Pickle Brined Fried Chicken Sliders (Printable)
Crispy pickle-brined chicken on soft buns with zesty toppings—bold, tangy mini sandwiches.
# What You'll Need:
→ Chicken and Marinade
01 - 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into slider-sized pieces
02 - 1 cup pickle brine (from a jar of dill pickles)
03 - 1 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
→ Breading
04 - 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
05 - ⅓ cup cornstarch
06 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
07 - 1 teaspoon onion powder
08 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
09 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
10 - ½ teaspoon black pepper
→ Frying
11 - 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
→ Assembly
12 - 8 slider buns
13 - 8 dill pickle slices
14 - 4 lettuce leaves, halved
15 - 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
16 - 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
# Steps:
01 - Place chicken pieces in a bowl and cover with pickle brine and hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for best flavor.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper until evenly combined.
03 - Remove chicken from the brine and discard the liquid. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels, then coat each piece thoroughly in the seasoned flour mixture, pressing firmly to adhere.
04 - Heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet or heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Fry chicken pieces in batches for 4–6 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F. Drain on paper towels.
05 - In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise and Dijon mustard until smooth and well blended.
06 - Spread the mayo-mustard sauce on both halves of each slider bun. Layer a lettuce leaf half, a fried chicken piece, and a dill pickle slice on the bottom bun. Cap with the top bun and serve immediately while hot and crispy.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The pickle brine does something almost magical to chicken, keeping it insanely juicy while sneaking in a tang that makes people close their eyes at the first bite.
- These sliders disappear faster than anything else at a party, and nobody ever guesses the secret ingredient until you tell them.
02 -
- If the oil temperature drops below 165 degrees Celsius, the breading absorbs grease instead of frying crisp, so use a thermometer and fry in small batches.
- Patting the chicken mostly dry before dredging is critical, because soaking wet chicken will turn the flour into paste instead of a crispy shell.
03 -
- Overnight marinating in the brine is the move that turns good chicken into chicken people will not stop talking about.
- The cornstarch to flour ratio is the single biggest factor in achieving that delicate, shattering crust.