Want crispy, flavorful chicken wings? Learn how to brine chicken wings to make the most delicious wings! These brined chicken wings come together with kitchen staples but are so juicy with incredible flavor. Perfect for game days, parties, and more, you can make these in the oven or air fryer. You’ll want to eat over and over again!
What is a Wet Brine?
A wet brine is typically made from water, salt, and sometimes along with sugar, herbs, and spices. The meat is submerged in the brine solution before cooking, allowing it to absorb moisture and flavor over time. The salt in the wet brine helps the meat retain water, which can lead to a juicier chicken wings.
If I have the time, I like to make a wet brine for the chicken wings as it will tenderize meat, add moisture, and infuse flavors throughout the meat.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You get incredible juicy and flavorful wings! The wet brine really gets the flavor infused into the meat so it’s not just the skin that’s flavorful.
- It’s so easy to put together! All these ingredients are all already in my pantry and are probably in yours too! The wet brine relies a lot on simple spices and dried herbs.
- You can prepare this ahead of time as you can brine the wets overnight. If you’re preparing for game day or another busy gathering, you can brine a double batch of these wings beforehand and just bake them up. No need to debate about what sauce to coat them in afterwards either as they’re super flavorful (I just let people pick some dips and everyone is happy!).
Ingredients You’ll Need
- salt — you need to use at least one tablespoon of kosher salt per cup of water. I’m using 6 cups of water so 6 tablespoons of salt. If you add more water, make sure to add more salt. The salt in the brine helps dissolves protein in muscle, and reduce moisture loss during cooking. This makes the meat juicer, more tender, and improves the flavor.
- brown sugar — adding sugar will add sweet flavor as well as promote browning in the oven so you get irresistibly crispy skin. I prefer dark brown sugar.
- lemon juice — lemon juice is the acid component of this wet brine for chicken wings. The lemon juice will help tenderize the meat and also adds a delightfully tangy flavor. Don’t have lemon juice? You can use apple cider vinegar!
- seasoning — I use red pepper flakes, peppercorns, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and dried basil. Feel free to play around with another combination of seasoning!
- chicken wings — you can use a mixture of wingettes and drumettes or just one. It’s up to you.
How to Brine Chicken Wings
- Add kosher salt and brown sugar to 4 cups of water in a large pot. Bring it to a boil, stirring throughout, so the salt and sugar has dissolved.
- Turn down the heat and add the lemon juice, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and dried basil to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring throughout.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. Add 2 cups of cold water to the brine and let it cool. You can place the brine in the fridge to chill the brine quicker. (This can take at least one hour).
- Once the brine is cold, add the chicken wings to it, making sure the wings are all submerged and place the lid on the pot. You can add a bit of cold water to help if needed. Brine the chicken wings in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook, heat the oven to 425F.
- Line a sheet pan with foil and place a rack on top. Place the wings on the rack in a single layer and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Bake for 30 minutes and then flip over the wings and broil them for 5 minutes or until they are at your desired level of crispiness.
- To air fry the brined chicken wings, place the wings in a single layer and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Air fry for 20 to 25 minutes at 400F, flipping them at the half way mark.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- You can also add ice to help cool down the brine faster. However, you’ll have to calculate how much water you are adding in the form of ice to adjust the amount of salt added. Alternatively, make ice using the 2 cups of water and so you don’t have to adjust the salt.
- Do not rush the chilling process of the brine. The brine must be completely chillded before adding the chicken wings as you should not add raw chicken wings to lukewarm water. This is not safe.
- Be sure ahead of time that the pot will fit in your fridge.
- If you’re not sure if you have enough brine for your wings, it’s better to be on the safe side and add an extra cup or two of water and tablespoons of salt.
- Do not skip patting dry the wings! This will ensure they crisp up when you cook them.
- Be careful not to overcook the wings! Brined chicken cooks faster than unbrined chicken.
- You must refrigerate the chicken wings while they brine!
- I like to use a pot to brine the wings as it comes with the perfect fitted lid to keep everything contained in the fridge.
Storage Tips
- Storage: once cooled, store the crispy chicken wings in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Reheat: I highly recommend reheating these wings in the oven or air fryer so they stay crispy.
Do you rinse chicken after brining?
No, you do not need to rinse chicken after brining. The amount of salt to water ratio will not make for overly salt chicken. The USDA does not recommend rinsing chicken in general.
Can I only brine my chicken for one hour?
A good rule of thumb is that you should brine your chicken for an hour for every pound of chicken wings you have.
Can I use frozen wings?
I don’t recommend brining frozen wings as it adds additional water to the brine as they thaw, throwing off the salt to water ratio. Frozen wings also won’t soak up the brine as much as thawed wings.
How many pounds of wings should I make per person?
As an appetizer or side dish, a pound of wings should feed about 4 people. However, if you are serving wings as a main dish, I suggest making a pound of wings per person.
Brined Chicken Wings Recipe
Want crispy, flavorful chicken wings? Learn how to brine chicken wings to make the most delicious wings! These brined chicken wings come together with kitchen staples but are so juicy with incredible flavor. Perfect for game days, parties, and more, you can make these in the oven or air fryer. You’ll want to eat over and over again!
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Servings: 24 servings
Ingredients
- 6 cups water, filtered (2 cups chilled)
- 6 tablespoons kosher salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 4 pounds chicken wings
Equipment
- large pot
Instructions
- Add kosher salt and brown sugar to 4 cups of water in a large pot. Bring it to a boil, stirring throughout, so the salt and sugar has dissolved.
- Turn down the heat and add the lemon juice, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and dried basil to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring throughout.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. Add 2 cups of cold water to the brine and let it cool. You can place the brine in the fridge to chill the brine quicker. (This can take at least one hour).
- Once the brine is cold, add the chicken wings to it, making sure the wings are all submerged and place the lid on the pot. You can add a bit of cold water to help if needed. Brine the chicken wings in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours or overnight.
For Crispy Oven Baked Brined Chicken Wings
- Heat the oven to 425F.
- Line a sheet pan with foil and place a rack on top. Place the wings on the rack in a single layer and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Bake for 30 minutes and then flip over the wings and broil them for 5 minutes or until they are at your desired level of crispiness.
For Crispy Air Fryer Brined Chicken Wings
- Place the wings in a single layer and pat them dry with paper towels. Discard the brine.
- Air fry for 20 to 25 minutes at 400F, flipping them at the half way mark.
Notes
- 4 pounds of wings should serve 24 people as an appetizer but will serve around 4 people if served as a main. The calories estimated is for 24 servings as a side.
- The calories estimated does include the brine itself so the sodium and etc will be on the higher side. However, you are not ingesting the entire brine. Unfortuna
- To safely discard of the brine after I’ve removed the chicken wings, I boil the liquid before pouring it into my sink just to remove the risk of me splashing raw chicken juices on my counters accidentally.
Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥
Nutrition Per Serving
Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 1784mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg
More Chicken Wings Recipes to Try
- Honey Lemon Pepper Wings
- Honey Soy Chicken Wings
- Garlic Butter Chicken Wings
- Crispy BBQ Chicken Wings
- Soy Garlic Chicken Wings
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