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.
Prep Time::10 mins
Cook Time::10 mins
Additional Time:: 1 hr 5 mins
Total Time:: 1 hr 25 mins
Servings::2
Ingredients
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 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
Gather all ingredients.
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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.
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Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
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. 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).
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Transfer chicken to a plate, tent with aluminum foil, and let chicken rest for 5 minutes.
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios Editor's Note:
The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the brine ingredients. The actual amount of brine consumed will vary.