Best Ways to Store Brine Chicken in Pickle Juice

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What does Brine chicken in pickle juice do? Brine chicken in pickle juice imparts a nice little twang of flavor. But most importantly, it makes it super tender and juicy. Once it’s lightly breaded and then baked in the oven until crispy, it becomes a healthier version of your favorite fried chicken.

Use pickle brine next time you feel like cooking chicken. There aren’t a lot of great uses for leftover pickle juice. I recently heard that some people like to drink this stuff after jogging, which I found shocking since I had no idea people still jogged. Like most brined recipes, the payoff is in the texture and moisture content and also not necessarily in the taste. But this dish does have a nice little twang. So the next time you have nothing left in the pickle jar but the juice, you know what to do.

Recipe of Brine Chicken in Pickle Juice

Ingredients – Brine Chicken in Pickle Juice

• 1 ½ cups dill pickle juice, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• aluminum foil

Directions – Brine Chicken in Pickle Juice

1. Whisk together pickle juice, brown sugar, kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1 pinch of cayenne pepper in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves. Place chicken breasts in brine, using a plate or bowl to keep breasts submerged. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
3. Remove chicken breasts from the brine, discard the brine, and dry chicken breasts with paper towels. Brush each breast with olive oil; season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
4. Cook chicken on the preheated grill until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken to a plate, tent with aluminum foil, and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.

9 Things You Can Do With Your Leftover Pickle Juice

Tenderize or Marinate Meat 

If you’re looking to try something new when cooking your chicken or steak, use the leftover pickle juice as a marinade or meat tenderizer to amp up the flavor. Because it is super acidic, it will help tenderize the meat and add a little oomph of flavor you’ve been missing out on. 

Make Pickle Bread

Try something new in your bread and add some pickle juice to it. The brine can be used in place of water in your typical bread recipe, helping to bind the dry ingredients and adding the acidity that the average slice of bread may need. 

Add Flavor to Other Foods

Pickles make everything better, and so can the juice. As if it hasn’t been said enough, pickles have a large amount of acid and the tangy flavor can add a kick to any burger meat, Bloody Mary, or even French fries (pre-frying, of course). 

Make Pickle Popsicles

This sounds funky, but, supposedly, pickle juice makes for a great frozen treat. Sonic has even made a pickle juice slushie. So if that hasn’t convinced you enough, freeze your leftover pickle juice for a tangy chilled popsicle. 

Use It as a Hangover Cure

For those of you above age who experience the side effects that may come with drinking alcohol, desperate times call for desperate measures. Supposedly pickle juice is said to help cure a hangover. It helps with the depleted sodium levels you may experience and can help with dehydration as well. 

Use it for cleaning

Because of its high acidic content thanks to vinegar, pickle juice can be used as a cleaning agent, helping to lift charred bits off of copper pans and dirty grills. 

Spray It in the Garden

If you want to stay natural in the garden, use pickle juice as a natural weed killer or to help the soil gain nutrients that will help your plants to grow and thrive even more than expected. 

Use as a Vinegar Replacement

Pickle juice works in place of vinegar in salad dressing, soups, or really, in most recipes. It’s basically just a souped-up version of vinegar, and it has about the same acid content.

So all in all, if you take away anything here, never get rid of your leftover pickle juice. You never know what use you may need it for. 

Recipe of Moist Chicken Breast

The secret to making the most tender and juicy chicken is by brining the chicken first.

The official definition of the word “brine” is water that is strongly infused with salt.  The high salt content creates an osmotic reaction which helps to pull the flavors of the brine into the chicken.

Also, pulling liquid into the chicken, not only does it help produce a delicious flavor but it also helps to keep the chicken nice and moist.

Ingredients Needed For Chicken Brine Recipe

Leftover dill pickle juice – Whenever we finish a jar of dill pickles, I save the juice in the fridge until I have some chicken that I want to cook. Look for dill pickles that are organic and do not have any additives for making the best pickle juice brine chicken.

Chicken Breast – For this chicken brine recipe, I used boneless skinless chicken breast. However, pork, turkey breast, and even a small whole turkey or chicken can be substituted.

Method to Make Moist Chicken Breast

• Cut your chicken breast into the desired shape
• Add the chicken to a glass container
• Add in the dill pickle juice
• Toss to coat
• Place in the fridge for 12 hours or overnight

Method 2

There are several different ways to cook this pickle juice brine chicken. Use either the oven, stovetop, slow cooker, air fryer or on the grill, because you are brining the chicken first, and you will always create super moist chicken!

In The Oven:

• Arrange chicken breasts in a 9×13 baking dish
• Rub olive oil all over each chicken breast and set aside.
• Transfer your chicken to the oven and cook at 425˚F for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
• Thinner breasts will need less time, thicker breasts might need a little more time in the oven.
• Start checking for doneness at the 20-minute mark.

On The Stovetop:

• Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat
• Once the pan and the oil are hot, carefully add the dill pickle-brined chicken breasts.
• Don’t overcrowd the pan with chicken.
• If you need more than can comfortably fit in the pan, you’ll have to cook the chicken in batches.
• If possible, cover the skillet to help trap the heat and keep the grease from splattering
• When the chicken looks white halfway up the side of the chicken breast, it is ready to turn.
• Flip the chicken over and continue cooking it on the other side.
• A general rule of thumb is that it takes about 5-7 minutes on each side for the chicken to be fully cooked

In a Crockpot:

• Add chicken to the crockpot
• Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours

In an Air Fryer:

• Grease the air fryer pan well with avocado oil (or olive oil)
• Lightly grease the chicken and place the brined chicken in the basket, making sure not to overcrowd the basket
• Cook the chicken at 375˚F for 10 minutes
• Flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

On The Grill:

• Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
• Place chicken on the grill for 7-8 minutes.
• Flip over and cook an additional 7-8 minutes or until no pink remains

Conclusion – Brine Chicken in Pickle Juice

Brine chicken in pickle juice imparts a nice little twang of flavor. But most importantly, it makes it super tender and juicy. Once it’s lightly breaded and then baked in the oven until crispy, it becomes a healthier version of your favorite fried chicken.

Use pickle brine next time you feel like cooking chicken. There aren’t a lot of great uses for leftover pickle juice. I recently heard that some people like to drink this stuff after jogging, which I found shocking since I had no idea people still jogged. Like most brined recipes, the payoff is in the texture and moisture content and not necessarily in the taste. But this dish does have a nice little twang. So the next time you have nothing left in the pickle jar but the juice, you now know what to do.

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