Brining a whole chicken in the salty, tangy liquid that good feta comes packed in yields a golden, burnished, roast chicken with unparalleled tenderness.
Reducing Food Waste in My Kitchen Lead to My Best Roast Chicken Yet
The first time I ate feta-brined chicken was at Souvla, a fast casual Mediterranean spot in San Francisco. The meat was delicious; super tender and juicy, with deep amber skin and an herbal high note. I was immediately hooked.
Back at home, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head to use feta brine, the liquid that block-style feta comes packed in, as a chicken marinade. I’m constantly looking for ways to reduce food waste and stretch a dollar in my kitchen, and I loved the idea of using something that would otherwise go right down the drain to recreate that delicious, tender chicken.
Why Brine a Chicken?
From a food science perspective, brining chicken (whether wet or dry) is always the right call. Through osmosis, the salt in the brine pulls water out of the meat, and then the meat reabsorbs the brine, along with any flavors you add.
Feta brine takes that process a step further.
- The liquid is already salty, yes, but it also carries the tangy lactic acids from the cheese-making process.
- This makes the meat extra tender and adds that wonderful tangy note that complements the chicken.
- While testing this recipe, I added Greek oregano to the brine and found that its peppery flavor works its way into the meat along with the salt.
To add even more flavor, I make a paste of lemon zest, herbs, garlic, and olive oil to spread under the chicken skin. This helps the flavor penetrate the meat, and the skin prevents the lemon and garlic from burning while the chicken roasts. The result is a deeply seasonined bird that stays juicier in the oven, and has noticeably more tender texture, especially the breast!
Key Ingredients
- Feta cheese: I start with block-style feta in brine. You’ll use both the liquid and some of the cheese in the brine itself. Reserve the remaining feta to crumble on top of the finished chicken.
- Kosher salt: Even though feta brine is already salty, a touch more ensures the brine is seasoned enough to penetrate the meat.
- Greek oregano: I add this distinctive peppery dried herb to both the brine and the dry rub to add layers of oregano flavor to this dish.
- Dried thyme: Oregano is the primary herbal note in this brined chicken, but thyme adds a woodsy backnote. Like oregano, it grows wild on the rocky hillsides of Greece.
- Extra virgin olive oil: helps carry the flavor of the lemon-garlic rub and keeps the aromatics hydrated so they don’t burn in the oven.
- Garlic: Adds its distinctive pungency. I like to take the step of rubbing it under the skin, directly onto the breast and thigh meat, for maximum flavor. This helps prevent it from burning in the oven.
- Lemon: The zest goes into the rub, where it adds a pleasant citrusy aroma, and I like to offer the wedges for squeezing over the finished meat.
How to Brine a Chicken with Feta
- Brine the chicken. A day before you plan to roast the chicken, combine 1 cup feta brine along with 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon Greek oregano in a blender. Crumble in 4 ounces feta cheese. Pulse, then puree. With the blender running, stream in 2 cups water. Add the brine to a large resealable bag or container, then add 1 whole chicken (4 to 5 pounds) chicken, squeezing out the air to coat the chicken in brine as thoroughly as possible. Refrigerate for 1 day.
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the chicken and discard the brine. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry inside and out. Remove as much moisture as you can. Allow it to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Make the seasonings. Combine 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons Greek oregano, and 1 teaspoon dried thyme in one bowl. In a second bowl, combine 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 2 grated garlic cloves, and the zest of 1 lemon, stir to make a paste.
- Season the chicken. Film a rimmed baking sheet or a roasting pan with olive oil. Pat the chicken dry again, then season the cavity of the chicken with 1/3 of the oregano mixture and place it on the prepared pan. Loosen the skin from the breast meat and the legs by inserting your fingers between the skin and the flesh. Stir half of the remaining oregano mixture into the garlic-oil mixture and rub it between the skin and flesh of the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining dry seasoning all over the chicken.
- Roast the chicken. Move pan to the oven and roast, until the chicken registers 165°F in the thickest part of the breast, about 1 hour.
- Rest the chicken. For at least 10 minutes, and then carve into pieces. Serve topped with crumbled feta and fresh parsley, with lemon wedges on the side.
Tips for Making Juicy Feta Brined Chicken
This is a beginner-friendly recipe, but there are a couple of details that really make or break it.
- First, because this is a wet brine, you must dry the chicken extremely well before it goes in the oven. Surface moisture is the enemy of good browning.
- Dry the skin, blot the cavity, and then let the bird sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Pat it dry again before adding the spice rub!
- The second key technique I would emphasize is don’t pull the chicken too early. Both the brine and the fact that it’s a bone-in whole bird will help protect the meat against drying out.
- Keep it in the oven until the skin is genuinely, deeply golden all over. That color means flavor!
Where to Get Feta in Brine (And What to Use If You Can’t!)
Feta in brine can be hard to track down, depending on where you live. In my small Oregon city, only one grocery store carries it, and it costs twice as much per pound.
