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Easy and Simple Beer Brined Roasted Chicken

Easy and Simple, BEER-BRINED, Roasted CHICKEN COOKED IN A CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN
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Prep Time 2 days
Cook Time 1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

The Brine
  • 36 Ounces Beer Light colored lager or ale with less bitterness
  • 3 TBLS Salt Kosher is best
The Chicken Roast
  • 1 Whole Chicken 4 Pound (Give or Take)
  • 2 TBLS Oil Any oil will do. Use this to coat the chicken.

Equipment

  • 5 or 7 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven Depends on the size of your chicken
  • Larger Zipper Storage Bag To Brine In
  • Larger Bowl To hold the brining chicken while it’s in the refrigerator.
  • Meat Thermometer Optional
  • Butcher's Twine

Method
 

Brine The Chicken 2-5 Days Before Roasting
  1. Create your brine - In The Zipper Bag, add the 32 ounces of beer and then add the 3 Tablespoons of Salt. It will foam up!
  2. Remove the chicken from the market packaging and remember to remove anything from the cavity of the chicken.
  3. Place the chicken in the brine. Do not truss your chicken yet. Just the whole, raw chicken into the beer brine.
  4. Store the brining chicken in the refrigerator for two to five days.
Ready To Cook
  1. Remove the Chicken from the Refrigerator about an hour or two before you are ready to cook.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 177°C.
  3. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry the chicken with paper towels. 
  4. Truss the chicken with the butcher’s twine.
  5. Use the oil to coat the outside of the chicken.
  6. Using your 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, set a trivet in the bottom.
  7. Set the whole, trussed, oiled chicken on that trivet inside the cast iron Dutch oven.
  8. Set the Chicken in the Oven Without a Lid.
  9. Use a temperature probe to the thickest part of the breast. 
  10. Roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F / 74°C
  11. Remove the chicken from the oven and check the temperature the inner thigh to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Notes

Chef Tip 1: The 2nd best place to make sure the chicken is done through and through is the inner thigh area near the breast but not touching bone.
Chef Tip 2: The truth be known: it takes the same energy to cook one chicken as it does to cook two. We will cook a chicken in two 5-quart Dutch ovens at the same time. I have a large Fish Fryer Pot that I set the two trivets and chickens in; one on one side and one on the other. They fit perfectly.
Chef Tip 3: I will usually call my wife to pull the chicken down even before I get home from work. Or, I will pull it down as soon as I get home and let it “warm up.”
Chef Tip 4: Don't toss the bones, innards, or skin...MAKE A BROTH