Marinate Chicken Thighs In This Pantry Staple For Juicy, Flavorful Meat

If a no-waste kitchen appeals to you and you want more easy ways to use up leftover pickle juice, look no further than your next chicken dinner. Pickle juice has the perfect balance of acid, salt, and liquid to act as a wet brine, keeping chicken thighs juicy and tender as they cook. It can also do double duty as a marinade, infusing your chicken with a lightly herbaceous, dill-forward flavor (or whatever the most dominant taste is in your favorite brand of pickles).

This can also be a great way to use up extra pickling liquid from making homemade quick pickles. Whether store-bought or homemade, the brining process is generally the same — the vinegar and salts in the pickle juice gently soften the meat, allowing it to absorb more moisture. Though chicken thighs are naturally more tender and juicy than breasts, they can still become rubbery and overcooked. A pickle juice brine helps prevent that while infusing the dark meat with even more flavor. 

This process is also much easier than making a brine yourself, as you only need pickle juice. You can add additional seasonings if you like, but it's not necessary. After patting your chicken thighs dry, place them in a casserole dish and fill it with pickle juice until the chicken is completely submerged. Let them brine for no more than two hours, as any longer can over-tenderize them to the point of becoming mushy.

Once your chicken is fully brined, you can grill, sear, or roast it to succulent perfection. The result will be crisp and golden on the outside and tender and moist on the inside, since the same reaction to the salt and vinegar that makes your chicken juicy also creates that golden crispiness on the surface, as the absorbed brine caramelizes. This hack is also perfect for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, as the skin contains fat that helps keep the meat moist. Without it, a pickle juice brine is a decent substitute that's also less greasy. 

If you intend to make pickle juice do double duty as a marinade, you can easily customize store-bought pickles with a new flavor profile, or add big flavors to homemade pickles that will also enhance your chicken thighs' flavor. Peppercorns, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, and mustard seeds are all delicious choices. For instance, garlic and mustard seeds could be perfect with traditional dill pickles, or pickles flavored with other herbs like tarragon. 

Similarly, red pepper flakes and peppercorns would be delicious with a little lemon peel in the brining liquid. This is also a great hack to keep in mind if you have leftover pickle juice, but not quite enough to completely submerge your chicken. You can use vinegar and seasonings from your pantry to supplement what you have until you have enough, with the added bonus of even more flavor.