Never, and We Mean Never, Throw Away That Liquid Gold After

• total time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Skewer:

1 (24 ounce) jar dill pickle chips

1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons ranch dressing mix

Sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For skewers, open pickle jar and transfer pickles to a small bowl using a fork, leaving pickle juice in the jar. Set aside.

In the jar with pickle juice, add brown sugar and 1 teaspoon salt; whisk until dissolved. Add chicken to the jar, making sure all pieces are submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Remove chicken pieces from pickle juice; discard juice. Thread 1 chicken piece followed by 3 pickle chips onto an 8-inch skewer; repeat layers once, then finish with a third chicken piece. Continue threading remaining chicken and pickles onto skewers as needed; reserve any extra pickles for another use. Place skewers on the prepared baking sheet; pat dry using paper towels. Evenly brush skewers with oil. Sprinkle chicken pieces evenly with ranch dressing mix and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat until water sprinkled on immediately sizzles. Grill skewers, pressing down on chicken as needed, just until marks form on two sides, about 1 minute per side. Return skewers to baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken registers at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 7 to 12 minutes.

Nicole