Pickle juice has developed a real following in the past few years. What was once thought of simply as something to be dumped down the sink before recycling the empty jar now sells by the gallon and is used to craft all kinds of delicacies.
Don’t believe us? Read and on you, too, will be in on the secrets of what to do with that tangy brine once all the pickles have been eaten.
1. Add It To Your Meatloaf
This one might sound out of left field but we found several recipes online for meatloaf laced with pickle juice. One of the best came from Allrecipes, where the dish has hundreds of positive reviews. I have to say, I was skeptical at first, but once I tried it … yum!
2. Make Macaroni And Cheese … And Pickle Juice
Meatloaf isn’t the only classic dish you can spice up with some pickle juice. ILovePickles.org (where else, right?) puts it into macaroni and cheese, too. The website’s macaroni and three cheeses recipe calls for an entire cup of that green-tinted liquid gold. It’s an easy dish to make, with just a few ingredients: three cheeses (ricotta, cheddar and Parmesan), flour, rotini pasta and, of course, the pickle juice.
3. Clean Your Copper Pots And Pans
Yep, pickle juice doubles as a cleaning agent, too. It apparently does wonders to get your copper pans looking new again, according to Taste of Home editor Agnes Ground. This could be a great money-saving tip along with giving you a use for your leftover pickle juice.
4. Pickle Something Else With It
Yep, just because your pickle jar is now pickle-free doesn’t mean you can’t reuse both it and the brine to store another salty treat. Bon Appétit suggests brining anything from onions and garlic to hard-boiled eggs and soft vegetables in your pickle juice.
5. Use It As A Marinade
Looking for a new marinade? Look no further than your new favorite kitchen staple. Just combine pickle juice with a few other ingredients (such as salad oil, garlic and actual dill pickles in this pickle marinated steak recipe by Group Recipes) into a beef marinade and you’ll be all set for a tasty dinner. Food writer Jess Pryles also has a recipe for a delicious looking skirt steak that’s marinaded in pickle juice.
6. Add It To Your Bloody Mary
A lot of people like to drink a bloody mary during Sunday brunch, and now you can add pickle juice to the vodka-tomato cocktail. In the case of this highly rated recipe we found from Food Network, it calls for fermented pickle juice, making the drink even more flavorful. (The recipe also suggests you make horseradish ice cubes, but that’s for another article.) So, cheers!
7. Deviled Eggs
This recipe from The Spruce Eats suggests adding dill pickle juice into your deviled eggs, which makes sense since many deviled eggs recipes call for minced pickles anyway. Your guests will be impressed, so make a double batch.
8. Make An Unforgettable Soup
You may think Polish dill pickle soup sounds odd but it’s delicious, trust me. Raised in an Eastern European household, this unique dish was a staple in my diet. Recently, I made some for my naysayer friends — and they all asked for seconds. And even thirds! Food.com has a great recipe for it, so try it ASAP, especially before the weather warms back up.
9. Steam Vegetables & Poach Fish In It
Want to add flavor to your steamed vegetables? Just steam them in that leftover pickle juice instead of boring old water! If you’re a fan of fish, poach it in pickle juice and you have a new recipe, just like that!
10. Get Rid Of Weeds
If you’re tired of using pesticides on your weeds, pickle juice can take care of the problem naturally. You see, salt and vinegar are both known to kill weeds, which means pickle juice is a concoction those pesky plants should deeply fear.
11. Replenish Your Electrolytes
Is pickle juice the new Gatorade? I think we can infer that, since some experts say chugging this healthy (and low-sugar) liquid after workouts can help restore electrolytes, due in part to the sodium it’s loaded with. People have also found it helps alleviate menstrual cramps, and even works as a hangover remedy.
Researchers at Brigham Young University tried to determine if the juice could help with exercise-induced muscle cramps. The results found that drinking pickle juice did help the cramping subside 37% faster than only drinking water in the men they monitored.
12. Make Snow Cones
Apparently, pickle juice snow cones are big in Texas, and The Daily Meal has a recipe you can make on your own. This interesting idea even hit the mainstream in 2018 when Sonic started selling pickle juice slushes!