brine Archives - The Semiconservative Granola Girl

Have you noticed that most brine recipes are loaded with sugar? In fact we have a chicken brine recipe for our Juicy Smoked Chicken Thighs that has a significant dose of sugar in it. But in truth, we really try to keep the added sugar out when we can, especially when we are doing a Whole30. Apple Cider Brine is a Whole30 compliant brine for poultry or pork. It’s easy and no added sugar.

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Apple Cider Brine

We have been using this brine to make juicy smoked turkey for a while. We are still working out the kinks of smoking time for turkey before we can actually publish a post on smoked turkey, but the brine is ready.

And as always, we are looking for quick and easy. All you need is kosher salt which you dissolve in hot water (which can seriously be from the tap). Once the salt is dissolved, add cider, a cored and quartered apple, a peeled and quartered onion and a handful of fresh parsley.

Add your meat. Then add more water to cover. Let your meat soak up all the appley, salty goodness for 4-8 hours, but overnight is better.

We smoked a twenty pound turkey for Christmas dinner and it came out perfectly smoky and perfectly juicy. (It also came out HOURS before we thought it should based on what we had read. Kinks.)

Whole30 Smoked Meat

So if you are looking to impress your guests or just make juicy smoked chicken, turkey or pork that is Whole30 compliant, make up a batch of Apple Cider Brine and let your meat smoke (or roast). This brine would be perfect for smoked pork butt. Just use the brine instead of injecting apple juice.

For other ideas on using your electric smoker during your Whole30 be sure to check out last week’s post Whole30 Electric Smoker.

Apple Cider Brine

This is a sugar free brine that is prefect for smoking or roasting poultry or pork.

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Prep Time 5

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Whole30

Servings 1 quart

Ingredients

2 cups hot water plus more to cover
1/2 cup coarse Kosher salt
2 cups apple cider
1 apple cored and quartered
1 onion peeled and quartered
3-4 sprigs fresh parsley

Instructions

In a large container that will allow you to submerge the meat you are planning to brine, add the hot water and salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.
Add the meat to the brine. Additional water to cover. Up to two cups. If more is required double the recipe.

Notes

This brine will cover a whole chicken, a small pork butt or a small turkey. For larger turkeys or larger pork butts, you may need to double the recipe. We used a double recipe for our 20 lb. Christmas turkey.

Keyword Electric Smoker

We are totally in the heart of electric smoker season. Although truthfully we use our smoker all year round, but I am sure that some of you only use it seasonally. Recently, we were having our parents over for dinner, so we decided to smoke bone-in chicken thighs, but we decided not to go with our Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs, so instead we made a brine and a relatively mild chili rub. Enter our newest Smoked Chicken Thighs.

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Smoked Chicken

The key to smoking chicken in your electric smoker is to brine it. Chicken has the potential to become dry during the smoking process, so brining it first is key.

A simple brine of salt, sugar and water is key. We like to add garlic and chives to give it just a little something something. And if you are into heat, you can add red pepper flakes.

Begin by adding all of your dry ingredients to a large pan (one that will accommodate all of your meat plus the brine). Add one cup of water and heat just until the salt and sugar have dissolved.

Once the salt and sugar have dissolved, add eight cups of cold water and your chicken thighs. Add more water as necessary to cover your meat. I sometimes add some ice to help cool the water more quickly.

Brine your meat for 4-12 hours. Remove the meat from the brine a half hour to an hour before you plan to smoke it. Allow the meat the dry (we do it over a rack). Preheat your electric smoker 225ºF then apply your favorite rub. (We like our own Semiconservative Granola Girl Rub).

Finish on the Grill

Our latest obsession in meat smoking is finishing on the grill. This give the meat that awesome smokiness with a crispy finish. Smoke the meat for about an hour and a half until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF. When the meat reaches 160ºF, preheat your grill. When the grill is ready, transfer the meat to the grill. Continue to cook the chicken on the grill flipping to get both sides.

Serve with or without a sauce. Dill Pickle Everything Sauce would be perfect. Or any barbecue sauce would work too. However, sauce is really unnecessary. Leftovers make amazing chicken salad.

If your are looking for other juicy smoked chicken recipes, check out Dill Pickle Smoked Chicken Thighs or head on over to my Everything Electric Smoker Page for other Electric Smoker recipes and ideas.

Perfectly Juicy Smoked Chicken Thighs

It is easy to dry out chicken in the electric smoker, but this recipe which is brinded and then finished on the grill gives perfectly juicy chicken every time.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 30

Idle Time/ Brining Time 5

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 8 thighs