Chicken wings are a must at every barbecue party. Or no, chicken wings belong at every party. But they must be good. Juicy flesh inside, a crispy skin and lots of flavour. And whether you want them sweet or very hot, it doesn’t matter. This will be a description and not a recipe.

We don’t just say “best”. We now have a lot of comparison material. I think in the last 20 years we have actually eaten hundreds of chicken wings prepared in many different ways. Not only from the barbecue, but also from the deep fryer and even from the microwave. Really and truly. We are not proud of it either. But we have improved our lives and now they only go out for the barbecue.

raw-chicken wings-3The combination of chicken wings, herbs, barbecue and sauce is very tasty. Still, it could be even better. This chicken wings preparation is a combination of wet brining, a dry rub, drying and a sauce. The biggest trick is the wet brining and drying. You can leave both behind if you think it’s too much work / time, but give it a try.

The preparation works the same with every part of the wing. So whether you take the whole wing or separate the 2 parts, we don’t care.

Wet brining of chicken wings
Wet brining is what they call a brine in America. By brining the wings in a salt water solution, with perhaps some extra sugar and spices, the cells in the meat will retain extra moisture making the meat juicier. Some caution is advised, because brining too long results in too salty meat. And you can’t rinse off that salt anymore.