As I said, its my grandfathers fault. He buys 5 gallon buckets of pickles from an Italian market, sorts them into jars that he has and tops them off with pickled cherry peppers. The result is one of the finest dining experience that you could ever have from a jar.
This is what was on my mind when we were almost empty in one of our jars, and a fine dinner idea came to me. I had heard a rumor that a restaurant chain, lets just refer to them as C-fil-A, gets their signature chicken sandwich by first marinating them in pickle juice. This would explain why when you order a sandwich from them, it is only topped with pickles unless otherwise requested.
So there I was with a jar of juice and some chicken breast. Why not? I cut the breasts thin and covered them in pickle juice. For those that don't know how a brine works, it is as follows:
- Meat is placed in a seasoned liquid that is very salty.
- The salt enters and seasons the meat
- The added salt causes the meat to swell with extra juice, making the cooked product more juicy.
Eureka! obviously pickle juice is just a celebrated brine! This makes things interesting. I move the meat from it's container, to beaten egg, to seasoned flower, back to egg, then to bread crumbs, I finish the prep work for my sandwiches. Fyi, the double breading makes a difference, more crunch and the breading will stick to the meat better. I fry them to a dark brown, not burnt, because I love the crunch, then I move to the sandwich. I take the very pickles who's juices made this meal possible and line a hearty roll.
I love fried chicken, but I have never had an experience like this. The meat was juicy, spicy, and flavorful. The pickles had their usual kick, making the whole sandwich pop. All in all, I would say that is was, by sandwich standards, Too Fine. So go, take with you a proven restaurant secret and next time you want to surprise someone, brine the meat and double bread. I know Ill love it and you'll look like a miracle worker.
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