Espresso Brined & Sea Salted Chicken Drumettes

Directions

1. Trim chicken wings & drumettes of excess skin/fat or cartilage. I prefer them "Frenched" which just means removing the excess cartilage & skin from the 'handle' of the drumette. It is easy to do with a small sharp nice. There are many videos you can watch but the simplest instruction would be to use a kitchen towel to grip the end and then using a small sharp knife, cut through the skin at the end of the drumette and then peel it away. Not a necessary step but makes for a more elegant presentation.
2. Place wings in a bowl and add brewed coffee, water, 2 Tablespoons of salt and bay leaf. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 6 hours to overnight.
3. Mix remaining ingredients, except maple syrup, in a small bowl. I suggest tasting the spice mixture at this point to see if it suits your liking. Some may prefer more or less heat, or the added dimension of cinnamon or cumin.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Drain and rinse wings. Pat dry with paper towel. Toss lightly in spice mixture ensuring wings are evenly coated.
6. Arrange wings on baking rack (with lined drip pan underneath) and cook for 15 minutes.
7. Baste lightly with maple syrup and then cook an additional 10 minutes.
8. Baste a second time lightly with maple syrup and then broil for an additional 3 -5 minutes to caramelize sugars.