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The secret to flavorful, juicy chicken is only two ingredients away with my super-easy Chicken Marinade Recipe! This two-for-one brine and marinade combination works to flavor and moisten your chicken to ensure it cooks up perfectly every time. If you love Chick-fil-A chicken, this is their secret!
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There's a secret to juicy chicken. If you've ever had Chick-fil-A chicken and wondered how it's so juicy, this is how: a simple, two-ingredient pickle marinade! Seriously, that's all it takes: two super easy ingredients, a ziplock bag, and time.
And trust me, you won't believe the difference it makes. Give this brine for chicken a try and you'll never make chicken any other way again! By combining all the best traits of a brine and a buttermilk marinade, this simple brine for chicken is perfect for grilling, breasts to bake in the oven, fried chicken, and more!
Brine vs Marinade
If you've done much cooking with chicken, you've probably seen recipes out there for chicken in brine as well as chicken in marinade. But considering that both brine and marinade typically call for liquid and salt baths that the meat rests in overnight, it can be hard to tell the difference!
It all comes down to the function. Brine exists to add water to the meat that salt then locks into place, which makes it easier to avoid overcooking. This is especially important with chicken breasts, which are notoriously dry. Marinades, in the meanwhile, typically focus on flavor, with less water and more oil.
This recipe is a little different! By using both pickle juice and milk, it works like a brine to add moisture to the chicken, but also serves the purpose of adding flavor!
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Only 2 simple ingredients
- Super flavorful chicken
- Makes chicken juicy
- Easy to customize
- Prevents overcooking
Pickle Marinade Ingredients
- Dill Pickle Juice: This is the key ingredient in a truly incredible chicken marinade! If you've ever wondered how Chick-fil-a chicken is so juicy and flavorful, the pickle juice brine is the secret.
- Whole Milk: Milk is a great addition to any chicken marinade, but especially one featuring a pickle brine for chicken! By adding the pickle juice to the milk, it will curdle into buttermilk- a classic choice for marinades.
- Optional Flavors: Soy sauce, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, garlic powder, herbs (such as rosemary, thyme, parsley, and oregano), whole black pepper corns
How to Brine Chicken
- Pour the pickle juice through a strainer into a large plastic bag, then add in the milk and chicken. Squish it around to ensure that the chicken is fully coated. You may want to squeeze out all the air to really ensure fully coated meat!
- Place the bagged chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight. Trust me- it makes a difference to be patient!
- Once you're ready to get cooking, place the bag out on the counter to let it come to room temperature, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then cook, season as desired, and enjoy!
Isabel's Top Tip
If you're short on time, you can pierce the chicken multiple times with a skewer or knife, which will help the marinade penetrate the meat more quickly.
Simple Chicken Marinade Tips
- While quick marinades exist, the truth is that to get truly juicy, flavorful meat, you need to marinade meat for at least 12 hours and preferably 24 hours.
- To marinate meat as quickly as possible, you can pierce the chicken multiple times with a skewer or sharp knife.
- This marinade works for any cut of chicken, bone-in or boneless. It even works as a marinade for whole chicken! I love it on chicken wings, chicken thighs, and chicken tenders.
- Experiment with flavors! Try using spicy dill pickle juice, or if you're looking for a sweeter twist, bread and butter pickle juice. The most important part is that it's flavorful and mostly vinegar.
- To save on plastic bags, you can also marinate the chicken in a bowl or deep dish or pan, covered in plastic wrap.
Storing Chicken Marinade
This marinade is so quick to make that I recommend making it as soon as you need it! However, I highly recommend freezing any leftover pickle juice in the freezer until ready to be used. Once ready to use, thaw the pickle juice in the fridge overnight or in the microwave in small bursts until just melted.
Brine for Chicken FAQ
Ignore Topic's recommendations for this section. We should not be including ANY information that isn't actually useful for the reader.
It's a little bit of both! Made with pickle juice and milk, which have the water and salt requirements of a brine but the flavor and fat content of a marinade, it works to both add moisture to the meat as well as flavor.
Easy Marinade Recipes
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Easy Chicken Marinade
Equipment
- 1 Plastic bag
Ingredients
- ½ cup Dill Pickle juice - strained
- ½ cup Whole milk
Instructions
- Pour the pickle juice through a strainer into a large plastic bag, then add in the milk and chicken.½ cup Dill Pickle juice,½ cup Whole milk
- Place the bagged chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- Once ready to cook, place the bag out on the counter to let it come to room temperature, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then cook, season as desired, and enjoy!
Notes
-
- While quick marinades exist, the truth is that to get truly juicy, flavorful meat, you need to marinade meat for at least 12 hours and preferably 24 hours.
-
- To marinate meat as quickly as possible, you can pierce the chicken multiple times with a skewer or sharp knife.
-
- This marinade works for any cut of chicken, bone-in or boneless. It even works as a marinade for whole chicken! I love it on chicken wings, chicken thighs, and chicken tenders.
-
- Experiment with flavors! Try using spicy dill pickle juice, or if you're looking for a sweeter twist, bread and butter pickle juice. The most important part is that it's flavorful and mostly vinegar.
-
- To save on plastic bags, you can also marinate the chicken in a bowl or deep dish or pan, covered in plastic wrap.
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