Ingredients
For the Brine:
  • 6 cups water
  • 1/4 cup Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup superfine sugar
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
For the Wings:
  • For the Wings: 3 pounds drumettes or cut wings (I prefer all drummettes)
  • Cooking spray, canola or olive oil
For the Pickled Carrot and Celery Sticks:
  • 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup superfine sugar
  • Pickling spice (1 teaspoon each mustard seed and coriander seed, 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries and red chili flakes, 2 thin slices ginger root, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1 large fresh bay leaf, 2 to 3 cloves and black peppercorns)
  • 1 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch sticks
  • 4 to 5 celery ribs, cut into 3-inch sticks
For the Sauce:
  • For the Sauce:
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 to 1 1/2 inches ginger, grated or finely chopped
  • Coarse black pepper, about 1 teaspoon
  • 1/2 cup Sriracha hot sauce
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
For the Toppings Bar:
  • Lime wedges
  • Chopped scallions, whites and greens
  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Chopped toasted peanuts, almonds or smoked almonds
  • Horseradish Blue Cheese Sauce (1 cup sour cream, 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish, 1/4 cup minced chives, 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, splash of cream, half-n-half or buttermilk, salt and pepper to taste)
Yield
Serves: 6-8
Preparation

Combine brine ingredients in a 2-gallon plastic food storage bag. Add wings, store on bottom shelf of fridge overnight or several hours.
Preheat oven to 450°F.

Drain wings from brine and pat dry.  Arrange in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets and spray with cooking spray. Bake 30-40 minutes, switching oven racks once, or until wings reach and internal temp of 165°F and are crisp.
 
For pickled carrots and celery, place all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool; transfer to a container and refrigerate overnight. Remove veggies from pickle juice to serve.
 
For the sauce, heat butter to foaming over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger and black pepper, and swirl a minute or two. Add hot sauce, tomato sauce, soy, vinegar, Worcestershire and sugar; simmer to thicken a bit.

Transfer sauce to large bowl, toss in hot, crispy, freshly baked wings to coat. Serve with toppings bar of lime wedges, scallions, sesame seeds, toasted chopped nuts and horseradish-blue cheese sauce, and pickled vegetables alongside.