Grilled Chicken Wings (SO Crispy!)

Love BBQ grilled wings? Try this super crispy grilled chicken wings recipe with buffalo sauce. It’s an easy appetizer or main dish for a cookout party. And with my method, it is fool-proof. Let’s make some tasty wings…

Why it’s my go-to BEST grilled wings recipe

• Easy step-by-step instructions.
• Learn how long to cook chicken wings on the grill so they are crisp and not dry.
• Includes a simple dry rub seasoning recipe.
• Make grilled hot wings with the sauce recipe. They have a nice medium heat to them. Or instead of the buffalo chicken wings sauce, use any chicken wings marinade for grilling that you’d like.
• Get the perfect char with my timed rotation method.

See 9 EASY chicken wing recipes to make at home >

Ingredients for grilled buffalo wings

Here’s what you need to make these wings on the grill…

Ingredients for grilled chicken wings

• Chicken wings (flats and drumettes)
• Olive oil (to get a crispy skin)
• Garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Ingredients for grilled hot wing sauce

• Buffalo hot sauce
• Melted butter
• Cilantro

For serving

• Blue cheese dressing or this jalapeno ranch dressing
• Celery and carrot sticks

How to grill chicken wings

It only takes about 30 minutes to cook the wings and serve them up with a dipping sauce. Here’s the step-by-step to knock these grilled wings out of the park every time you make ‘em.

Step 1. Prepare the grilled chicken wings recipe. Preheat the grill to 425°F. Lay wings out flat on paper towel and pat them dry.

Step 2. Season chicken wings. Mix together the garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Brush the wings with olive oil and sprinkle both sides of the wings with the seasoning blend.

Step 3. Make the grilled hot wing sauce. In a large bowl (that will be used to toss the grilled wings in later), stir together the Buffalo hot sauce, melted butter, and cilantro. Set aside.

Step 4. Grill chicken wings. When the grill reaches 425°F, spray the grates with cooking spray or brush them with olive oil to prevent the chicken wings from sticking to the grill.

Quickly lay dry rub seasoned chicken wings on the grill grates, close the grill lid, and grill them for about 25-35 minutes, spraying them, flipping them, and rotating the placement of the wings on the grill every 5 minutes so they all char.

As they are finished cooking, move them to a higher grill grate, or away from the flame, so they pick up heat but don’t continue to dry out.

Step 5. Check the temperature of grilled chicken wings. Use a meat thermometer to know when the wings are done cooking. Since the temperature of the grill can vary based on placement of the wings, this is an important step to make sure each wing is done.

Slide the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat, without touching the bone, to get the best read. Wings are done when they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

Step 6. Toss grilled wings in hot sauce. Add wings to a large bowl with hot sauce and toss with tongs, a large spoon or a spatula to coat the wings. Serve immediately with a side of blue cheese dressing, celery and carrot sticks.

We’ve made about 20 LBs of wings already this summer, testing all sorts of methods. These grilled wings are so spectacular. You have to watch the wings a little more on the grill, flipping every 5 minutes or so (compared to every 20 minutes baking wings in the oven) but that char on the outside is to die for!

Grilling chicken wings is super tasty, but don’t snooze on air fryer chicken wings, either. They’re yummy, too.

FAQs for making

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Grill and smoker recipes…

• Grilled chicken wings
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Meat thermometer recommendations

Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly. 

On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:

1. Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
2. ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill. 

It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature. 

How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.

While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!

More ways to cook chicken wings

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, I’m so excited for you to try this new gourmet chicken wings recipe. Serve them as a game day appetizer for football season and for an easy party appetizer for a crowd.

So what else can you try other than grilled chicken wings?

Beyond baked wings with buffalo sauce, you need to try these lemon pepper wings and garlic parmesan chicken wings.

I also love these smoked wings and air fryer chicken wings.

If you’re into sous vide cooking, my sous vide buffalo wings and sous vide bbq wings are popular, too.

For more foodie inspiration, find me on Instagram @sipbitego. And to find more delicious recipes to try on your culinary journey, scroll through the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.