
Using a brine to infuse flavor in food has been practiced for a very long time, corned beef and ham are 2 examples of everyday food that gets brined. Pickled vegetables and fish as well as poultry are also brined, cured or marinated in this manner.
The main reason for brining a chicken is to infuse some salt to give it flavor but also to make the bird juicier and less prone to overcooking.
Brining was used to preserve meat with salt to avoid spoilage of large pieces of meat like hams and briskets. Kosher or sea salt needs to be used for preservation to work. Sugar helps balance the salt which is the reason for honey ham or maple turkey breast. In corned beef or pickled cucumbers, a variety of seasonings is used for flavor.

Color has been a big reason for brining and curing as salt helps preserve the nice pink ham and fresh color of poultry. Using plain kosher salt extends the a bit but using things like saltpeter retains the color and freshness for a lot longer – the tradeoff is that it is not great for your health.
Learning to brine and cure your own foods allows you to control what you put in and leave out.
Brining a whole chicken for roasting or chicken parts for smoking or grilling will give you much juicier and more flavorful meals and it’s easy.
Basic wet brining is 1/4 cup of kosher salt per quart of water, dissolve the salt in cold water and place your poultry in it for at least 6 hours up to a couple of days. The size or the item and saltiness of the brine will determine the length of curing and you will develop a feel for it as you do it more often. Ex. a 24lb turkey will need longer time in a stronger brine then chicken drumsticks or wings.
Mix your salt water brine cold and make sure the salt is completely dissolved. If you are making a more complex brine with herbs, spices and other ingredients you may want to heat the brine to steep the ingredients in the liquid so they can be absorbed by the chicken. If you do heat the brine, make sure to completely chill it before putting the chicken in it.

Using a plastic bag is a great idea, place the bag inside the bowl, pot or other vessel that you are using and place the brine and chicken in the bag. Press down to force the air out and tie the bag, this will ensure that the poultry stays in contact with the brine and keeps the brine from spilling in your refrigerator.
When the chicken is finished brining, lift it out of the brine and place on a rack in a roasting pan. You do not need to rinse it unless you have a lot of floating pieces of seasoning stuck to the skin that may burn. Pouring 1-2 cups of boiling water over the skin of a whole chicken will contract the skin and give it a nice crisp.
Next pat your chicken dry, weather you are brining pieces or a whole bird, allowing the outside to dry will improve the result.
Allowing the poultry to dry overnight will give you great results when roasting, grilling or smoking as the outside will sear rather then steam.
You can brine other items as well, pork does very well brined as does turkey and a variety of poultry.
The biggest challenge to brining is that you have to plan and allow for a couple of days for the brining and drying.
Now that you have prepared your poultry, go ahead and make that roast chicken, bbq drumsticks or even wings.
Enjoy!