Chook Me!

Brine then grill chicken wings?

I'm trying to be a little healthier and not fry wings, but still want that juiciness. I''ve never even heard of brining chicken before searching some recipes - do you use brine? If so, what do you use in the mixture and how well does it work? Do you just use salt and water? Or some kind of vinegar mixture? And any tips on how to grill the wings is appreciated. Thanks!

Public Comments

1. I use a brine with chicken. Just put the chicken in a pan, add water and about a palm full of salt. I par boil my chicken before grilling for about 10 minutes. It seems to help retain juiciness. Have a nice hot grill ready and turn wings with tongs...don't poke them! Grill for about 7-10 minutes and you are ready to go!
2. Brining chicken is the ONLY way to go. I will place mine in a brine for 24 hours to add a little flavor, and to keep the chicken moist while cooking. Here are 2 recipes for brining. Maple Brined Chicken Fingers, http://www.capnrons.com/R_M_Chicken_Tenders.html Better than Granny's Fried Chicken, http://www.capnrons.com/appMFChicken.html
3. I use a brine for chicken that goes in my smoker. Brine can be just salt water or it can be seasoned. Acid like vinegar is not usually used in a brine but could be. You can use any herbs or spices you want in your brine. I always heat the brine to a simmer with the seasonings and I make it saltier than what I want for finished brine then add ice to cool it before I put in the meat. ( I use a brine for other meats too ) A brine usually needs at least 12-48 hrs. depending on thickness. Wings are so small though I think 4 hrs. would be enough, never brined just wings as they are always moist anyway. Grilling wings is simple enough but they can overcook easily. I would use indirect heat, not directly over the coal but off to the side of the grill. One thing I also do is have a bowl of BBQ sauce next to the grill and dip the chicken in several times after it is about half done.
4. A) A basic brine recipe is 1 gallon of water 1 Cup of Kosher salt (or about 2/3 C regular salt) 1/2 C of sugar Since chicken wings are relatively thin, I would brine 2 to 8 hours. B) Alternative (My Choice) : Another option you can do is to use hot sauce as a marinade, add garlic and onion.... 1 bottle of hot sauce (not Tobasco) 3 cloves garlic mashed (or use garlic powder) 1/2 onion, finely minced (or use onion powder) If you don't want to do all the cutting, just throw that stuff in a blender and blend. Pour the mixture over the chicken wings for an quick soak (2 hours) or overnight.
5. If you really want to be healthy, don't soak chicken in salt water. Have you tried boiled chicken? It's very juicy and tender.