Mmmm... brined, grilled chicken

Loosely based on Tyler's brine for pork chops - see his recipe for more exact measurements. I did it like this:

Fill a large bowl about halfway with cold water. Salt it until it tastes like seawater. Add a little brown suger - you want to only just be able to taste it. Add some whole peppercorns and the herb(s) of your choice. I usually go with thyme for chicken, but rosemary would be nice too. If you have some wilting parsley in the fridge, chuck that in. A piece of lemon zest, a clove of garlic. Whatever aromatics you have around.

Submerge the chicken in the brine. I advocate using skin-on (important for the grilling later), de-boned chicken thighs. Stick it in the fridge for about 1 - 2 hours. (No more than that, or the proteins will break down too much and the meat will get mushy.)

The science behind brining: There is more salt in the brine than in the chicken; therefore, salt moves into the chicken, giving it flavor. There is more water in the brine than in the chicken; therefore, water moves into the chicken, giving it moisture. I'm told by Summer Brother this is called osmolarity, and it's how your kidneys work.

After an hour or two, remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Grill! (Even if you don't eat the skin, the chicken will taste better if grilled with the skin on. It also gives you a margin of error, for both overcooking and accidental charring.)

If you're feeling ambitious, Tyler's garlic-herb dressing makes a great sauce to serve over it.

I served the chicken with some grilled vegetables, a quick pasta salad and some marinated artichokes (from a jar). Grab a bottle of white and you've got a party!