Grilled Chicken Wings

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Fire up the grill and make these easy, crispy chicken wings tossed with hot sauce or homemade BBQ sauce.

A plate with 2 slices of pizza, three grilled wings in hot sauce, and a handful of carrot and celery sticks.

Wings are one of those foods that I just don’t like to make.  If I’m being honest I don’t really like to order them out much either.   They are messy and when they are deep fried they are just dripping with fat.  

I have to admit I do enjoy a good, crispy wing when I can get one.  Especially when it’s tossed with a killer sauce.

There’s a place in Pittsburgh called Quaker Steak and Lube that has some amazing wings.    They have over 20 sauces to pick from.  My favorite one is called Louisiana Lickers which is a combination of hot sauce, garlic, and BBQ sauce.   It’s delicious.

Pinterest Collage: A plate with 2 slices of pizza, three grilled wings in hot sauce, and a handful of carrot and celery sticks, text title, A bowl of crispy grilled wings tossed with hot sauce.

Ingredients:

  • chicken wings
  • salt
  • pepper
  • BBQ sauce
  • Frank’s Red Hot sauce
  • butter
  • garlic cloves

To Make the Wings:  Heat a grill to high heat.  Sprinkle the wings with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes or until the wings are crispy.

To Make the Sauce:  Combine the Frank’s Red Hot, melted butter, garlic cloves, and black pepper in a medium bowl with a lid.  Add the wings to the bowl, cover, and shake until wings are coated.

A plate of chicken wings with a rub on them.

With all that said, my husband loves wings and sadly I rarely make them for him.  I’ve made baked wings several times but they just aren’t that great.   I’ve also made them in the Air Fryer and while I really like how they turned out it’s a mess to clean up.

We had the idea to grill wings last week.  I went to the store and grabbed a package of wings.  When I got them home to make them, I realized I had to cut them apart.   That in itself was quite an adventure, but I did manage to cut the wings into two parts.

Can I use a prepared hot sauce?

Sure!  If you have a favorite sauce stick with that.  While this recipe gives a great hot sauce recipe, it’s also about cooking the wings to perfection.

Do I need a gas grill or a charcoal grill?

You can cook wings on either one as long as your grill is running hot.  It’s easier to do on a gas grill but once you have a charcoal grill going good you can put the wings on and cook them according to the recipe.

What can I serve with the wings?

The easiest and most common thing to serve with them is carrots, celery, and either Ranch or Blue Cheese.  Another good idea would be grilled corn or grilled zucchini that you can make along with the wings on the grill.

What temperature should I heat the wings to?

Chicken should always be heated to 165 degrees.  You can use a thermometer to check the temperature or you can cut a large wing open and make sure there is no pink on the inside.

Can I use frozen wings?

While you can use frozen wings you need to thaw them before you cook them.   Place them in the refrigerator for 24 hours ahead of time to defrost.

I sprinkled the wings with salt and pepper and my husband placed them on the grill.  He grilled them for about 20 minutes and they were just starting to char and get crispy.  

A bowl of crispy grilled wings.

He pulled them off the grill and I tossed them with 2 different sauces.   One is my homemade BBQ sauce which is sweet and spicy and went great with these wings.   The other sauce was a spicy hot sauce that we make frequently.

More Wing Recipes:

The wings turned out delicious!   I’m not sure which I liked better, the BBQ or the hot sauce.   The wings were hot and crispy and bursting with flavor.   They weren’t greasy at all.   This is definitely my favorite way to make wings now and I can’t wait to come up with some new flavored sauces!

A plate with 2 slices of pizza, three grilled wings in hot sauce, and a handful of carrot and celery sticks.

Grilled Wings

Yield: Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Fire up the grill and make these easy, crispy chicken wings tossed with hot sauce or homemade BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

For the Wings:

  • 3 lb. chicken wings, cut into 2 pieces
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper, divided
  • ½ c. BBQ sauce
  • ½ c. Frank's Red Hot
  • 3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

For Serving:

  • 1 c. Carrot sticks
  • 1 c. Celery sticks
  • 1/2 c. Ranch dressing
  • 1/2 c. Blue Cheese dressing

Instructions

  1. Heat the grill to high heat.
  2. Sprinkle the wings with salt and half the black pepper. Place the wings on the grill.
  3. Grill the wings, turning every 2-3 minutes, for 20
    minutes or until the wings are cooked through and crispy on the outside.
  4. Meanwhile, combine the Frank's Red Hot, melted butter, garlic cloves, and remaining black pepper in a medium bowl
    with a lid. Mix well and set aside.
  5. Place the BBQ sauce in another medium bowl with a lid.
  6. Take the hot grilled wings and place half in each bowl. Put the lid on both bowls and shake to get the wings coated.
  7. Remove from the bowls and put on a platter along with carrots, celery, Ranch, and Blue Cheese.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe

A bowl of crispy grilled wings tossed with hot sauce.

Grilling for Father’s Day


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16 Comments

  1. I can totally agree with you about wngs. My other half loves them but they’re a rare treat around here. I really, really don’t like cutting them apart either. 🙂 I’m imagining the sauce with the smoky, flavor of the BBQ and I am so tempted to make wings!

  2. I’m not a big wing fan either…too much work for that little bit of meat for me! But of course that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy wings. I do. And your recipe sounds amazing!

    1. We just started grilling wings a few years ago! It’s a great way to get crunchy wings without the fat.

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