TwistedOaks Recipes & Such

This is an easy recipe and can be made with either a whole chicken, which would be either roasted or rotisseried. or with chicken breasts which would be baked.
The chicken comes out mildly flavored, juicy, delectable! I usually serve with mashed potatoes and green beans and a simple side salad.

Maple-Brined Chicken

3 cups water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup salt (I use a 1/4 cup)
2 bay leaves crumbled
1/2 tsp peppercorns
Chicken - either 1 whole chicken or 4 boneless chicken breasts 
1 Tbls. butter, cut into small pieces

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of the water, maple syrup, salt bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, stirring until the salt dissolves. Pour into a large bowl. Add remaining 2 cups of water and let cool.
Add the chicken to the cooled brine and let soak as follows: for a whole chicken, soak for 2-4 hours turning occasionally to insure even saturation
for chicken breasts, place in cooled brine and let soak for 30 minutes
Remove from brine, pat dry.
For whole chicken: Heat oven or rotisserie to 350F, lightly rub chicken with butter, roast for 60-90 minutes until golden brown and juices run clear when pierced trough thickest portion of thigh.
For chicken breasts: Heat oven to 450F, put chicken in roasting pan skin side up. Dot each one with butter and roast until just done, about 25 minutes.

Serves 4

NOTES:
Instead of a bowl, I use a ziplock bag for brining.

Brown sugar variation - if you don't have any maple syrup on hand, you can use 1/3 cup dark brown sugar instead.  

1 tsp Rosemary may be used instead of bay leaves