Brined Chicken Wings

5 from 49 votes

Brined Chicken Wings are soaked in flavorful brine made with fresh garlic, apple cider vinegar, spices, herbs and roasted or air fried to perfection. Brining produces juicy, flavorful and succulent chicken wings that you will want to eat over and over again!

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Appetizer, dinner, lunch

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 285kcal

Author: Agnieszka

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken wings cut party style (drumettes and wingettes)
1 cup boiling hot water
1 cup ice
2 cups cold water
4 tablespoons kosher salt
3-4 garlic cloves crushed
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves whole or crushed
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
cooking spray

Instructions

Make the brine. In a large bowl or pot pour in one cup boiling hot water. Add salt, paprika, garlic and onion powder, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaves, thyme and red pepper flakes. Stir with a spoon or a fork until the salt mostly dissolves. Add apple cider vinegar.
Add 2 cups of cold water and a cup of ice. Stir until the ice mostly dissolves. At this point the brine should be cold.
Place chicken wings in the brine so they are completely covered. Put a lid on top and place in the fridge for 2-4 hours (no more than 6 hours).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a large baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place a fitted rack in the lined tray and spray with non-stick spray or brush with oil.
Remove the wings from the brine and place on paper towels to dry. Pat with more paper towels until mostly dry.
Place the dry chicken wings onto a baking tray fitted with the rack.
Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes until browned and crispy.

Notes

I usually buy part style chicken wings to save time but you can also get whole chicken wings, trim off the tips and cut the wings into drumettes and wingettes.

Make sure to use kosher salt in the brine. Table salt is finer and will make the brine too salty.

Don’t brine the wings more than 6 hours or they’ll become too salty. I fnd that 2-3 hours is just enough to flavor the meat and make it juicy. If 6 hours have gone by but you’re not ready to bake the wings, take them out, dry on paper towels and place back in the refrigerator until it’s time to cook them.

When baking, don’t crowd the wings. Ideally they shouldn’t touch each other to ensure that they crisp up on all sides.

To make these wings in the air fryer, I recommend cooking them in two batches. Spray the bottom of your air fryer basket with cooking spray, place the wings in a single layer and air fry at 400 degrees for 22 minutes, flipping the wings after 10 minutes. The wings should be browned and crispy. The exact cooking time will depend on the type of your air fryer.

This recipe is gluten-freen, dairy-free, paleo, keto and Whole30 friendly.

Nutrition