It's always a bummer to take the last homemade or store-bought pickle from the pickle jar. After all, there are a bunch of delicious varieties-from dill pickles to gherkins to Kool-Aid pickles, there's sure to be a favorite in every house. Yes, you can now buy a gallon of pickle juice on Amazon, but you don't have to get a whole jug to get the best uses from pickle juice. When you're left with a smaller amount of pickle juice from the jar, stop!
Videos by Wide Open Country
Don't pour it down the drain! Pickle juice is actually a valuable ingredient to have in your cuisine and around the house. And don't forget about our list of pickle juice cocktails.
Here is our list of 15 interesting uses for pickle juice, some of which might just surprise you!
DILLicious Pickle Pops Bundle - 1 Gallon Bottle of Best Maid Dill Juice Plus 43 DILLicious Pickle Pop Bags - Make Your Own Pickle Popsicles At Home!
1. Uses for pickle juice: Re-pickle it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTO7eqCAS29/?tagged=leftoverpicklejuice
Reduce, reuse, recycle, right? Well, next time you're left with pickle brine, use it for pickling vegetables like carrots, onions, avocado, and beets. And hey, why not make pickles again? Just slice up some cucumbers, throw them in the brine and make refrigerator pickles.
Hard-boiled eggs are also a popular item to pickle, as well as ginger. These tangy ingredients are perfect additions to sandwiches, chicken or fish.
2. Tenderize meat.
I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for ways to tenderize meat like steak, ribs or pork chops. I've tried everything- marinating the meat overnight, boiling certain meats, etc.
Since pickle juice is so acidic, it works as a great meat tenderizer for steak, pork chops, chicken, you name it. Add the pickle juice to your meat marinade next time- this is also a great trick for tougher cuts of meat. You'll get some delicious flavor from the juice and tender meat instead of dry and rubbery.
3. A vinegar substitute.
If a recipe calls for white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, try replacing it with pickle juice. It's just as acidic and sour and can taste so delicious in a homemade salad dressing. You can even in try it in tartar sauce, mayonnaise or in your next batch of barbecue sauce.
4. Make Dill Pickle Bread.
There's nothing like fresh bread, especially when there's dill pickle bread (also known as Jewish deli bread) to munch on! This is a yeast raised bread dough and instead of using warm water or milk as the liquid ingredient, you guessed it, leftover pickle juice is used instead.
A recipe worth trying for all you pickle lovers! Find it here.
5. Boil potatoes in it.
Sometimes boiling potatoes in salted water is so darn boring! If you don't know what to do with your leftover pickle juice, pour it into the pot of boiling potatoes. You'll give them some nice tangy flavors and in the end, you won't have to add in a ton of salt. This trick works great if you're making potato salad.
And if you want to make French fries, try soaking the potatoes in the leftover pickle before frying those suckers up!
6. Make pickle popsicles.
Craving something briny and sour? Use leftover pickle juice to make pickle popsicles. If you don't have an ice pop tray, you can use paper cups or an ice cube tray. You can also use the pickle brine to bring savory flavor to shaved ice or snow cones.
Nice way to cool off on a hot day!
7. Use it as a post-workout drink.
After a long, strenuous workout, instead of reaching for that sports drink or water, take a shot of pickle juice. The electrolytes in pickle juice can help you stay energized and hydrated after a tiring workout.
Pickle juice is also known to help relieve muscle cramps; some athletes even swear by this. Drink up folks!
8. Use it as a cleaning agent.
Don't we all want to have shiny pots and pans? Well, if you don't want to consume the leftover pickle juice, try using it as a cleaning agent when sparkling up copper pots and pans. The acidity will help break down those difficult to scrub spots.
You can also use the pickle brine to scrub away at charred bits of food on the grill.
9. Marinate cheese.
If you want to bring some tang to a soft white cheese like fresh mozzarella, an easy way to do that is by marinating it in leftover pickle juice. Serve alongside some roasted red peppers and crusty bread and you'll have the perfect appetizer! Who wouldn't love to feast on that?
10. Relieve heartburn with pickle brine.
Tired of heartburn? A few sips of pickle juice will help balance the pH in your stomach, which can calm heartburn or acid reflux.
The leftover juice also works as a cure for an upset stomach and helps aid digestion. Talk about a cheap way to get some relief!
11. Uses for pickle juice in the garden.
If you feel like weeds are taking over your garden, ditch the chemicals and pour leftover juice from the pickle jar over them. The acidity from salty brine will help keep those weeds away from your flowers and veggies, and even better, it's pet-friendly!
12. Make a better hangover cure.
After a long night out, your body is super dehydrated, which is why you get headaches, cramping, nausea, etc. You can try a pickleback (a shot of pickle juice with your shot of whiskey), but if drinking pickle juice with your drinks isn't your thing, skip the Bloody Mary the next morning and ease your hangover with this one ingredient trick.
Pickle juice helps balance electrolytes, replenish reduced sodium levels, and even cover up the smell of alcohol on your breath.
13. Make Dill Pickle Soup.
This dill pickle soup is a great way to use pickle juice. It has great flavor and is extra creamy with the sour cream. Serve some bread on the side and extra pickle slices to complete the meal.
You might want to whip up a loaf of that dill pickle bread! Here's the recipe.
14. Poach fish.
Amp up the flavor of poached fish by cooking it in pickle brine. You'll really add in some interesting and tangy flavors to your favorite fish.
15. Make Dill Pickle Butter.
Sweet or savory, I love making compound butter to spread on toast or to finish off a dish. A compound butter is basically just butter whipped in a stand mixer with different seasonings and ingredients mixed in.
This compound butter recipe uses the leftover dill pickle juice as one of the main ingredients. If you don't use it right away, this condiment will stay fresh in the refrigerator, so you'll always have it on hand. Here's the recipe.
