Easy Brine for Chicken Wings

While brining chicken wings is not necessary, if you do it right, it always results in more tender, juicier, flavorful meat. First, let's define what a brine is. It's simple really: A brine is just salt and water. Anything else is extraneous to the definition of a brine. Now, how much salt? It varies. Technically a brine is at least as salty as ocean water, or about a 3.5% concentration of salt—but it could be even saltier. A pretty common brine ratio for meat is 1 cup of salt into 1 gallon of water, or about 6.25% salt.

Why salt? Salt helps to tenderize meat in two ways. First, soaking meat in a saltwater solution helps the meat to absorb water. (It has to be a saltwater solution; soaking meat in water without salt will not cause it to absorb as much water, due to the laws of osmosis.) Brined meat will lose the same amount of water when cooked as meat that is not brined. (Muscle fibers contract when heated, sending water to the outer edges of the meat. This is why your meat sizzles when you fry it.) However, because the meat starts with more water to begin with, you end up with a juicier product. Secondly, the salt in the brine works to break down the muscle fibers of meat. (This is why a dry brine works, even without water.) The salt causes the tightly coiled muscle fibers to unwind, resulting in more tender meat that is easier to cut and chew.

You will notice that there are other ingredients in this brine, like sugar and spices. While sugar is not necessary in brines, it helps create more crispy, caramelized meat thanks to the Maillard reaction, a fancy term for the process of browning. (It is very important, however, that you pat dry your wings after brining, or they will not caramelize.) Sugar also contributes a more subtly rounded flavor to brined meat, since only salt can be a little harsh. You don't have to worry about your wings tasting sweet, however, since you will be rinsing off the brine before cooking them. As for the spices, they are just there for flavor and don't affect the juiciness or texture. Feel free to tweak them to your liking. The vinegar in the brine serves to tenderize the meat further, but is not inherent to the definition of a brine.

This recipe calls for you to brine chicken wings for 2 to 4 hours, so it does need some advance planning. If you run out of time and can't make this recipe the same day, don't worry—you can leave the brined wings in the fridge for up to 48 hours. However, be sure not to leave it any longer than that, or else you'll risk spongy, soggy, and overly salty meat. (However, overly salted meat can be fixed, to some degree. Read below the recipe for tips on how to do that.)

If you are starting with frozen wings, it is permissible to brine them without defrosting them first. However, defrosting before brining is ideal, and quick and easy due to their weight. Just make sure you are truly defrosting the wings and that they don't begin to cook.