Calling all pickle lovers!!! These pickle-brined fried chicken tenders are super tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside with each bite delivering a flavor explosion of salty pickle-y deliciousness.
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What you’ll love about this recipe
- It’s simple! These tenders are quite simple to prepare and require very little hands-on effort/time. Aside from the brining time, they take just 30-minutes!
- The textures and flavor! Brining the chicken takes it to another level both texturally and flavorwise. The interior of these tenders are so incredibly tender and juicy and the exterior is wonderfully crispy. What more could you ask for?!?! Oh yeah, flavor!! While subtle, they do taste mildly of pickles and are perfectly salty.
- The whole family will love it! This is a meal that the whole family will be excited about. Because who doesn’t love fried chicken?!? These perfectly cooked chicken tenders can be served as is with your favorite sauce for dipping, added to a salad, served up in a tortilla, or on a sandwich.
Ingredients (+ notes & substitutions)
- Chicken tenderloins: Or chicken breasts cut into strips.
- Dill pickle juice: For a spicier brine, I recommend using one cup of pickle juice and one cup of Frank’s RedHot.
- Oil for frying: A high smoke point oil is a must for frying chicken. Vegetable, canola, and peanut are all great options as they meet this criterion and are also neutral in flavor and inexpensive.
- Buttermilk: Could sub for whole milk.
- Large eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
How to make pickle-brined fried chicken tenders (+ tips)
1. Place the chicken in a shallow dish or large baggy. Pour in the pickle juice making sure that the chicken is submerged and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours and no more than 24 hours.
2. Once the chicken has finished brining, heat the oil to 350 degrees in a deep-fat fryer or a cast-iron pan with oil at least three inches deep.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs in a medium bowl.
4. In a separate medium bowl or a shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
5. Remove the chicken from the brine, dredge in the flour mixture, then in the liquid mixture, and once more in the flour mixture.
6. In batches of four to five tenders, fry the chicken for five minutes or until golden brown and cooked through to 165 degrees. Make sure the oil returns to temp between batches. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined surface to absorb excess oil.
Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce.
Storage
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days.
FAQ
Brining is a wonderful process used to generate juicy, tender, and flavor-infused meat. The technique has been around since before refrigerators and was originally used as a preservation method. To brine, simply means to soak/preserve in salty water. The use of salt allows the meat to absorb liquid rendering it juicer and more flavorful. Additionally, the salt acts as a tenderizer, breaking down the protein in the meat.
Due to the salt and acid (vinegar), brining the chicken in pickle juice tenderizes the meat and also infuses it with flavor.
It should soak in the brine for a minimum of two hours and no more than 24 hours. Brining it for more than 24 hours may result in overly tender and/or salty chicken.
Product Recommendation
Don’t forget the sauce!
What to serve with these chicken tenders:
- Mashed potatoes like Boursin cheese mashed potatoes.
- Green beans
- Coleslaw or a salad like this everything bagel cucumber salad.
- French fries like these truffle sweet potato fries.
- Macaroni and cheese
If you make these pickle-brined fried chicken tenders I’d love your feedback. Please leave a comment and/or a rating below as I greatly value your opinion. Or snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @taoofspiceblog. Love, light, and happy cooking ya’ll ♥
Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken Tenders
Calling all pickle lovers!!! These pickle-brined fried chicken tenders are super tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside with each bite delivering a flavor explosion of salty pickle-y deliciousness.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken tenderloins
- 2 cups dill pickle juice (for spicy brine sub one cup of pickle juice for Frank's RedHot
- High smoke point oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a shallow dish or large baggy. Pour in the pickle juice making sure that the chicken is submerged and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours and no more than 24 hours.
- Once the chicken has finished brining, heat the oil to 350 degrees in a deep-fat fryer or a cast-iron pan with oil at least three inches deep.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs in a medium bowl.
- In a separate medium bowl or a shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Remove the chicken from the brine, dredge in the flour mixture, then in the liquid mixture, and once more in the flour mixture.
- In batches of four to five tenders, fry the chicken for five minutes or until golden brown and cooked through to 165 degrees. Make sure the oil returns to temp between batches. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined surface to absorb excess oil. Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 691Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 219mgSodium: 4191mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 2gSugar: 25gProtein: 61g
The nutritional information provided is computer generated. It is only an estimate and intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition details may vary depending on various factors such as origin, freshness of ingredients, etc
Nate Smith
Sunday 12th of November 2023
Holy moly…. The ads on this page
Edye Smith
Wednesday 27th of September 2023
The pickle brined fried chicken tenders recipe does not list the amounts of the ingredients.
Ginny
Sunday 24th of July 2022
Made these today for lunch. Delicious! I don’t fry foods very often because my food never comes out as planned. Gave it another shot that’s afternoon. The tenders marinated in the pickle juice for about 4 hours. Turned out really tasty with leftovers to pack in lunches. Thank you.
Jessica Halverstadt
Thursday 28th of July 2022
That's great to hear, Ginny! I hope you enjoy/enjoyed the leftovers just as much!
Marie
Sunday 8th of May 2022
Using pickle brine to marinate chicken is such a clever idea! It packs so much flavor in, too. These tenders were incredibly crunchy and delicious. My family loved them!
Jacqueline Debono
Sunday 8th of May 2022
Such a cool idea to brine chicken in pickle juice. Am dying to try it. Have to buy some pickles and eat a few first!