Garlic Chicken from my local Chinese restaurant ranks high on my list of favorites so I decided to brine half a Chicken using liquid Garlic along with a Marinade & Cooking Sauce. Not that I expected to duplicate the delectable flavors of Chinese Take-Out but it inspired me to work on another easy brine recipe to add to my repertoire.
Liquid Garlic & Mr Yoshida’s Brine:
- ½ gallon Water
- ½ cup of Sugar
- ¼ cup of Kosher Salt
- 1 cup of Mr Yoshida’s Marinade & Cooking Sauce
- 3 tsp Garlic Juice [1 tsp = ½ clove garlic]
Brined half a Fresh Foster Farms Chicken for 2½ hours in the refrigerator. Rinsed and patted the Chicken dry. Rubbed Annie’s Roasted Garlic EVOO and Plowboys Yardbird Rub under/on the skin. Here you can see how easy it is to peal back the skin and apply the EVOO and seasoning right on the Chicken for great flavor penetration.
Here’s the half Chicken with the skin replaced and a meat probe inserted into the thickest part of the Chicken Breast. Food should always be cooked to temperature: Chicken Breasts to 165ºF+ and Leg & Thighs to 180ºF+.
Preheated the MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet BBQ Smoker-Grill with Hickory wood BBQ pellets to 180ºF and Hickory smoked the half Chicken for an hour. Increased the temperature to 325ºF.
Pulled the Chicken when the Breast Internal Temperature reached 170ºF which normally insures that the leg and thigh are at least 180ºF. Rested the Chicken under a foil tent for 20 minutes before serving. Note the clear juices verifying that the yardbird is done to perfection. Blood in the liquid is a sign that the chicken has not reached proper temperature.
The Money $Shot$ … Plump moist Garlic/Teriyaki brined Chicken Breast served with steamed Potatoes and Broccoli … The Mr Yoshida Sweet & Savory Sauce did provided a great starting point for this brine and the liquid garlic complimented the Hickory smoke and Yardbird Rub seasonings.
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