Grilled Chicken Wings

Let's first talk about the main ingredient of this recipe, the chicken wing. As a rule of thumb, 4 to 5 chicken wings equals a pound. So you can do the math on how many you will need for the meal or party you are hosting. Make sure the chicken wings are thawed out and not frozen before the brine process. Why brine? The brine process adds moisture and flavor to the chicken. Since you are cooking these little birds for more than 30 minutes, the brine process keeps them from drying out and holding all the juices and flavor together.

Mix all of the ingredients in the brine recipe together and heat water to a boil (of if you have a hot water source, you can use it). The goal is to get the water hot enough to dissolve all of the ingredients. Once dissolved, bring the water to room temperature by putting the brine in the refrigerator or add ice to the brine to speed up the process.

Submerge the chicken wings in the brine, cover and put in the refrigerator for 4 - 6 hours. If you don't have 4 hours, brine them for at least 2 hours. If you don't have 2 hours, skip the brine - they will still be damn good!

After you are done brining the chicken wings, remove them from the brine. Fill up another clean pot, add clean water and submerge them for 5 minutes. Take them out, give them a final rinse and they are ready to go on the grill. If you are wondering if there is a rub or seasoning on the chicken wings at this point, there is not. The brine itself has injected flavor, and the rest of this process will nail the rest of the flavor.

Heat your grill to 350 degrees. My preference is straight lump charcoal, but if you want to get adventurous you can add a couple chunks of wood to add a smoked flavor (we recommend mesquite or pecan wood). Grill the wings for 20 minutes total, flipping half way through (so flip them at the 10 minute mark - set an alarm on your phone).

This part of the process is what differentiates these wings from the rest of their little friends. Take a baking sheet and line it with foil (easy cleanup). Put a baking rack on top of the baking sheet. Remove the wings from the grill and put them directly on the backing sheet.

Set the Broiler to your oven on HIGH. Put the Chicken Wings in the oven for 8 minutes. OPTIONAL: Flip the chicken wings half way through at the 4 minute mark (but not necessary).

After 8 minutes, LEAVE THE CHICKEN WINGS IN THE OVER and TURN THE OVEN OFF. Leave in the oven (which is now off) for 15 Minutes.

While the Chicken Wings are in the oven for 15 minutes, you can prep the Wing Sauce. You can use your favorite wing sauce of choice. Get a small microwave safe bowl and melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in the microwave.

After the Wings are done in the oven for 15 minutes, remove them and put them in a large bowl. Now pour in your melted butter and a good splash of wing sauce. With a large spoon, mix all of the ingredients together. At this point you will be able to see if you need more wing sauce or not - add to your desired liking. Let these cool for at least 5 minutes and enjoy!