Pickle Brined Fried Chicken Sliders (Printable Version)

Crispy pickle-brined chicken on soft buns with tangy toppings—mini sandwiches bursting with flavor.

# What You 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

# Directions:

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, combine flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
03 - Remove chicken from brine, discard brine, and pat chicken dry with paper towels. Coat chicken pieces thoroughly in the flour mixture.
04 - Heat oil in a deep skillet or pot to 350°F. Fry chicken pieces in batches for 4–6 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.
05 - In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Spread on each slider bun. Add lettuce, a fried chicken piece, and a pickle slice. Top with the other half of the bun.
06 - Serve immediately while hot and crispy.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The pickle brine does all the heavy lifting for seasoning, so you look like a genius with almost zero effort.
  • Cornstarch in the breading creates a shatteringly crisp crust that stays crunchy even after sitting on a platter for twenty minutes.
02 -
  • If you skip patting the chicken dry after the brine, the flour turns into paste instead of a crisp coating and you will end up with gummy breading.
  • Frying in small batches is not optional because overcrowding drops the oil temperature and the chicken absorbs grease instead of frying properly.
03 -
  • Let the breaded chicken rest on a wire rack for five minutes before frying so the coating adheres firmly and does not slide off in the oil.
  • Warm the slider buns in a dry skillet for thirty seconds per side because a slightly toasted bun holds up to the hot chicken without falling apart.

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