Simple and Flavorful Chicken Wing Brine

Name: Simple and Flavorful Chicken Wing Brine
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients: 6 C water (divided); ⅓ C Kosher salt; 1 tsp cracked black pepper; ¼ C brown sugar; 3 sprigs rosemary; 5 sprigs thyme; 2 tbsp red pepper flakes; 2-3 lbs chicken wings

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Chicken wing brine is such an easy and amazing way to add an extra layer of flavor to everyone's favorite game-day snack. The best part? You can use this recipe in conjunction with your favorite wing recipe - it's just going to add more flavor and moisture.

A hand grabbing a chicken wing from a plate of chicken wings.

This recipe takes almost no time at all to prep (although it does require a little planning - the wings need 2-4 hours to brine in the fridge).

Brining poultry is one of the easiest ways to take your birds from good to great. The same is true with chicken wings. Add this to your repertoire and prepare to be amazed!

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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bringing?
Why Brine Chicken Wings?
What's the Difference between a Wet Brine and a Dry Brine?
Does this Brine Work for Any Preparation of Chicken Wing?
Should I Rinse the Wings after Brining?
Ingredients
How to Make the Brine
Tips & Tricks
Other Amazing Appetizers
Recipe

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can you brine chicken wings?

Yes - in fact it's a great idea. Brining chicken wings infuses the wings with moisture and added flavor, no matter how you plan on cooking them (fried, baked, grilled, air-fried, etc).

Can you brine chicken wings overnight?

You can, but it's not ideal. If you brine chicken for too long, then the meat tends to get overly salty, and the texture can become spongy and off-putting.

How long should I brine chicken wings for?

Generally between 2-4 hours in the fridge is ideal.

Can I brine frozen chicken wings?

Yup, you sure can!

What's the normal ratio of salt to water in brine?

The ratio is usually somewhere around 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of water.

Brined chicken wings on a platter with wine glasses.

What is Bringing?

Brining is a process of essentially marinating poultry. You submerge it in a salty liquid, and leave it for a few hours. The brine not only flavors the outside, but penetrates the meat itself.

Why Brine Chicken Wings?

Brining chicken wings does three things: it flavors the meat, it makes the wing more moist, and it also makes it more tender. Why WOULDN'T you brine chicken wings?

What's the Difference between a Wet Brine and a Dry Brine?

In a wet brine, the salt is distributed around the meat in water (that the meat is submerged in). In a dry brine, it's just salt and aromatics, no moisture is added, and it's packed directly on the meat.

The salt works in the same way, by breaking down muscle protein in the meat (making it more tender and allowing it to hold on to moisture).

The type of brine you choose depends on personal choice. Both will infuse moisture, tenderness and flavor. Wet brines tend to bring more moisture, while dry brines bring more flavor (but they can also make the skin quite tough).

Baked chicken wings on a platter with rosemary and thyme.

Does this Brine Work for Any Preparation of Chicken Wing?

Yes, it does. Once you've got the brine step complete, you can go on to use any of your favorite type of preparation for chicken wings, whether it's frying, grilling, smoking, baking, or even throwing them in the air fryer. It's truly a one size fits all recipe.

Should I Rinse the Wings after Brining?

This is a matter of some debate - my vote is to say no. Leaving them unrinsed definitely will keep the flavor in the wings high.

However, if you're more sensitive to salt, you may prefer rinsing the wings afterward as an option. At this point, there should be plenty of flavor infusing the meat itself, so you definitely won't be taking all the flavor away.

Ingredients

This list of ingredients is likely one you already have in your pantry (hint: it's mostly water, although you may want to stock up on some salt).

Water: dissolves the salt and the sugar, and ensure that the flavor gets into every nook and cranny of those wings.
Kosher Salt: key for moisture and flavor (and tender texture). Definitely stick to Kosher for this recipe - if you use table salt you'll be using too much!
Brown Sugar: provides balance for the salty flavor
Red Pepper Flakes: this is really for flavor - you won't get much of a kick out of it
Rosemary: Amazing flavor, goes so well with chicken
Thyme: see above
Hot Sauce: this is optional, and definitely brings the spice

Ingredients for chicken wing brine, labelled.

How to Make the Brine

This part is also easy, yay! A note though: the wings have to brine for between 2-4 hours. So make sure you've got the time to put in before hand! Another thought: after the brine, if you leave the wings uncovered in the fridge for another 1-2 hours, this will ensure you have the ultimate crispy skin! The dryer it is when it hits the heat, the better.

Ok, step by step, let's break it down.

Pour two cups of water, the salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme and hot sauce if using into a medium saucepan over medium high heat.

Heat the mixture until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

In a large bowl (or another pot), add the remaining 4 cups of COLD water, the sugar/salt mixture, and the chicken wings. Make sure the bowl you're using is deep enough to cover all the wings.

Cover, and place in the fridge for 2-4 hours (don't go over 4 hours - on smaller pieces of meat like wings, you run the risk of the meat becoming too salty and having a spongy texture).

Take the wings out of the fridge, and discard the brine. Spread the wings out on a drying rack over a baking sheet, and pat them dry with paper towels.

Chicken wing brine with herbs and aromatics in a glass bowl. — Place the chicken wings in the brine.

Chicken wings in brine. — Place the chicken wings in the brine.

At this point, you can prepare them according to your favorite recipe. Or - to make them extra crispy on the outside, pop them back in the fridge, uncovered, for another 1-2 hours. The ultimate crispy skin!

Tips & Tricks

This brine makes enough for 2-3 pounds of wings.
As long as you leave the salt/sugar/water ratio alone, feel free to play with other aromatics! Try different herbs, spices, sauces, even citrus peel is popular one (lemon pepper wings with lemon pepper brine? Yes please).
Don't over brine the wings - no more than four hours.
You can leave out the sugar if you want, but it doesn't make the wings taste sweet, it just gives them a nice balanced flavor.
You can use this brine for any preparation of wings: smoked, baked, grilled, fried, air-fried, or deep-fried. The world is your oyster.
If you're baking the wings, and want the crispiest flavor, bake them directly on a the cooling rack over a baking sheet. This allows the air to completely circulate around the wing, and makes them so so crispy!

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Recipe