Buttermilk Hot Sauce Brined Chicken - seriously the most tender and juicy chicken we've ever made!!! Chicken marinated overnight in buttermilk, water, salt, pepper, garlic, lime, brown sugar, and hot sauce. Brush the chicken with some spicy BBQ sauce before taking it off the grill. We LOVE this grilled chicken! We always double the recipe and never have leftovers! YUM!
Whisk together buttermilk, water, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup hot sauce, brown sugar until sugar is dissolved. Stir in lime slices and garlic.
Place chicken in a gallon ziplock bag. Pour brine over chicken and seal bag. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Remove chicken from marinade/brine.
Combine BBQ sauce and 2 Tbsp hot sauce.
Grill chicken 12 to 15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Brush chicken with BBQ sauce mixture on each side before removing from grill.
Notes:
I brine the chicken for 24-hours. If you don’t have that much time, just give it as long as you can.
I use Frank's Hot Sauce. You can also use Crystal’s or Texas Pete’s hot sauce.
Is Buttermilk Brined Chicken spicy? No. Even though the chicken is marinated overnight in some hot sauce, it isn’t spicy at all.
We brush the chicken with BBQ sauce before taking it off the grill.
My favorite store-bought BBQ sauces are Sweet Baby Rays, Stubbs, G.Hughes, and Williamson Brothers. I buy them all at Walmart.
You can use this brine on any cut of chicken – breasts, tenders, thighs, wings, or drumsticks/legs.
You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Adjust the cooking time to ensure an internal temperature of 165ºF in the thickest portion of the chicken.
I suggest pounding the chicken breasts to an even thickness. We put the chicken in a ziplock bag and use a flat meat mallet to carefully pound out the hump. This ensures that the chicken cooks evenly and you don’t have juicy chicken and half-dry chicken.
I don’t have a grill. Can I cook the chicken in the oven or skillet? Yes! To cook the chicken breasts inside, pan-sear it for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes.