Air Fryer Pickle Brined Chicken Thighs
It’s OK if you did a double take or became very intrigued when seeing a recipe for air fryer pickle brined chicken thighs.
It’s quite a unique recipe with an extraordinary flavor that I pinky promise is not too pickle-y.
A brine makes poultry extra moist and juicy because of the high salt content that a typical brine contains.
This makes pickle juice the perfect brine because it already has lots of salt and flavor.
It’s a perfect recipe using an ingredient that would typically get thrown away!
How to make air fryer pickle brined chicken
Any store bought pickle will work as long as it is a dill pickle, and not bread and butter or sweet pickles.
I am using leftover brine from my homemade refrigerator dill pickles.
Put 4 chicken thighs in a bowl or gallon sized plastic bag.
Then add 1 1/2 cups of pickle juice along with 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
Massage the bag or stir in the bowl until the brown sugar is dissolved.
Let this brine in the refrigerator overnight.
When ready to cook the chicken simply remove it from the brine and discard the extra liquid.
Pat the chicken dry and season both sides with old Bay seasoning.
Place the chicken thighs skin side up in the air fryer basket.
And set the air fryer to 390 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes.
Use an instant read thermometer to make sure that the chicken is above 165 degrees before serving.
Air fryer pickle brined chicken thighs is the most juicy moist and flavorful chicken around!
It certainly does not taste like a pickle.
But it does have that special quality that will make your family wonder what in the world you did to create such a magical chicken dinner.
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If you like air fryer pickle brined chicken thighs, you might also like these recipes…
Grilled Pickle Brined Chicken
Air Fryer Crispy Parmesan Chicken
Air Fryer Spicy Fritos Chicken
And check out these Air Fryer Keto Recipes
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Air Fryer Pickle Brined Chicken Thighs
Air Fryer Pickle Brined Chicken Thighs is a unique air fryer recipe with a very moist, juicy, flavorful chicken thighs with few ingredients!
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 cups pickle juice (leftover liquid from pickle jar)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- Old Bay seasoning
Instructions
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Place the chicken in a gallon size plastic bag. Add the pickle juice and brown sugar. Massage the bag until the brown sugar is dissolved. Place the bag in a large bowl (in case of a leak) and into the fridge for 24 hours.
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Remove the chicken from the bag, discard the bag and brine. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides lightly with Old Bay seasoning.
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Put the chicken thighs, skin side up, in the air fryer. Set the air fryer temp to 390 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes or until the internal temp is above 165 degrees.
Note: Cook time will depend on the size of the chicken thighs.
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