Trisha Yearwood's Wing Brine Calls For A Tangy-Sweet Pantry Staple

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It's a humble pantry staple that doesn't get nearly the love it deserves, and it's Trisha Yearwood's secret to perfect chicken. Her wing brine, which she detailed in her cookbook, "Trisha's Kitchen: Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family," calls for bread and butter pickles — specifically, their liquid. It gives chicken wings a tangy-sweet boost that's both unexpected and perfectly Southern. While bread and butter pickles are sweet, they also carry a spicy warmth — thanks to a blend of cloves, mustard seeds, celery seeds, turmeric, coriander, and allspice. These flavors give chicken wings an aromatic, distinctive base while still leaving plenty of room for extra flavors from barbecue glazes and wing-dipping sauces. 

If you like smoky heat, a chipotle barbecue glaze is a natural partner to a brine made with a bread and butter pickle recipe. Sweeter glazes, like honey bourbon or fruit-infused barbecue sauces for chicken, make them sticky and super delicious. 

The technique itself isn't new—using a brine to add flavor has long been the backbone of tenderizing meats. It not only adds a sharp, mouthwatering bite, but the vinegar keeps the chicken wings crispy, especially when you mix it with a little barbecue sauce and brush it on right before the wings are done. Pickle juice is also a popular brine for fried chicken, a la the Chick-fil-A urban legend claiming dill pickle brine flavors its famous fryers. Try Yearwood's bread and butter version instead. It's a game-changer for fried chicken wings as a pre-dredge flavor boost. After frying, toss them in your favorite wing sauce for extra zing.

The beauty of a pickle brine is that it works no matter how you cook the wings. On the grill, it helps the chicken stay juicy over an open flame while the natural sugars caramelize against the heat, creating a sticky, flavorful crust. A bread and butter pickle juice brine also works wonders for crispy baked chicken wings. In the oven, the brine is a built-in safeguard against dryness. Bake them at 425 degrees Fahrenheit on a wire rack over a sheet pan so air can circulate and crisp the skin. A higher oven temperature for about 40 minutes means crispy wings have landed. Adding sauce add the end is better-suited for a glazed wing — so skip it if you want oven-crunch only. 

Cooking with an air fryer might be the best-kept secret. The pickle brine locks in moisture and, along with the circulating hot air, encourages the chicken wing's skin to blister and crisp quickly. You'll get that crave-worthy crunch with a lot less oil. 

If pickles aren't your thing, try the iconic Southern beverage, sweet tea. It infuses chicken with gentle caramel notes and a whisper of tannins—a different Southern staple than bread and butter pickles — but with equally irresistible results. Serve them alongside wings brined Yearwood's way and you'll be the talk of the tailgating titans — winner, winner, chicken dinner.