Not Yogurt Or Buttermilk: Marinate Chicken In This Salty Ingredient For A Juicier Cut

We previously reported that KFC's chicken marinade contains not one but three salty ingredients, yet you don't have to go that far to get a juicy bird. All you might need is a tub of feta cheese — namely the briny liquid in which it sits. This lightly salted water is used to preserve the feta, but when the cheese has all been eaten, how many of you threw the liquid away? Us too, until we realized it makes a perfect marinade for chicken!

Not only does the salt water infuse into the meat, enhancing the flavor, but traces of lactic acid from the feta cheese help to tenderize the protein, breaking it down so it's velvety soft and ridiculously juicy when cooked. You can use a feta brine for any cut of chicken, and it will act as a vehicle for a host of other flavors if you want to gussy up the taste of your bird even more.

Garlic, black pepper, woody herbs, paprika, and citrus can all go into the liquid. If your feta is the reduced sodium kind, you might need to add a little more salt to your brine to make your juicy chicken shine. Or you can ditch the salt and pepper and throw in a packet of ranch seasoning. Because the lactic acid is relatively mild, you can let your chicken marinate in it for hours without worrying it will turn to mush (though don't overdo it). And if your feta comes in a plastic tub with a lid, consider it as a possible marinating container.

If you're new to the world of cheese and cuisine, feta might have flown under your radar until now. Apart from giving us a tasty marinade for chicken, this crumbly, salty cheese has been around for centuries. Often made of a combo of sheep and goat's milk — the ratios of which can significantly alter how feta tastes — it's sometimes cured, but always stored in a salt water brine. The older the cheese, the more pronounced and tangy its taste, which may translate to the brine you're using and the chicken. In Greek cuisine, feta brine is also used to flavor pork and steak and sometimes mixed with a dressing made of olive oil and lemon juice called ladolemono, creating a rich, zingy marinade.

You can do more with feta brine than soak meat in it, too. Lots of home cooks use the liquid when baking different types of bread (it makes for a delicious pizza dough). Just remember to reduce the amount of salt in your chosen recipe to compensate for the brine. Cooking rice, quinoa, pasta, or couscous in feta brine — perhaps it's extra of the prepared marinade and has added aromatics — gives serious flavor to these carb-heavy ingredients. Meanwhile, a dash in salad dressing serves up a savory boost. Don't sleep on using feta brine as a tasty way to press tofu, and if all other inspiration fails you, blend a little with the feta cheese and serve it with your chicken as a tasty dip.