Hot Sauce Brined Wings

And here is my humble meal for the weekend:
I started with whole wings


Separated the three parts of the wings



I made the brine earlier in the day and chilled it. The Brine was made of water, chicken stock, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce, Buffalo wing sauce, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, brown sugar and other spices.
Soaked the wings over night


Here is how I know the brining process was successful

The liquid line dropped down about an inch, evident by the residue line from where it was the night before. That tells me how much liquid has been absorbed. I took the picture prior to removing the container out of the refrigerator so I wouldn’t disturb the residue line. My wife thought I went crazy when she saw my head inside the fridge taking pix

Pulled the chicken out of the brine and placed them on a rack to drain. Left them in the fridge for 6 hours to dry out. I then applied some BBQ rub


Fried up the smoker using the SFB at 300 degrees and added a second grate using foil wrapped bricks to expand my cooking area.


Also made loaded potatoes to go with the wings


Wings smoking away



Dinner is served



The hot sauce flavor was prominent in the wings, and really didn’t need additional sauce, but I served some on the side as an option. I would definitely use this brine again, and I may try on Turkey next time.

Man oh man!!! Those look fantastic! I had wings from a crappy wing joint tonight. Wish I had those instead.

Awesome job on those wings!

Great looking & sounding wings Z! Although I must say that is a rather small scale cook for you.

Jim

Now that is a meal that I could tear into. Sounds fabulous with the brine. Way to take it to the next level. Have you thought about taking a skewer or something and poking some holes in the wings to get the brine to penetrate further? Or would that make a difference ya think?

Damn those look good!

Never thought to use hot sauce in the brine.

How long did you smoke them for?

Those look fantastic!!!!!! I'd like some

I'm more of a boneless/skinless thigh guy myself, but I need to remember this one. I've done thighs a bunch of different ways, but can't say I've ever considered brining them in wing sauce.

Great looking wings!

Along these lines, one of my favorite brines is based on Stevens's Calgary Wings recipe: http://www.bbqu.net/recipes/410_2.html. I modified it a bit to add salt, woostie, and hot sauce to the beer while marinading, turning it into a brine. I usually can't wait to let them air dry, though, so straight to the WSM with no water pan.

Great job on the wings Z.

Thank you all for the kind words

Jim,
This was more like a snack than a meal

Griffin,
I think that a good idea. I’ll have to try that next time I make these wings and compare the results.

sroach,
I think it took about 1 hour and 45 min.

rogerja,
I usually don’t like to wait for them to dry either, but this time I planned ahead. I soaked them over night on Sat, then placed time on a tray on Sun am, so it was long before dinnertime.
I did see that episode when Steven made the wing you’re referring to. I’ll have to try beer next time.

Spectacular, Z! That meal looks 5-star fine dining!

Superb! I ate a lot of wings over the weekend but would definitely make room for those!

Would you mind posting the measurements for your brine recipe? I'd really like to try these. Thanks.

BillyQ,
I don’t usually measure or follow any recipes; I depend on my taste for seasoning of the brine. I normally add salt in small quantities until the brine tastes slightly saltier than what I prefer. I will estimate the amount though so you could give it a try.

For the Brine
1 Gal water
1 Cup coarse salt
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2-3 TBS of Soy Sauce
1 Cup or more to taste, of Buffalo Wing sauce (Used Redhot)
1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
1/2 Cup Apple Juice
1 cube of chicken Bullion
1 TBS lemon juice, if using a fresh lemon, cut it into pieces and added it to the mixture
2 Cloves of garlic mashed
1 whole onion quartered or 1 tsp of granulated onion
1 tsp of cayenne pepper (more or less based on how hot you prefer it)
1/2 tsp of each black pepper and dried oregano
3 tsp of basic BBQ rub (any kind you prefer would work).
Boil the mixture and taste it, adjust the seasoning based on your preference. Chill it in the refrigerator overnight prior to soaking the wings in it.
Hope you’ll like it.