This herby spatchcocked chicken stays juicy, thanks to a 12-hour bath in that classic Grillo’s brine you know and love.
Pickle-Brined Spatchcocked Chicken Recipe
It’s herby, punchy and dinner party-ready
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Published Jan 6, 2025
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Print Recipe
Grillo’s Presents Pickled
Do you have a friend who always eyes your pickle spear the second your plate hits the table? Are you that friend? If so, you need to try the pickle-brined spatchcocked chicken recipe from Grillo’s Presents Pickled: 100 Pickle-Centric Recipes to Change Your Life, a cookbook by Grillo’s Pickles and Raphael Jacob Khutorsky. It stays impossibly moist and mouth-puckeringly flavorful, thanks to a pickle-brine marinade.
If you’ve never spatchcocked a chicken before, allow me to explain. Spatchcocking is a fancy way of saying you butterflied, or removed the backbone from, a bird. It can refer to a chicken, duck, turkey—anything with wings that you would eat. By doing this, you can easily split and flatten the entire thing, which reduces the cooking time.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you can do it yourself, but you can also ask your butcher to do it for you to save some time and effort. (I love a shortcut, don’t you?)
Courtesy of Grillo’s Presents PICKLED: 100 Pickle-Centric Recipes to Change Your Life
Ingredients
Grillo’s Chicken Brine
2 cups Grillo’s pickle brine (or other pickle brine)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
5 Grillo’s pickle chips (or other pickle chips)
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
Pickled-Brined Spatchcocked Chicken
One 4-pound whole chicken, spatchcocked
Grillo’s chicken brine
¼ cup chopped fresh thyme
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
1½ tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
1. Prepare the brine: In a saucepan over high heat, combine 4 cups of water, the pickle brine, lemon, pickle chips, fennel seeds and bay leaves. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until fragrant, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
2. Prepare the chicken: Truss the chicken (aka tie the wings and legs to the body) and set it in an airtight, nonreactive container that’s big enough to hold the chicken and the brine. Add the pickle brine, ensuring the chicken is submerged. Cover and refrigerate it for 12 hours.
3. In a bowl, combine the thyme, sage, salt, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, mustard and olive oil. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat it dry with a paper towel. Rub the skin of the chicken liberally with the herbed spice paste.
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Cook it until the internal temperature is 180°F, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Rest the chicken for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Facts
750 calories
52g fat
12g carbs
60g protein
1g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.