Grilled Chicken Wings
These grilled chicken wings are perfectly crispy on the outside but still juicy and tender on the inside! With just the right amount of spicy sweet flavor from buffalo sauce and a light drizzle of honey, these charcoal grilled wings will be your new favorite way to make party wings!
Servings: 40 wing pieces
Ingredients
- 5 lbs chicken wings separated into drums and flats, tips removed
- 1½ - 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2-3 tablespoons Spice That Jalapeno All-Purpose seasoning or all-purpose seasoning of your choice
- spray cooking oil like avocado oil spray
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce see notes
- 2 tablespoons honey or hot honey
Instructions
- Dry brine the wings. Lightly sprinkle all sides of the wings with kosher salt (about ⅛ teaspoon per wing). Then set the wings on a wire cooling rack on top of a sheet tray. Refrigerate uncovered for 4-8 hours.
- Season the wings. Sprinkle all sides of your wings with all-purpose seasoning. *Be sure to taste your seasoning first. If the blend you’re using is salt-heavy, then go lighter on the seasoning since your wings are already salt brined.
- Heat the charcoal grill. Build a two zone fire with the coals on one side of the grill using a snake method set-up for the charcoal. Close the lid and adjust the vents until the grill temperature settles in to about 250-275℉.
- Smoke the wings low and slow. Arrange the wings in a single layer, grouped together, away from the charcoal. Close the lid, monitor the temperatures to make sure you don’t have any spikes, and smoke at about 250-275°F for 1 to 1½ hours.
- Spray the wings with cooking oil. After the wings have been smoking for about 1 to 1½ hours, spray or very lightly brush them with a high-heat cooking oil. *I prefer Chosen Foods avocado oil cooking spray or duck fat spray for this.
- Remove the wings from the grill, and increase the grill temperature. Transfer the oiled wings to a sheet tray, and increase the temperature of the grill by piling the lit charcoals on top of the unlit coals. Open the top and bottom vents all the way for maximum air flow, and put the lid back on the grill. As the coals get more oxygen, the grill will get hotter. Aim for a grill temperature of about 400-450°F.
- Continue to grill the wings at the higher temperature. Return the wings to the grill grate, still offset from the heat. Continue to cook the wings at the higher temperature with the lid closed, about another 30-45 minutes.
- Rotate grilled chicken wings over the coals as needed. Continue cooking, rotating the chicken wings for even color, until the internal temperature of the wings reaches about 185℉. Flats will cook quicker than the drums. If needed, finish drums by moving directly over hot coals, but watch carefully so they don't burn.
- Lightly sauce the wings and cook an additional 2-4 minutes. When wings are about 185℉ internal temp, lightly sauce with buffalo sauce. *I prefer to use a food-safe spray bottle nozzle screwed directly on to the bottle of buffalo sauce for light saucing. Then drizzle lightly with honey (or hot honey). Move the sauced wings directly over the hot coals for 2-4 for the sauce to caramelize and tack up.
- Remove from the grill, spritz with sauce, and serve. Transfer grilled chicken wings to a serving platter. Spritz or very lightly baste with a bit more buffalo sauce. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping.
Video
Notes
- Don’t overcrowd the grill. Space is limited on most charcoal grills, and you need to leave enough space to get the chicken wings off of the direct heat source. Aim to only put your wings on about 1/2 of the grill so that you’re able to rotate them as needed.
- Grilling temperatures are flexible. You don’t need perfection, especially when using a charcoal grill – a range of 250–275°F works until you’re ready to sear.
- Cook past 165°F internal temperature. The proper internal temperature for chicken breasts is 165°F, but wings have a higher fat content, and they’re actually better when cooked to about 185-190°F internal. The fat will render better, and you shouldn’t have rubbery chicken skin when you cook them past the technical “doneness” for chicken.
- Cooking times will vary. The amount of time it takes to cook chicken wings on the grill will vary based on the size of your wings, the temperature of your grill, etc. Cooking times in the recipe are provided as a guide only. For reference, by chicken wings took about 1 hour 50 minutes with this smoke then sear method.