My Wings

Grilled Chicken Wings

My Wing’s recipe I use is to soak them in a brine for about 4 hours or more in

• Water
• Olive oil or Canola oil
• Chicken bouillon (about enough to make a cup of broth or use a cup of broth is fine as well)
• Black pepper
• Garlic 

I put in the amount of water and oil that will cover the chicken well and shake in garlic and pepper until I can smell it fairly well.  I have used cut up onion and bell pepper before as well and it imparts some flavor but I never really see a big difference in that.  The main thing the brine does is provide moisture and tenderness through the cooking process.  The chicken will take on more of the saltiness and stay moist regardless of the cooking heat method this way.

Grilling Times

Wings, bone in, usually take about 30 to 40 minutes on the grill to cook thoroughly and remain crisp.  I do the first 8 minutes on direct heat turning once, then the remainder of the 30 to 40 minutes on indirect heat, only turning when I begin to baste them with the sauce I use.

This will work well with some smoking chips thrown on for flavor.  The smoke flavor won’t be strong but will accent the rub if the lid is left closed on your grill.  I like to soak the chips for 12 hours or more so they don’t burn off quickly. (If you are going to truly smoke them, do not use this process.  You’ll need to look up some smoking methods as the temperature and times will change some. The rubs and such should be fine but the cooking process is definitely different.)

The Rub
I like using Famous Dave’s rub on my ribs, pork and sometimes chicken, but I developed one for wings on my own that I need to work on again as I forgot the mixture levels. To do about 8 whole, uncut wings it uses

• Chili Powder – 2 tbsps.
• Paprika – 2 tbsps.
• Cayenne Pepper – 1 tsp.
• Chipotle Seasoning -1 tbsp.
• Onion Powder – 1 tsp.
• Garlic Powder – 2 tbsps.
• Black Pepper – 1 tbsp.

I usually put these all in a big Ziploc bag and shake it up real well. Then I add the wings and shake it again letting it sit and come to room temperature before putting them on the coals.

The Sauce

The last 10 minutes, I baste them with a sauce: once on one side and let cook for 5 minutes, then turn them over and baste the other and let cook 5 minutes.  The sauce is a blend of

•       Sweet Baby Ray’s Basic Sauce – 1 cup
•       Sirracha Sauce – 2 tbsps.
•       Honey – 2 tbsps.

These wings usually come out very crispy straight off the grill and have a great heat and sweet combination.

And with that, you got some wonderful crispy, smoky and spiced up wings. I hope you like it. 

Tweak the spices to your liking and you won’t go wrong.