Dry Brined Roast Chicken Recipe
A perfectly juicy dry brined roasted chicken with golden, crispy skin and tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. This easy oven-roasted chicken method uses a simple dry brine and slow roasting for incredible flavor and texture — every time.
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken about 3.75 lb, drained and giblets removed
- 6 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (just over 1% of the chicken’s weight)
- 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil - at room temperature
- black pepper freshly ground
- Fresh Thyme (optional)
Instructions
How to Dry Brine a Chicken
- Start by preparing your roasting setup. Line a baking tray with paper towels to catch any liquid that releases as the chicken brines, and place a wire rack on top.
- You want roughly 1% salt by weight of the chicken for this dry brine. For a 3.75 lb bird, that’s about 6 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using another brand or finer salt, use a scale to be accurate. (see chart in notes below for measurements)
- To measure: place a large bowl on your digital scale and tare it. Remove the chicken from its packaging, take out the giblets, and drain off any liquid. Place the chicken in the bowl to get its true weight.
- In a separate small bowl, measure out the salt. Evenly sprinkle it over the entire chicken — inside and out — massaging gently to ensure it’s well coated. It might look like a lot of salt, but it’s exactly what the bird needs. Trust me!
- Place the chicken on your prepared tray and refrigerate uncovered for at least 5 hours, or ideally overnight. As it brines, the salt will be absorbed and the skin will begin to dry — that’ll give us that crisp, golden skin when roasted.
Roasting Your Chicken to Perfection
- When you’re ready to roast, preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C).
- Remove the chicken from the fridge and discard the paper towels under the rack. Pat the chicken dry, inside and out, with fresh paper towels.
- Tie the legs together with twine and tuck the wing tips underneath.
- If you can, remove the wishbone — it makes carving SO much easier later. Use a small paring knife to trace along the wishbone at the top of the breasts, then gently pull it away from the meat and cut it free from the carcass.
- Rub the chicken all over with butter or olive oil. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and any herbs you like — I used fresh thyme here.
- Roast the chicken for about 2 hours at 325°F, rotating the tray halfway through. You’re aiming for the thighs to reach at least 200°F. Depending on your chicken’s size or starting temperature, you may need an additional 20–30 minutes.
- You’ll know it’s ready when the skin is deep golden brown and the drumsticks and thighs move easily — like you could almost pull them off the body without a knife.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 15–20 minutes before carving. Pour any accumulated pan juices over the sliced chicken before serving. Eat up!
Notes
DRY BRINE SALT CHART (DIAMOND CRYSTAL KOSHER SALT)
Here’s a quick reference chart for how much salt to use when dry-brining your chicken.- for a 2.5 LB chicken use 4 tsp (11 g) of salt
- for a 3 LB chicken use 5 tsp (14 g) of salt
- for a 3.5 LB chicken use 5 ¾ tsp (16 g) of salt
- for a 3.75 LB chicken use 6 tsp (17 g) of salt
- for a 4 LB chicken use 6 ½ tsp (18 g) of salt
- for a 4.5 LB chicken use 7 tsp (20 g) of salt
- for a 5 LB chicken use 8 tsp (23 g) of salt
Did You Make This Recipe?
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