Trisha Yearwood’s Pickle Brined Chicken Is a Classic Nashville Meal

Trisha Yearwood counts classic fried chicken as one of her favorite meals on earth. She has demonstrated many ways to make this particular dish on her Food Network series Trisha’s Southern Kitchen. However, this dish has won raves from the entertainer for its easy brining technique. Just add the juice from a jar of pickles and allow it to penetrate raw chicken for easily the most flavorful meat you have ever tasted.

Trisha Yearwood experienced Nashville culinary classics in a Food Network episode dedicated to Music City

During an episode of Trisha’s Southern Kitchen titled “Trisha’s Nashville Experience,” the country music superstar took a food tour of her beloved home city.

In Season 16, Episode 3, Yearwood’s friends Jenn and Sara visited the entertainer.

The trio tours the city and then returns to Yearwood’s home, where she makes a meal of classic city favorites.

These include Pickle-Brined Fried Chicken and Hot Pepper Honey Cornbread.

Yearwood rounded out the menu with equally delicious sides of colorful Molasses Glazed Rainbow Carrots and a Chow Chow Potato Salad.

What makes the pickle-brined chicken so special?

Chicken tends to dry out when cooking. Therefore a proper brine is essential to retain a juicy bird.

The salt in the brine breaks down the proteins in the meat, so, in the end, the meat retains more moisture.

Traditionally chicken is brined in buttermilk. However, regular salt and water is a standard brining technique reported Taste of Home.

Another delicious way you can add flavor to chicken in the same way pickle juice does is to add flavorings to a traditional salt and water base. These include brown sugar, chicken broth, apple juice, fresh herbs, or citrus.

How to make Trisha Yearwood’s Pickle-Brined Chicken

In order to properly brine your meat, at least two jars of pickle brine are needed. Yearwood uses the liquid from bread and butter pickles to add some sweetness. However, regular pickle brine can also be used.

Discard the pickles from their brine and place them in a resealable storage bag. Or, you can keep the brine from jars that are already finished and make this dish when you have enough pickle-free jars.

Brining the chicken for at least four hours is critical. However, this method of tenderizing can be accomplished in one hour.

Yearwood deep-fries her chicken in this recipe. Firstly, she sets up a station where she flour with salt, paprika, and pepper.

In a second bowl, she has her wet ingredients. These include hot sauce, mustard, and eggs.

In a third bowl, Yearwood uses cracker crumbs for breading.

After adding each element to the chicken, Yearwood fries the coated meat until the chicken is cooked through.

The recipe for Trisha Yearwood’s Pickle-Brined Chicken can be found on the Food Network website.

Trisha’s Southern Kitchen airs Saturdays at noon on the Food Network.