Craving Sweet and Sticky Chicken Wings? Try This Sweet Tea Marinade: 5-Minute Recipe

Chicken wings are hard to top as a dinner main because they're inexpensive, cook quickly and are easy to serve. If you're looking to make this cut of chicken even tastier, we suggest letting it sit in a marinade made with a surprise ingredient: sweet tea. It turns out this classic iced sip does wonders for infusing the wings with a sweet flavor and helps them caramelize during cooking. All it takes is a handful of ingredients and five minutes to make a sweet tea marinade that makes your best-ever chicken wings. Read on for tips and a delicious sweet tea chicken wings recipe!

Why you should use a sweet tea marinade for chicken wings

Marinating chicken in sweet tea may sound odd, but we promise it actually works. The sugar in the tea provides the chicken with a layer of sweetness that complements any other ingredients in the marinade. Since this drink is usually made with black tea, it adds a slightly dark hue to the wings — which allows them to brown nicely in the oven or on the grill. The best part is, you can combine the tea with your favorite seasonings and create a chicken wing marinade in five minutes.

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How long you should soak chicken wings in the marinade

Once the chicken is fully submerged in the marinade, it's best to marinade it for at least four hours but no longer than 24 hours. The marinade time helps gradually break down the meat's fiber so it's tender and juicy once cooked. On the flip side, overdoing it will cause the chicken to develop a mushy texture . When you're ready to cook the wings, allow them to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before removing them from the marinade. Then, prepare the wings using your desired recipe's directions.

A simple recipe for sweet tea chicken marinade

For finger-licking delicious wings, try this Sweet Tea Chicken Wing recipe from Milo's Tea . The recipe calls for their Famous Sweet Tea , which contains just three ingredients: filtered water, pure cane sugar and fresh brewed tea. This acts as a flavorful base for the marinade, but it's fine to use any sweet tea you have in your fridge. Cooking these wings in the oven creates a golden brown exterior and succulent interior. Be sure to pat the marinated chicken dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture prior to baking.

Sweet Tea Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups sweet tea (preferably Milo's)
• 2½ tsp. garlic salt, divided
• 2½ lbs. chicken wings
• 1½ to 2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1 Tbs. brown sugar
• 2 Tbs. baking powder

Directions:

• Yield: 4 servings

1. In medium bowl, whisk together sweet tea and 2 teaspoons garlic salt; set aside. Place chicken wings in large shallow dish. Pour tea marinade mixture over chicken; cover and refrigerate 4 to 8 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
3. In bowl, combine cayenne, garlic powder, chili powder, garlic, paprika, remaining garlic salt, lemon pepper, brown sugar and baking powder. Sprinkle spice mixture over chicken and toss until evenly coated.
4. Arrange wings on greased baking sheet. Bake 25 to 40 minutes, turning half way through, until skin is browned and tips are crispy. Serve warm.
5. Bonus: This marinade also works on other chicken pieces like thighs, drumsticks or breasts.

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