Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Pickle Juice Brined Chicken

Sunday night I tried a new to me recipe for chicken.

First I brined bone in skin on chicken legs in pickle juice for 6 hours. You could use any part of the chicken but the cooking time I'm including is for the legs only. For thighs and breast you would need to increase the time and for wings you would have to decrease. Then I made a dredge of 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, paprika, salt and pepper. 

Coat the chicken with the dredge and shake off any excess and set aside on a wire rack for 30 minutes in the fridge.

You could easily fry or bake in the oven but I chose this time to air fry. I lightly coated the basket with avocado oil and spritzed the chicken very lightly with it as well.  Then I set the temperature at 380 degrees and the timer for 40 minutes.  I turned them over at the 20 minute point.

The meat turned out juicy and tender with a really good crisp on the skin.  You could definitely taste the pickle juice but it was not overwhelming at all.  I always save my pickle juice so I would definitely do this again when I have excess to use up. 

Stay safe everyone!!


14 comments:

  1. Interesting by the way the chicken chili was amazing!

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    1. Oh I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It's a good winter meal.

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  2. I will be trying this! We often can get bone in thighs for so cheap and I too can save pickle juice so no extra expense there.

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    1. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't have too much pickle flavor. I agree just saving the pickle juice adds no extra cost to a dish which is always a win.

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  3. Brineing.... Have never done this!

    😊 💗 😊

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    1. I do if from time to time but not always. A number of people argue that it makes the meat very moist.

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  4. This sounds interesting, and I'm glad yours came out great.

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    1. It came out better than I anticipated. There is only a hint of the pickle juice and the chicken was very moist. I just love an experiment. Hope you're doing well!!

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  5. OK so I did this about a year ago. My problem is, I have a hard time cooking things coated with breading. I don't know why; it just falls off and makes a mess in the pan. You could probably tell me what I'm doing wrong if you were watching me! The pickle taste was not really impressive enough to make me want to try it again. I do love pickles and I do love fried chicken -- I even love fried pickles, haha -- but I think I'll let the experts do the frying. xoxo

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    1. I did these in the air fryer but when I do fry something in oil I coat in flour, then egg and then panko and I place whatever I'm frying on a wire rack and cool in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. Letting the coating sit for a bit seems to work for me.
      Don't get me started on fried pickles. YUM!

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  6. How fun!
    I shall try to remember this one when the pickles are done.

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  7. I'll definitely put this on the list to try. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us!

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    1. We enjoyed it. Nothing I'd make all the time but if I had extra pickle juice it does add a nice flavor to the chicken without overpowering it.

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