Sweet Tea Brined Chicken

By: Laura

   The title of this post sounds like it should be coming from the south, doesn't it?  Well, that's where it originated, but I brought right here to the Midwest to give it a try and let me tell you, those Southern BBQ folks know what they're doing.
   A couple of weeks ago, I was at the library browsing and they had some grilling cookbooks on a display.  I walked past a couple of times and then realized that I really wanted to give one a try called, All Fired Up: Smokin' hot BBQ secrets from the South's best pitmasters.  I was intrigued and from what I saw in the few pages I perused, hungry.  I tried a number of recipes from this cookbook and plan to check it out again (or maybe purchase it), to get my fill of BBQ before the summer is up.
   I chose to feature this recipe first because it was something new for me: brining.  I have never attempted brining, mostly because I haven't had the time, but summer allows for a little more of that.  To brine is basically to marinate in salt and water, as well as other things (you'll see).  I loved the idea of sweet tea in the brine and so did my hubby, who loves his sweet tea (he's lived in the South a bit, so he knows what's what!).  And that was that, I started up the brining process.

I began by preparing some sweet tea, which meant I brought 4 cups of water to a boil and added two family sized tea bags.  The bags had to steep for 10 minutes and then the good stuff was added:sugar!  Not only did I add the sugar...

There was some more goodies; including a small sweet onion, lemon, garlic, rosemary, and of course, a whole lotta salt!  Doesn't it look splendid?  The aromas made the whole house smell delicious!

After 45 minutes, when the mixture was cooled, 2 cups of ice cubes were added to make sure things were real cold.

Finally, I grabbed my chicken pieces (I had thighs and drumsticks on hand) and put them in my plastic baggie.  I had the baggie standing up and was adding the brine when I took my hands off the baggie for a moment and it slumped over!  Ahhh, this was a huge mistake.  At least 1/4 of my brine mixture ended up all over my counter (as evidenced in the picture above).  It was a stupid move on my part, so this is your warning: keep your hands on the baggie at all times.
(It's called the test nest, we ain't perfect, y'all)

After 24 hours of refrigeration, the chicken was ready to hit the grill!

Now, I got these babes on the grill, but the heat was indirect (meaning only one side of the grill was lit, while the chicken was on the unlit side).  They were on there for about 20 minutes, then I flipped them and they went for 45 minutes more.  Finally, the chicken went over the the lit side of the grill, skin side down, to get crispy for two to three minutes.  (or 5-10 if your child needs to be pushed on the swing, then your skin will get very crispy, dare I say, burnt)

Now, other than my two mishaps of losing a lot of the brine mixture and nearly burning all of my chicken, I did come out with a few killer drums and thighs.  The flavor was dynamite and it was really worth my time and effort.

I should also mention that the potatoes and beans are fresh from the garden.  Now that makes a lady proud.  Come on over y'all.  

Here is the link for Sweet Tea Brined Chicken!