Barbecue Chicken Wings

Smoky, sticky, sweet and savory grilled chicken wings with crispy skin and tips

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

1 grill-pellet, charcoal, or gas
1 tongs
1 Mixing Bowl
1 barbecue sauce brush a pastry or silicon brush
1½ feet length of aluminum foil for wood chip smoking option, (charcoal or gas grill)
1 probe thermometer digital preferable

4½ lb. three piece chicken wings drumette, flat, and tips
2 tsp. dry English mustard
1 tbsp. salt omit if brining
3 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. paprika use smoked if not able to use wood to cook with, or if a more smoky flavor is desired
2½ cup barbecue sauce we suggest the cherry/chili Colorado one linked to in this post, but any store bought brand that your prefer will be fine
1 recipe seasons two taste basic brine for grilled meats Once again, linked to in this post, but optional
4 oz. barbecue wood chips optional, use whatever type you'd prefer, see linked bbq post for advice. soaked in cold water for at least 10 minutes.

Create foil "bowl" if using wood chips
strain wood chips from water, place in foil
place foil bowl under grill grate, balanced over burner bevels, off to one side that can be kept at a lower temp.
Light grill burners, keeping the side that has the wood chips on low, the rest on high
close grill cover to heat for 10 minutes

add enough charcoal to bottom of grill to create an even layer across the whole surface
light charcoal in preferred fashion
stack most of the charcoal to one side of the grill, leaving just a small amount on the other to create two heat zones
Create foil "bowl" if using wood chips
strain wood chips from water, place in foil
place bowl with wood chips in it directly on top of the hot coals on the cooler side of the grill
replace grill grate, close grill for 7 to 10 minutes to heat grate to sear

place wings onto grill in organized rows, close cover to cook for 5 minutes
open grill and check progress of the cook.
if the skin on the grilling side has started to crisp or blister, flip them over and exchange their location on the grill with the slower cooking wings and close grill for another 2 or 3 minutes
once all wings have been flipped over, repeat the process outlined earlier, until they are all just starting to crisp and blister on the outside as uniformly as possible
brush the sauce onto the top of the chicken lightly, close grill to allow it to cook and "lacquer" .
after another 5 minutes, and the sauce has formed a glazed appearance, flip them over, once again moving them around from hot spots to cooler ones in order to facilitate even cooking
apply sauce again, repeat the "lacquering" process.
flip them for a third time. you will start to see charred spots on the skin, and especially on the tips
baste with sauce once again, much thicker this time, paying special attention to cover the charred bits
close the grill again for 2 to 3 minutes
take temperatures in the thickest part of the largest drumettes, once you see above 170 consistently, pull them from the grill and serve

Keyword Barbecue, chicken wing