Sweet Tea-Brined Hot Chicken Wings

If you had to name one food that was truly Nashville, it would have to be hot chicken. Originally created by an angry woman trying to get back at her womanizing boyfriend, her attempts at revenge were foiled when her spice-loaded fried chicken went over well with the dude instead of causing him severe pain (or, the pain was in fact, pleasurable since the chicken was so delicious). You have to respect a woman who gets her revenge in the form of fried chicken.

This is no where near authentic hot chicken (haters gonna hate). It’s baked rather than fried, with a level of spiciness at which hot chicken aficionados would turn up their noses and snicker. Milder than the mild at Prince’s, that’s for sure, and maybe I am a chicken, but for normal folk, “mild” in this case is still pretty darn spicy.

It’s like the ultimate Southern spa treatment: sweet tea bath followed by a hot spice massage. The sweet tea brine infuses the wings with flavor and moisture much in the way a salt brine does the same to a turkey. The wings are then air dried and rubbed with a potent spice mixture of cayenne, ancho chile, paprika, garlic, and pinch of smoked salt and baked until the tips are crispy. Tender and juicy like you wouldn’t believe, with a slow burn that warms you from the inside out.

Just have a glass of water (or milk) handy. Believe me, you’re going to need it; wimpy version or not, these wings are no joke.

Get the Recipe —Sweet Tea-Brined Hot Chicken Wings

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