Pickle Brine Chicken

I tried this recipe exactly as directed, using 4 boneless, skinless thighs. I think soaking them another hour or 2 might make them just a little tastier, but they were moist and tender. I realize you can't marinate for too long or the acid starts cooking the meat, but I have heard up to 4 hours is okay. Very good. I will use more than a pinch of cayenne next time!!

Surprisingly good flavor and a nice moist piece of chicken. I didn't change a thing and I don't know what I would.

Made this tonight. Followed the recipe,but let it brine for four hours. Grilled it on my Weber,vents medium,so it took about twenty minutes,turning four times. Came out juicey & moist,great flavor. This is a keeper. I don't understand the reviews complaining abut the pickle flavor,it had a nice tang to it,but did not taste like pickles.

I only marinated in dill pickle juice. I salt pepper garlic and cornstarch my chicken tenders and I used thigh meat. Came out awesome. I would take a pickle slice and wrap around tender and pop in my mouth for an awesome taste of wonderfulness almost ate all the pickles in the jar. Still had enough to take to lunch next day.

Holy. Cow. I mean chicken! Amazing! Try this and be happy! I grilled this delicious meal and am soooo grateful for my man, Chef John, for posting this! My final result had a subtle and valuable hint of dill, but it is an after note and not at all overpowering . Having said that, DO NOT SKIMP ON THE PICKLE JUICE! it really does add a layer of flavor that is lovely. The only significant change I made, is the addition of perhaps 1/2 cup of white sugar (its all I had) to make it more like my favorite turkey brine. My method was to melt the sugar into a glass of very hot water, and then stir that into the rest of the brine. Also, I cut the salt in half because pickle juice is already salty and that's just how I roll, baby! To be fair, my result was tasty to me because I totally got a sweet ( not crazy- sweet) , smoky and tangy coating on my grilled chicken, and that is exactly what I was going for. Unlike most brining methods I use, I only brined it for 3-4 hours or so. Therefore, I did not rinse the brine off because I gambled that it would not be too salty, and that worked! My remaining brine was boiled for 10. minutes. Then I removed about 1.5 cups of the magic potion and generously basted my bird every time i turned it over on the grill. The remaining brine got labled and frozen for next time, it is too good to waste! By the way, I grilled chicken wings and boneless, skinless chicken breast. I had to be careful and keep turning it and watching it beca

I followed this recipe as directed. I could certainly taste the pickle juice, and not in a good way. Didn't find the chicken to be especially moist either. Wouldn't make it again.

We really like this recipe. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Pounded them to a consistent thickness. Marinated them in the marinade that the recipe calls for, but I added fresh dill to the marinade. I put the marinade in a gallon size zip loc bag and marinated them for 2 hours, turning bag over every 1/2 hour. I dried off the breasts and spritzed with olive oil. For spices on the chicken I used, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne, and dried dill. I grilled them on my George Foreman grill. I will definitely make this again.

I make my own garlic dill pickles, consequently, always have extra pickle juice left over. I brined the chicken exactly as the recipe was written and it was some on the tastiest, most moist grilled chicken we've ever eaten. Excellent...will definitely make it again.

Very good! I used McClure's pickle brine, which is made with apple cider vinegar, and it came out being delicious. If you are lucky enough to have McClure's pickles at the local grocery, I would recommend trying it.

Since finding this recipe a month ago, I’ve made it four times! I love pickles. I marinate the chicken overnight, then oven roast them. Delish!

Really good! I had tenders that I only marinated an hour and just cooked them on the stove top on a grill pan. Big hit with my 11yo! I look forward to making this again, and truing it as a marinade before I fry tenders.

No changes to the recipe. It is excellent just as is.

I too have made the chick-fil-a knock off using this brine. Don't know how true to the chick-fil-a's it is because I've never eaten there. This exact same recipe was on The Kitchen this past weekend or last week and they all raved about it as well.

As always Chef John, you keep amazing me.

Followed the instructions to the letter, used brine from Boar's Head deli pickles and served with broccoli and some sour cream with dill mixed in. "Grilled" the chicken using my broiler since I'm an apartment dweller. I was surprised by just how good this was! Tastes vaguely pickle-ish and turns out moist breasts way faster than baking. Will definitely make again when we go through another jar of pickles.

I have always brimmed my chicken - PS - LOVE CHEF JOHN

I made this with a huge bone in chicken breast-decided we could share- marinated it for 2 hours-then continued per the recipe. It took about 35 min on the grill. Served with a mayo garlic aioli sauce from epicurious and au gratin potatoes- Was really good

The dill flavor in my chicken was powerful and very enjoyable, but this recipe didn't need half the salt called for. I marinated this for nearly 24 hours, which probably made it saltier. I wouldn't put any salt in the brine since the pickle juice is salty. I'd just use a pinch before cooking.

I used pickle juice from half sour pickles, not dill pickles. Came out great! Key- don't overcook

This recipe is great! Nice flavor and very juicy. We will definitely be making this again!

I made it. Loved it! Will make again! Extremely moist. Marinated for a day and a half.

