Eat It

Instructions

1

Brine your chicken breast, thigh, whatever in dill pickle juice for at least an hour, but no more than 2. 90 minutes is a great sweet spot. Any longer than 2 hours and you'll start to change the texture into something resembling ham.
2

Preheat oven to 375F
3

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry.
4

If you want spicy chicken, season it liberally with cayenne and paprika. If you omit the spicy stuff, try Good Seasons Italian dressing mix (just the seasoning from the packet, not the actual dressing).
5

Use mayonnaise to coat the chicken. Mayo works as a great binder and helps keep the chicken moist thanks to it's high fat content. You only need a little, just enough to wet the chicken. No big globs of mayo.
6

Use already crispy breading. Nothing you bake ever comes out crispy. The oven simply can't do as good of a job as a fryer, unless you start with an already crispy coating. I use croutons. They are already really crispy, and they won't burn or get too dark. Simply crush them, and roll your chicken. Depending on the croutons, you may want to add more seasoning at this point. I use the crunchiest ones I've ever had, Rothburry Farms cuz their dirt cheap and highly seasoned.
7

Place chicken on a wire rack (cooling rack) inside a baking pan or sheet pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (I've yet to overcook Pickle Chicken, as it's really does hold it's moisture).