My colleagues at The Mediterranean Dish recommend Costco’s Greek feta in brine for this and our other feta recipes.
To make sure that everyone can make this chicken, I cross-tested this recipe extensively using alternatives. I’m happy to report that these options are great:
- Make Your Own Brine with Crumbled or Vacuum-Sealed Feta: Combine 8 ounces crumbled feta in a blender with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup water. Puree. With the blender running, stream in 2 more cups of water. Use this mixture to brine the chicken. Yes, you’ll need to buy more cheese with this method, but it comes remarkably close in flavor.
- Use Whey Instead: You can also substitute 3 cups of whey leftover from making Greek yogurt or labneh. It adds that wonderful lactic tang, and it’s another way to minimize food waste. I use 3 cups in place of the brine and water, and add 1 teaspoon of salt per cup.
What to Serve with Feta-Brined Chicken
This chicken is such a star that I typically serve it with just a few supporting actors. Specifically, a simple green salad or a colorful chopped salad and crusty bread for mopping up the juices. Want to round it out into more of a spread? Any of the following would be ideal additions:
- Greek Lemon Rice is bright and herby, and absorbs the pan drippings beautifully.
- Tzatziki is nice as a cool, creamy counterpoint to the warm, savory meat and goes perfectly with the crumbled feta.
- Twice Baked Potatoes with lemon and feta or Greek potatoes would be so delicious with this.
- Roasted vegetables are an easy addition. I use whatever is in season, adding a tray to the oven in the last 30 minutes.
More Roast Chicken Recipes
- Roast Spatchcock Chicken with Citrus & Honey
- Easy Oven Roasted Chicken
- Kleftiko-Style Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
- Yogurt Marinated Chicken
A Note from Suzy
“This brined roast chicken recipe is definitely going into my rotation. I love how using the feta brine makes something from nothing!”
Ingredients
- 1 8-ounce container feta cheese in brine
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon greek oregano
- 2 cups water
- 1 whole chicken (4 to 5 pounds)
Lemon-Garlic Rub
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Greek oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 lemon, zested, and cut into wedges
- Chopped parsley, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Brine the chicken. A day before you plan to roast the chicken, combine the brine from the feta container (about 1 cup) along with 2 teaspoons salt, and Greek oregano in a blender. Crumble in half the cheese, about 4 ounces. Pulse, then puree. With the blender running, stream in water. Add the brine to a large resealable bag or container, then add the chicken, squeezing out the air to coat the chicken in brine as thoroughly as possible. Refrigerate for 1 day.
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the chicken and discard the brine. Use paper towels to pat the chicken dry inside and out. Remove as much moisture as you can. Allow it to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats.
- Make the Lemon-Garlic Rub. Combine the salt, black pepper, oregano, thyme in one bowl. In a second bowl, combine olive oil, grated garlic, and lemon zest in a bowl, stir to make a paste.
- Season the chicken. Film a rimmed baking sheet or a roasting pan with olive oil. Season the cavity of the chicken with 1/3 of the oregano mixture and place it on the prepared pan. Loosen the skin from the breast meat and the legs by inserting your fingers between the skin and the flesh. Rub half of the remaining oregano mixture into the garlic-oil mixture and rub it between the skin and flesh of the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining dry seasoning all over the chicken.
- Roast the chicken. Move pan to the oven and roast, until the chicken registers 165°F in the thickest part of the breast, about 1 hour.
- Rest the chicken. For at least 10 minutes and then carve into pieces. Serve topped with crumbled feta and fresh parsley, with lemon wedges on the side.
Notes
- To Make Your Own Brine with Crumbled or Vacuum-Sealed Feta: Combine 8 ounces crumbled feta in a blender with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup of water. Puree. With blender running, stream in 2 more cups of water. Use this mixture to brine the chicken. Yes, you’ll need to buy more cheese for this recipe if you’re making your own brine from scratch starting with crumbled feta, but it comes remarkably close in flavor to starting with the cheese brine.
- Use Whey Instead: You can also substitute the whey leftover from making Greek yogurt or labneh in place of the water in the recipe below. It adds that wonderful lactic tang and it’s another way to minimize food waste. I use it cup for cup, and add 1 teaspoon of salt per cup.
Nutrition
Try Our Greek Oregano!
This dried herb straight from Greece is lemony, fragrant, and perfect for everyday use.
Time is key when brining a chicken as the salt and acid in the brine needs time to penetrate all the way through the meat. At minimum, I’d recommend brining for 4 hours. I think it’s easiest to start the brine a day ahead of when you plan to roast the chicken.
Brining a chicken before roasting it helps the meat retain moisture while it cooks and makes it super juicy and tender to eat.
Some recipes recommend rinsing the meat after brining, but this recipe is designed to skip that step. Simply lift the chicken out of the brine and pat it dry. Discard any remaining brine.
