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Using the brine from pickles to marinate chicken is such a great way yo use up the leftover brine when you are done eating the pickles. PIckle brine adds flavor as well as moisture to chicken. Feel free to use brines from different kinds of pickles like pepperocinis, cornichons and okra.
Paul Ward
makes 5 sandwiches
20 minutes
sandwich
Using the brine from pickles to marinate chicken is such a great way yo use up the leftover brine when you are done eating the pickles. PIckle brine adds flavor as well as moisture to chicken. Feel free to use brines from different kinds of pick...
1 cup pickle brine/juice
1 cup buttermilk
5 boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 cups of vegetable oil
4 cups all purpose flour
2 gallon sized sealable bags
¼ cup Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning
Your choice of sandwich fixings (buns, lettuce, pickles, condiments)
Whisk together pickle brine and buttermilk in a mixing bowl and pour into a gallon sized sealable bag. Place chicken in bag, press air out of bag and seal shut. Place bag in a mixing bowl to act as insurance in case the bag has a hole, and put in fridge. Let sit for a minimum of 8 hours and no longer than 24 hours.
The next day, heat oil in a 6-qt. pot over medium heat until it reaches 400F. Ideally, the temperature for the oil, when frying chicken, should be around 350F. However, you want to preheat your oil slightly hotter because as you are adding your chicken, the temperature of the oil will drop. If the oil drops below a certain point, the breading will not stick to the chicken or crisp properly.
Place flour in gallon bag. Remove the chicken from the brine and add all 5 thighs to the bag-do not pat the chicken dry before. Seal bag and and shake the bag aggressively for 45 seconds to 1 minute. This process creates the cracks and crispy bits on the chicken. If you were to simply dip the chicken in flour before frying, the surface of the chicken would be smooth and have little to no crispy bits hanging off. There is no such thing as coating the chicken in too much flour here.
Remove the chicken from the bag with tongs and carefully add it to the hot oil. Cook approximately 3 thighs at a time. Too much chicken cooking at once will not only drop the temperature of the oil, but will also not give the chicken enough space to cook properly. You may need to make little adjustments to the heat to try to maintain a temperature around 350F. Cook chicken around 5 minutes, then flip chicken pieces and cook 3-4 minutes more or until it is golden brown and has an internal temperature of 165F. Transfer chicken to a wire rack set on a sheet pan and repeat process with the remaining chicken.
Place Nashville Chicken seasoning in a metal mixing bowl. Using a metal ladle, carefully add 1 cup of the hot frying oil to bowl. You may hear some sizzling and that will only make the spices more aromatic. Using tongs, add one hot fried chicken thigh to the bowl and make sure it is well coated by the sauce. Add it to your choice of sandwich fixings and serve hot. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. For a perfect pairing, top the chicken with our recipe for Dill and Chive Ranch Dressing.