Some folks associate brine with being unhealthy due to high sodium content. Just as the myth of dietary fat goes, so does the myth that sodium is bad for our health. There is, however, some truth to this if you’re using table salt (more on that below). Sodium has many health benefits which I’ll talk about in a separate article. Aside from sodium, traditional brines can be unhealthy for reasons other than salt content—many recipes call for sugar or fruit juices, but we won’t do that. Our brine is about quality, health and most of all enhancing flavor and moisture for the best poultry you’ve ever tasted.

Before the recipe, let’s talk more about choosing the right salt.

To sum it up: Don’t use crappy table salt! But in seriousness…

Table salt can be equated to a processed refined “white” carb. It’s striped of the good minerals and all that remains is processed sodium and chloride along with added iodine, anti-caking agents (there are dozens of chemicals that can be used for this including heavy metals, with potential adverse health effects), stabilizers and aluminum derivatives. Thus, table salt is just another processed junk food void of nutrients and not without risk to our health.

So instead: When you buy salt, approach it like farm-to-table food—keep it as close to it’s natural state as possible and from a quality source (i.e. carrots grown in rich organic soil of a mom-and-pop farm).

But that still leaves a lot of choices and the risks don’t end with table salt. There are also red flags with so-called healthy salts: sea salt, kosher salt and even Himalayan salt. It comes down to many of these products being overly refined and processed. With average sea salt, I’m weary due to the high levels of pollutants in today’s oceans, but there are higher quality sea salt options…

What Salt To Use

Be picky and discerning with your salt of choice. I recommend Aztec Sea Salt for general everyday use; this brand has dozens of trace minerals, no toxins, comes from a safe source, and is pretty price-friendly. When we brine we use Pink Himalayan Salt as it’s a bit cheaper than the nice Aztec salt.

Bottom line is that you want an unrefined mineral-rich salt, no harmful additives or toxins, and one that’s harvested from a superb source—harvested ethically as well. Those trace minerals are so important for our health and wellbeing!

If you can find a super quality Celtic Sea Salt, Hawaiian Salt or legit Pink Himalayan Salts then you’re fine. Just look for something that’s off-color (anything but white; white indicates it’s been bleached and stripped of minerals and nutrition), relatively soft, inconsistent size crystals and bursting with flavor if you can sample before buying.

These traits will help ensure your salt is as unrefined as possible; rich in minerals; free of harmful chemicals, additives, and contaminants; and tasty—and with that being the case, you cannot argue that sodium is bad in our diets! Just ask your adrenals…

Directions

1. Prep veggies. Slice the carrot length-wise (down the middle) into 4 strips (quartered) then cut the carrot into 3-4 inch pieces. Do the exact same process with the celery. Chop up the onion as well.

2. Add all ingredients to the pot, starting with the water. Turn on stove to high. Bring to boil. At this point either kill the heat or let it boil for 5 min then kill the heat. Patience next—the brine needs to cool! We don’t use ice because we think the brine flavors to mesh together better if you let it cool naturally. The ice method, while more instantaneous, ultimately dilutes the brine’s flavor thus less of a flavor punch in your bird.

3. Let brine cool overnight. If you want to do this process all in one day and not wait overnight, then just make sure the brine is completely cooled to room temp before adding the bird otherwise the bird will start cooking—you don’t want that.

4. Once cooled, add your bird—make sure it’s well-rinsed first. We typically get a ~4-pound pastured chicken. Place the bird in the pot with breasts down, and make sure it’s fully submerged. If you need, put a small glass (like a shot glass) on the bird, then place the lid over that and it’ll hold the bird down. Halfway or 2/3 of the way through total brining time, flip the bird—this helps to get even coverage but it’s not totally necessary so if you forget, no worries.

5. Let the bird brine at least 6 hours, but up to 8-12 hours is ideal. (Personally I love a longer brine and the super salty, moist meat it yields.) Keep the covered pot in the fridge during this process. Keep in mind that the bird will have to sit out and get to room temp for a while before it goes in the oven so plan for that in your scheduling.

Note that if you want to add more than 1 cup of salt you can and this means less time the bird has to sit in the brine (good if you’re in a hurry).

Of course, this brine recipe can be increased for larger birds, such as your organic turkey for the holidays—use this brine and impress your friends and family with anything but overly dry meat!

Next up: How to cook the perfect roasted chicken and subsequently the bone broth using the carcass—talk about making the most of a purchase, and no waste!

More on the Herbs Used

The herbs we use are mostly the brand Simply Organic. We may get fancy with fresh herbs only when we have them on hand, but honestly dried herbs and spices work just fine and are more price-friendly and time-efficient, yielding great flavor.

Don’t feel that you have to limit your brine to what’s listed in our ingredients! Playing around with herbs and spices is totally encouraged! For example, we’ve used cinnamon and nutmeg before, and it gave that holiday essence—including the lovely smell in the house while making the brine and roasting the bird!.