• In a large pot heat 4 cups of water, salt, and honey over medium-high heat. Add the red pepper flakes, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. Heat and stir for 3-4 minutes, until the salt and honey are dissolved.
• Remove the pot from the heat and pour in 2 cups of cold water to bring the temperature down, then refrigerate until fully chilled. Do not skip this step because you cannot put chicken wings into lukewarm water for safety reasons.
• When the brine mixture is chilled, add the raw chicken wings making sure they're fully submerged. Cover the pot with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate the chicken wings and brine for at least 2 hours or up to 4 hours. Remove the wings from the brine and discard the brine.

Baking Brined Chicken Wings

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil then place a wire rack on top (we used a cooling rack).
• Use paper towels to pat the wings dry really well. Arrange the wings in a single layer on the prepared wire rack. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the wings reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Brined chicken wings typically take 20% less time to bake, so start checking the internal temperature around 25 minutes, depending how big your wings are.