.



I served it with beer bread (none for me) just to round out the night.



Well I got on the scale this morning and it showed that I lost all the pounds I gained over my three day-high carb blowout last weekend (something like five pounds!!). I've been drinking lots of water, and it took everything I had today to pass up that fresh-baked-still-hot-from-the-oven bagel at the deli this morning. Even though I'm way down for the week, I'd like to lose two more pounds before I head to New Orleans next week.

Probably no posts from me through the weekend - dinner at a friend's on Friday and indoor waterpark with the kids Saturday and Sunday. We'll see.

Also today:
Breakfast: Eggs with turkey bacon and cheddar from the deli
Lunch: Hot Dog
Snack: Chipotle Olives, Pepper Jack Cheese, Pecans

Oh, I did have a few handfuls of popcorn - like really good movie popcorn. Couldn't pass up the smell of the kids' bags from Target.