Whether or not you’ve made your individual pickles or polished off a store-bought jar, don’t toss the juice. Pickle brine is value its weight in gold, and the explanation why is kind of easy. “A pickle brine is acid and salt, plus no matter spices you may have in there, and acid is in virtually each single recipe to stability issues out,” explains April McGreger, a fermenter and chef at The Individuals’s Kitchen of Philadelphia and writer of Jam On! All the pieces You Must Know About Canning and Preserving. Meaning you’ll be able to basically use pickle brine virtually wherever you’d use an acidic ingredient like vinegar or citrus juice.

After all, not each brine is interchangeable, however McGreger notes that you need to use candy or bread-and-butter pickle brine a lot the identical manner you’d use a traditional dill pickle brine, including extra seasoning to style. “It’s no much less versatile, actually. You simply have to consider whether or not you need that taste profile in your dishes,” she says. No matter brine you may have readily available, listed here are 5 methods to make use of each final drop. 

Make one other batch of pickles 

Sure, you’ll be able to merely make fast pickles once more through the use of the leftover brine as your pickling liquid as an alternative of vinegar (don’t use the brine for canned pickles, as this apply is unsafe and might result in botulism). Nevertheless, McGreger notes that the acidity within the brine can be extra diluted, so that you’ll wish to style after 24 hours and season once more with salt, vinegar, and spices to your liking. She’ll often reuse the brine a few times till it loses its luster — she makes use of it as soon as for cucumbers, that are naturally watery and can dilute it, and twice for heartier greens like carrots. 

Whisk it right into a tangy dressing 

For years, McGreger tried to reverse-engineer the candy, tangy dressing her mother made for a corn salad, and ultimately realized the key: pickled purple pepper brine mixed with just a little mayonnaise. Dill pickle brine is much more versatile. “You may actually use pickle brine the way in which that you’d use lemon juice or vinegar in a dressing and it’ll make for a garlicky, barely herb-y French dressing,” says McGreger, including that you just’ll wish to maintain again on including salt till tasting it, for the reason that brine is already salty.

She suggests including a splash of dill pickle brine to the dressing for coleslaw, potato salad, or tuna salad. You can even merely mix the brine with melted butter to make a simple topping for roasted or boiled potatoes. 

Use it like sizzling sauce

Consider pickle brine like a vinegar-based sizzling sauce, says McGreger. “It has that seasoned acid however it’s not spicy,” she notes. Add a touch to soups or stews that want just a little increase of taste; the acidity will brighten and improve the present flavors. Use it as a seasoning for scrambled eggs and tacos, drizzle over greens, or use rather than lemon juice in dips or spreads like hummus and mayonnaise. McGreger’s favourite shortcut dip is equal elements tahini and pickle brine. “It makes a extremely scrumptious simple dip for veggies, and you’ll throw some herbs in there,” she says. 

Use it to brine meat 

McGreger will typically use pickle juice to brine poultry like rooster thighs or turkey breasts. “I typically minimize the brine with buttermilk if I don’t need it to be as vinegar-tangy,” she says, including that buttermilk has a tenderizing high quality and may also assist with browning. Place the meat in a gallon ziplock bag, and add your brine to cowl; if you happen to’d like, season with herbs, a pinch of salt, black pepper, and just a little sugar (this may additionally assist with browning) to style.

Should you’re simply utilizing pickle juice, McGreger suggests you retain your meat within the brine for at the very least two hours however not than 12 hours; if you happen to use equal elements pickle juice and buttermilk, you’ll be able to maintain it within the fridge in a single day or as much as two days. You can even use a pickle-buttermilk brine to make irresistibly crispy Pickle-Brined Fried Hen.

Add it to a cocktail 

Pickle brine is right here for all of your savory cocktail wants. “For a Bloody Mary, I often substitute virtually all the lemon juice with pickle brine, after which I’ll end it with a wedge of citrus on the finish to provide it just a little contemporary citrus taste,” says McGreger. “The brine is absolutely doing quite a lot of the work of seasoning and including that acidic punch.” Naturally, pickle brine additionally works nicely in a Soiled Martini. As a substitute of utilizing olive juice, change some or your whole dry vermouth together with your favourite pickle brine — McGreger loves a spicy inexperienced tomato brine. And if you happen to don’t wish to soiled a shaker, picklebacks are at all times a good suggestion.