Have you ever finished an entire jar of pickles by yourself while standing in front of an open refrigerator and thought, “I wish there was something I could do with this pickle brine instead of just dumping it down the drain” ? If that sounds like you, boy do I have a crazy concept.
Use it as a meat marinade!
We often times will consolidate our pickle brine and use it to marinate chicken, beef and pork. Today however, we will discuss making pickle brined chicken nuggets.

You can use any pickle brine or even pepperoncini brine that you wish, along with adding some additional things you probably already have around the house, like :

• Heavy cream, half and half or milk
• Hot sauce
• Spices and herbs
• Various other sauces like Worcestershire, steak sauce, dressing, etc.

* If you purchase anything through any of the links I provide in my posts, I may receive some compensation, at absolutely NO cost to you! Thank you for helping me do what I love, and that is teaching you all to cook.*

I am adding roughly 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream and about 3 TB of Franks Red Hot (hot sauce) to my pickle brine.

These additional things are totally optional. You can use just pickle brine to marinate your meat and it will still come out tenderized and full of flavor.

INGREDIENTS : (enough for 2-4 people, use less chicken if you’re making a single portion)

• 2-3 chicken breasts. Cut into 1″ cubes
• Pickle brine (enough to cover your chicken cubes)
• Additional marinade ingredients as mentioned above (optional)
• Flour/breadcrumbs/cornstarch/panko (you can choose whichever one you have on hand, I personally prefer cornstarch for nuggets because it makes them extra crispy)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Spices like garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika, mustard powder (all optional)
• Frying oil (avocado oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, etc)

STEPS :

1. Cut your chicken breasts into 1″ cubes. This does not have to be precise, so don’t worry about finding a ruler. Add your chicken to a container that will fit the chicken cubes and the brine enough to cover your chicken entirely. Add your brine and additional marinade ingredients (if you wish to add any) and allow to soak for 2 hours minimum. You can even use the jar the pickles came in!
2. Strain your chicken from the brine. You can dispose of this brine now.
3. Fill a ziplock bag with roughly 4-8 TB (tablespoons) of your crust coating (flour/cornstarch/breadcrumbs/panko) and add roughly 1/2-1 tsp (teaspoon) of salt and about the same amount of ground black pepper and any optional spices. Close the bag and shake it up to mix your coating. Then add your strained chicken cubes to the bag with your dry ingredients, close it and give it a good shake to make sure every cube is covered. *When getting ready to start frying, try to shake off any excess coating from your chicken cubes that are not stuck on to the pieces because otherwise the excess coating will burn in your oil and cause a slight bitterness.*
4. Heat enough oil in a pan to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Depending on the size of your pan, the amount of oil needed will vary. You may also need to add additional oil as you go if you are cooking a lot of chicken and need to fry it in batches. Heat the oil on medium-high heat.
5. Once your oil is ready, add your chicken cubes to your pan and sear them on each side for roughly 1-2 minutes each, or until you see it develop a golden brown color. Once all sides are browned, you can remove the cubes from the pan and set aside on a plate or on top of paper towels to drain any excess oil and then proceed with the next batch (if cooking in batches). *Make sure not to overcrowd your pan with too many pieces of meat being very close to each other and touching because this could cause your meat to release too much moisture and make your coating not stick well. Generally, I like to leave about 1/8″-1/4″ space between each piece so that the hot oil can work in between the pieces.*

Enjoy plain or with any dipping sauce of your choice. Today, I will be dipping these into my homemade chimichurri sauce (which you can find the recipe for in my “Dressings & Sauces” section)

If you’re particularly fond of Chick-Fil-A nuggets, a little secret ingredient I found that they add to their coating/breading is powdered sugar. If you choose to add some, add only a couple of teaspoons of powdered sugar to every 4 TB of coating and make sure you mix it before adding your chicken to your ziplock bag.

Cut your chicken breasts into 1″ cubes.

Load into your container of choice (even the jar the pickles came in) and cover in brine.

Make sure your brine covers your chicken pieces entirely.

Add any additional items to your marinade, as you wish. (optional)

Shake/stir everything up until mixed and let it marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours to get the full effect of tenderization and flavor infusion.

I seasoned my cornstarch coating with garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Make sure you mix it up before adding your chicken that has been strained from the pickle brine.

Add your chicken to the bag with the seasoned coating base. Do not worry if there are spices or herbs stuck to your chicken pieces that came from the pickle brine. They add flavor.

Close your ziplock bag and shake everything up to coat every chicken piece.

While you’re coating your chicken, heat up your oil. Then add your coated chicken to your medium-hot oil and begin the cooking process.

Once your pieces start browning up, begin flipping to brown all sides.

Continue cooking until all sides are golden brown or until your thickest piece measures 165 F.

Once all your pieces are golden brown, it’s time to remove them from the pan and start your next batch, or, if making a single batch, it’s time to enjoy.

Enjoy your pickle brined nuggets with a dipping sauce or just as is.
Some great dipping sauce options are :
Ranch, chimichurri sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, horseradish sauce, BBQ sauce, marinara sauce, or even that Chick-Fil-A sauce we all have in our fridge door.

TIP ABOUT OILS : I have recently become a huge fan of avocado oil because it contains monounsaturated fats which are heart healthy and help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower heart disease risk. However, when consumed in excess it can actually raise cholesterol levels.

Extra Virgin Olive oil is another good option for its health benefits that include lowering the risk of certain types of cancers and improving cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Both oils are pretty similar in terms of calories, fat content, saturated fat content, monosaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Extra virgin olive oil does have a slightly higher percentage of Vitamin E content.

LINKS TO PRODUCTS I LOVE FROM THIS RECIPE:

All Clad Frying Pan – https://amzn.to/48YKE6Q

Franks Red Hot Sauce – https://amzn.to/48UTsL8

Kilner 2L Glass Jar – https://amzn.to/3YRwUq9

Avocado Oil – https://amzn.to/3AQOnH7