BBQ Pit Boys Tip: Chickens Make a Lousy House Pet
The best thing you can do is to pre-season chicken with salt, especially a whole bird or thick bone-in, skin-on pieces. Just sprinkling a little salt on top of your chicken right before cooking it will only season the surface.
But seasoning the chicken with salt well ahead of time or brining it in a salt-water solution will draw salt deep into the meat, resulting in a very tasty piece of chicken.But also, and just as important, the salt changes the cells in the chicken meat so that they will draw and hold more moisture than the chicken had before. So not only will the chicken be tastier, but it will be much juicier, too. 
But seasoning the chicken with salt well ahead of time or brining it in a salt-water solution will draw salt deep into the meat, resulting in a very tasty piece of chicken.But also, and just as important, the salt changes the cells in the chicken meat so that they will draw and hold more moisture than the chicken had before. So not only will the chicken be tastier, but it will be much juicier, too. - in a large bowl dissolve 1/4 cup additive-free kosher salt in 1 cup hot water. Whisk to dissolve.
- Add 1 cup ice water and make sure the water is cool. If not, add a few pieces of ice.
- Place the chicken pieces in the brine and allow to soak for 45-90 minutes. If you’re cooking the chicken right away, you can do this on the countertop.
- Drain the chicken and pat dry with paper towels before cooking.
- For a whole bird, use 1 cup kosher salt and 4 cups water.
- Brine for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.
