garlicky, jalapeño brined wings
EP 1 of 'wingsday' your new favorite day of the week
Welcome to wingsday, your new favorite day of the week, where we keep it crispy, flavorful & straight-forward.
Because let’s be real, ain’t nobody got time for all that: no laundry list of ingredients, no exhaustive set of directions, no unapproachable techniques—just simple, good wings. If you love wings, make sure you’re subscribed because wednesdays just got a whole lot better.
Since you’re a loyal fan of food talk, you’ll get the recipe 2 days in advance, wink-wink.
Each wingsday drop will feature one recipe with big flavors that require minimal effort. My goal is to use 10 ingredients or less & no more than 20 minutes of active prep. You in?
I’m kicking off this series with my garlicky, jalapeño brined wings.
Born from my current obsession with all things pickled & fermented. The star of the recipe is La Costena’s canned pickled jalapeños. You can find them at most grocery stores.
The pickling solution is the base for our wing brine along with pickled jalapeños, a fresh jalapeño (or two) to dial up the heat, smashed garlic cloves & piloncillo. If you’re unfamiliar with piloncillo, it is brown sugar’s Mexican cousin with a bit more personality & pizzaz. Substitute with dark brown sugar if you ain’t got time for all that.
Toss in your wings & let them soak for at least 30 minutes, but overnight is where real magic happens. Now fast forward to prep—let the wings dry on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Pat the tops dry. The drier, the better.
To bolster the flavor from the brine, you’ll prepare a 4-ingredient dry rub of baking powder, paprika, garlic powder & a bit of salt.
Toss the wings in oil, coat ‘em in the seasoning mix, & you’re ready to cook. My favorite part of this recipe, besides the crispy wings, are the pickled jalapeños. Go ahead & cook those too, trust me.
The recipe below includes both air fryer & baking instructions.
Serve the wings hot, alongside those cooked pickled jalapeños & your dip of choice (ranch, blue cheese, tears of happiness, whatever works).
Try ‘em out, tag me on social, leave a comment & be on the lookout for our next ep.
Now go forth & get messy.
recipe — garlicky, jalapeño brined wings
prep 10 min
cook 20 mins
total time 30 mins + marinade time
ingredients
2 pounds chicken wings
1 ½ tablespoons avocado oil
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon paprika
2 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
for the marinade
1 ¾ cups pickled jalapeño brine plus pickled jalapeños
1 fresh jalapeño, sliced in half
1/3 cup piloncillo, grated
3-4 large cloves garlic, smashed
instructions
Place wings in a large resealable bag. Set aside. In a bowl, combine all ingredients for the marinade. Marinate wings for a minimum of 30 minutes up to 12 hours.
20 to 25 minutes prior to cooking, remove the wings from the marinade & lay on a paper towel-lined platter or baking sheet. As wings dry, in a bowl, combine baking powder, paprika & garlic powder. Add salt to preference, if desired. Set aside.
Pat wings completely dry. Add to a bowl & lightly drizzle with avocado oil. Toss. Sprinkle with seasoning mix. Toss again. Place wings in air fryer, spray with oil & cook at 400°F for 20 minutes OR 22-24 minutes (for extra crispy wings), flipping halfway through. Add pickled jalapeños halfway through for the perfect doneness.
To bake, preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil & place a wire rack on top. Spray with non-stick cooking spray & evenly space out wings on wire rack. Bake on the middle oven rack, turning every 20 minutes until wings are browned & crispy; depending on your preference this will take 40 to 60 minutes. Add pickled jalapeños after the initial 20 minutes.
Serve wings hot alongside jalapeños, fresh lime (if desired) & your favorite dipping sauce.