Pickle Juice & Buttermilk-Brined Fried Chicken Sandwich

Step 1

If you are not using store-bought buttermilk, first step is making buttermilk. Add milk to a bowl or measuring cup. Add vinegar and stir a couple times. You will see if thicken almost immediately. Let it sit for 5-10 minute to thicken more.

Step 2

Take a minute to trim any fat from around the edges of your boneless breast of chicken. Then cover the two pieces with plastic wrap and pound down the chicken a bit. You can use a mallet, pan or rolling pin for this. There is always a thicker end of the chicken breast. We’re not trying to flatten this down like we’re frying a cutlet. We just want to even out the chicken so when we cut it in half our pieces are similar in thickness.

Step 3

Cut each breast in half across the middle. (my video show this well.) Season with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper on both sides. Should be about a ¼ teaspoon total for salt and ¼ teaspoon total for pepper. After seasoning, let it sit for a few minutes.

Step 4

Next, trim the fat from the boneless chicken thighs. See note#1 below about the chicken. I also have a full tutorial on how to trim the fat from chicken thighs if you want to check that out. Season the same as the chicken breast. About ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper should be enough for both sides.

Step 5

Check on the buttermilk. It should be fully thickened by now and it may even curdle a little – this is fine and normal. Add the buttermilk to a large bowl. Add pickle juice to the buttermilk and stir. If you are using store-bought pickle juice, I recommend thinly slicing 1-2 cloves of garlic and adding to the brine for additional flavor. You don’t need salt here because the pickle juice is already salted.

Step 6

Add all the chicken pieces to the pickle juice and buttermilk mixture. Cover the bowl or container and let marinate in refrigerator for 3-4 hours and up to overnight. I did 4 hours for this batch.

Step 7

When it’s time to start cooking, get your sides ready and butter your buns. Once you start frying the chicken and toasting the buns, you want everything to be ready to assemble once the chicken has cooked.

Step 8

Make sure you have left your butter out to soften. You’ll want to lightly butter the top and bottom of the brioche buns. A very thin layer of butter is all you need here.

Step 9

You’ll need two large pans for this. One to toast your buttered brioche rolls and one to fry the chicken. You can start heating the oil on low while you dredge the chicken. You’ll want it to reach about 325 to 350 degrees before frying the chicken.

Step 10

Prepare the dredge for the fried chicken. Add flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and onion powder to a large, wide bowl and mix with a whisk to combine.

Step 11

Dredging the chicken. Place one piece of chicken at a time in the dredge and cover both sides with the flour mixture. You should add a couple spoonfuls of the buttermilk/pickle juice on top of the flour layer, then a little more flour on top of that. Pat it down with a fork or your hands. Turn the chicken piece and do the same on the other side. We want to create a “shaggy” looking piece of chicken so we get that layer of crunch when we fry it. Shake off excess flour and transfer your dredged chicken piece to a sheet pan or plate. Repeat this process for all the chicken pieces. My video show this process well.

Step 12

Start toasting you brioche buns in one pan on low-to-medium heat. Keep your eye on these so they don’t burn. Set aside once toasted.

Step 13

Start frying the boneless breast of chicken pieces in the other pan. I cooked in two batches. First batch was boneless breast of chicken. This is a shallow fry meaning we ARE NOT submerging the pieces entirely in oil. Fry on one side for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Turn the pieces carefully (oil is VERY HOT) and cook another 3-4 minutes on the other side. Once cooked and internal temp is at 165 degrees, transfer chicken pieces to a paper towel-lined sheet pan to blot off some of the oil. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Step 14

Repeat the cooking process with the boneless chicken thighs. They won’t take as long to cook. This will take about 2-3 minutes on each side to cook and get golden brown. Transfer cooked pieces to paper towel-lined sheet pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Step 15

Time to assemble your sandwiches! Use your favorite toppings and chow down.