Used this brine method on two huge chicken breasts. I let them marinate in the fridge for around 8 hrs. Grilled them on the bbq. Turned out moist with a slight vinegar note. Quite tasty. Next time I'm trying 24-48 hr marinating and see if that increases the transfer of flavours more. I don't think the original 1-2 hr marinating is long enough to get the meat flavoured but it probably is long enough to help moisten the chicken.

Loved this recipe. I cut the salt back a little since my pickle juice was saltier and marinate over night. Even tastes great the next day.

I don't understand how you can comment that you tried this pickle brine then complain that it tasted like pickles too much? I guess these folks expected it to taste like strawberries? I used the brine on my chicken pieces and then deep fried. It was wonderful. Like all brining liquid, make sure you rinse and pat dry. It is a tenderizer with a hint of pickles not a flavor additive to overpower the meat. My mother-in-law from Tennessee, said this has been used back home for decades in middle and Eastern Tenn.

I added a few, whole hot peppers (ghost peppers) to the pickle juice, and left the chicken (white & dark meat) in the brining solution for about a day. Came out great. I will be making this again.

I did not care for this brine at all. The only thing I omitted was the extra salt. The pickle juice is salty enuf. If you want to have your chicken breast taste like a dill pickle, you will love it... I didn't.

Used chicken thighs and soaked them in the brine mixture for about 4 hours. They had a nice tang (twang?) to them and were quite delicious. They bordered on being a little too salty so next time I'll try without sprinkling salt on them before they go on the grill. This is a great way to use all that wonderful brine leftover from kosher dills.

The pickle brine made such a difference ! The flavour was fantastic!

This turned out very well. I did broil it (10 minutes each side) instead of grilling because it is winter. I used skin-on thighs instead of breasts, because I like them better. And I added a little sriracha to the olive oil I used at the end. It was fantastic.

Chef John, I love your recipes! Great stuff! As it turns out, though I love kosher dills, pickle flavored chicken is not my cup of tea. It's edible but not something I'd ever consider making again.

This turned out very well. I did broil it (10 minutes each side) instead of grilling because it is winter. I used skin-on thighs instead of breasts, because I like them better. And I added a little sriracha to the olive oil I used at the end. It was fantastic.

I love pickle juice brine. Claussen kosher dill pickle juice is my favorite.

Pickle Brine Chicken Haiku: "The chicken was moist. But the pickle undertones? No thanks, not again." I appreciate the ease of the recipe and the resulting moist texture of the chicken, not to mention a use for the pickle juice that so rarely finds a purpose, but the somewhat unpleasant pickle-ey taste lingered too much, so I think I'll stick to basic ol' salt brine next time.

Great taste, easy to do. Will use again.

It had an interesting pickl-y flavor, but wasn't something anyone in the family wanted again. Even our pickle fanatic was a little disappointed.

This was my second time to make this dish, was awesome the first time! This time I used skinless/boneless chicken thighs and my go-to Paula Deen salt mixture, white pepper, smoked paprika and a 1/2 tsp chipotle. I intended for making sandwiches with this, and it worked very well with fresh tomatoes and gruyere on a flat bread. Enjoy

Loved it! Will be making this one again.

Yummy! I served it over Keto cold slaw.

Very good - and surprisingly, not too salty at all! I used brine from full sour pickles we got at the farmer's market (Gary's Pickles - SO GOOD!!). I did boneless thighs and a couple of boneless breasts - cooked on the grill as per recipe. Will definitely do this again - and I'm already looking forward to getting more full sour pickles to eat first!

Very simple and easy to make. I left out the cayenne pepper and let it marinade for about six or seven hours, but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly (although in a frying pan not on a grill). It had a nice pickle taste that wasn't overpowering, and both I and my girlfriend really enjoyed it. A nice variation on grilled chicken breast. I would definitely make it again.

5/17/20 - this was easy enough to throw together and to grill the tenderloins fast. Flavor was slightly like dill pickles, which we love, but the family didn't love this dinner.

Yummy! Here are the changes I made: I used homemade pickling juice made with tons of fresh dill. I diluted it a bit with water so the dill would not be so strong. I accidentally added to much sugar with made the chicken a bit sweet; next time I would omit the sugar all together. I used chicken tenders instead of breasts. Finally, my tenders were frozen so I defrosted them in the brine, which took several hours.

I brine meat quite often. This was unique; chicken was so very moist, tender, and tasty! A keeper

Not too pickley but definitely noticeable. Adds a little something different to the chicken

I cooked these on the Kamado Joe with indirect heat and they turned out amazing. I did use a chicken rub, Kosmo's Hot Dirty Bird BBQ rub, for finishing and the family loved it.

I did this with chicken thighs I had leftover, used Swerve instead of brown sugar and it turned out great.

Very blah. Won't make again. Ate the leftovers so it didn't hit 2 star rating.

Made no changes to the recipe and will make this again. Husband loved it.

We loved this! Half a recipe was plenty for 3 chicken breasts. I also used hot sauce and Tony's Creole seasoning in place of the cayenne pepper. Two hours of marinating was perfect. This was moist and tender and tasted like the chicken used in a certain restaurant's grilled chicken club. Delicious!