Pickle Brine Chicken

There aren't a lot of great uses for leftover pickle juice. I did hear recently that some people like to drink this stuff after jogging, which I found to be quite 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. Having said that, these did 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 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
• 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 pickle juice, brown sugar, kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 pinch cayenne pepper together in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Submerge chicken breasts in brine, using a plate or bowl to sink the breasts into the brine; refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Step 3

Remove chicken breasts from brine, discard the brine, and dry chicken breasts with paper towels. Brush each breast with olive oil and season each 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 the plate with aluminum foil, and let chicken rest for 5 minutes.