This is the wing recipe that gets people standing around the BBQ asking what’s in the brine. The answer is cherry cola. The whole bottle. Yes, the actual soft drink. The cola does something unholy to chicken skin overnight — drawing moisture out, then re-absorbing back in carrying sugar, acid, and the kind of flavour you can’t quite identify but absolutely keep going back for.
Smoke them low and slow until the skin caramelises into a glossy near-black crust. Eat them off the cutting board. Lie about how easy they were.
Cherry Cola Chicken Wings
Wings brined overnight in cherry cola, smoked low and slow, finished with a sticky caramelised crust. Dangerously addictive.
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken wings about 2 lb
Brine
- 1 L cherry cola 4¼ cups
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
Rub
- 4 tbsp BBQ rub
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp cornstarch for crispy skin
Instructions
Method
- Combine cherry cola and salt in a large container. Add wings. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.
- Drain wings and pat completely dry with paper towels. Wet wings = soggy skin.
- Mix BBQ rub, brown sugar, and cornstarch. Coat wings evenly.
- Smoke at 110°C (230°F) over indirect heat for 2 hours, flipping halfway, until internal temp hits 82°C (180°F).
- Rest 5 minutes before serving. Devour before someone else does.
Nutrition
Notes
No smoker? Use the BBQ on indirect heat with a handful of soaked oak or hickory chips wrapped in foil with holes punched in.
Cola substitute. Dr Pepper or any cherry-cola variant works. Diet cola does not — you need the sugar for the brine.