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
Here are some sides to pair with this quick and easy recipe: grilled potato wedges, a simple side salad with sous vide beets, this make-ahead Mexican salad, this easy strawberry salad (so perfect for summer) and these homemade chips.
Yes, every 5 minutes you need to rotate them, and move them around the grill so they all cook evenly and finish around the same time.
Simply marinade wings for 2+ hours before grilling them with any of these sous vide chicken marinades, or find the marinade recipes for this flank steak or skirt steak with soy sauce and dijon mustard.
If your chicken wings are sticking to the grill, it may be because the grill isn’t hot enough. Make sure your gas grill is fired up to a full 425-450 degrees F when you cook these.
A dirty grill can also cause your food to stick. If your grill is hot enough and clean and you are still having trouble when using the cooking spray as directed in this video, consider seasoning your grill by brushing the (cooled) grill with vegetable oil.
Yes— if the BBQ grill is set at a lower temperature, you run the danger of overcooking the chicken wings before the skin gets that delicious crispness you’re waiting for. Overcooked chicken tends to be dry and tasteless. To avoid that, keep your grill at 425-450 degrees F.
Best chicken wings recipes on Sip Bite Go
- Smoked chicken wings
- Grilled chicken wings
- Baked chicken wings
- Air fryer chicken wings
- Sous vide chicken wings
- Sous vide BBQ chicken wings
- Lemon pepper chicken wings
- Garlic parmesan chicken wings
- Also see how to make homemade blue cheese dressing
- More chicken wings appetizers
New recipes and foodie guides….
- Tri tip (it’s so good!)
- Chicken enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce
- Homemade pizza
- Smoked wings
- Traeger pizza
- Pan grilled chicken
- Bacon wrapped hot dogs
- Potato side dishes
- Pasta side dishes
- Baked brisket
- Sous vide frozen steak
- Cooked chicken temp guide
- Jalapeno ranch sauce
- Sous vide pork chops
- Coulotte steak
- GUIDE: How to make hamburger patties
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- Best restaurants in Portland
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Grill and smoker recipes…
- Grilled chicken wings
- Smoked pizza
- Smoked chicken
- Smoked tri tip
- Traeger pulled pork
- Grilled shrimp
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked chicken wings
- Smoked ham
- Flank steak marinade
- Skirt steak marinade
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked chicken breast
- Grilled broccoli
- Smoked queso
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:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- 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.
Grilled Chicken Wings Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
Ingredients for grilled chicken wings
- 2 lbs chicken wings (flats and drumettes)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Ingredients for grilled hot wing sauce
- ¼ cup Buffalo hot sauce
- 2 tsp melted butter
- 1 tsp cilantro freshly chopped
For serving
- ¼ cup blue cheese dressing
- 2 medium celery sticks
- 2 medium carrots sticks
Instructions
- Prepare the grilled chicken wings recipe. Preheat the grill to 425°F. Lay wings out flat on paper towel and pat them dry.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Check 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.
- 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.
Dan says
How does spraying the grates with the burners on not cause a major flare up?
Jenna Passaro says
I don’t know ? Gas must not be high. Don’t try it at home
Deron Baugh says
Seems very simple. About to try this recipe now. I will rate later.