Pickle Brine 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.

• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 20 mins
• Calories: 351 Calories

Ingredients

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

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.

Step 2

Whisk together pickle juice, brown sugar, kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 pinch cayenne pepper in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Place chicken breasts in brine, using a plate or bowl to keep breasts submerged. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Step 3

Remove chicken breasts from brine, discard brine, and dry chicken breasts with paper towels. Brush each breast with olive oil; season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Step 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 chicken rest for 5 minutes.