If you like Dry Rub Wings, meaning wings made without being soaked in a sauce, the best way to make them is on the grill with a flavorful seasoning blend. Our Crispy Dry Rub Wing recipe is all about big flavor from the chicken wings seasoning, and our preferred method of grilling wings.
We love our chicken wing recipes any day of the week; from a random Tuesday to game day. No matter how they’re cooked, from smoked to grilled, the best wings should have big flavor and crispy skin. When cooking outside on the grill you want the flavor to come from a good seasoning and you want to make sure you get crispy skin that mimics the deep-fried texture you’d get in a restaurant. The easiest way to achieve this is to have dry wings, a good wing dry rub, corn starch (more on that later), and a hot grill.
Ingredients for Dry Rub Chicken Wings
The recipe is all about easy. Simple ingredients and simple cooking technique.
- Chicken Wing Seasoning – Start with your favorite savory dry rub for chicken wings. Our wing dry rub recipe is a simple mix of coarse black pepper, chili powder, kosher salt, granulated garlic, celery salt, onion powder, and cayenne pepper for a little heat. Note that we do not recommend any sugar of any kind to prevent burning on the grill. Also make sure to use kosher salt, not table salt.
- Corn Starch – Adding corn starch helps the skin crisp up as it grills. It’s what we use for smoked wings and grilled wings. Corn starch is the active ingredient in baking powder and is what creates the reaction. So skip the baking powder and use corn starch.
- Chicken Wings – Buy party wings made up of drums and flats, with detached wing tips (for the easiest preparation).
Chef’s Note: If you want “hot wings” then increase the ratio of cayenne if you don’t plan on using seasoning.
Preparation
You want to start with dry wings before grilling, which is a very important step in the process. Pat the raw wings dry with paper towels. Place them in a single layer on a wire rack in a sheet tray. Then transfer wings into the refrigerator for up to four hours after they are patted dry.
The airflow from the refrigerator helps them dehydrate a little more.
Once the wings are dry place the wings in a large bowl. Add the chicken wing seasoning and the corn starch. Stir with your hands to incorporate all the seasoning with the wings. They are now ready to grill. You do not need olive oil as a binder, the corn starch will help do the work.
Chef’s Note: If you want to dry brine the wings you can dry them, season them, and then dehydrate them in the refrigerator.
Recipe Steps
- Prepare your grill for a two-zone grilling set up and a temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in the cooking chamber. (Use the same set up if using a gas grill.)
- Place your seasoned chicken wings on the grill grate over direct heat and close the lid. Sear over direct heat for up to 6 minutes or until you see a char form. Flip the wings and continue grilling direct for an additional 6 minutes or until you see a nice char.
- Move the chicken wings to indirect heat on the grill grates, close the lid, and continue to grill indirect for an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the wings reaches 180 degrees F. Then remove the wings from the grill and serve warm.
Expert Tip
We cannot stress how important it is to start with dry wings before you season them. If they aren’t dry it takes longer for the moisture to cook away, which means the skin runs the risk of staying rubbery. We don’t want you to have rubbery wings, we want you to have crispy perfection!
Chicken Wing Sauces
While this recipe is for dry rub wings (with no sauce), you can serve them with any wing sauce you like including our Classic Buffalo Sauce. And for dipping you can go creamy blue cheese dressing or classic buttermilk ranch dressing.
Tools Used
- Long Tongs – We recommend long tongs to prevent burning your arm as you grill.
- Instant Read Meat Thermometer – A good instant read digital thermometer is important to any grilling experience. We recommend the Thermoworks Thermapen One for the best results. For a less expensive option, we recommend the Thermoworks ThermoPop.
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About Vindulge
Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.
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Preparation: Prepare your grill for a two-zone grilling set up and a temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit (F) in the cooking chamber. (Use the same setup if using a gas grill.) See notes for the wing preparation. Place chicken wings in a large bowl, coat with seasoning and corn starch, and toss together.
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Grill Direct: Place your seasoned chicken wings on the grill grate over direct heat and close the lid. Sear over direct heat for up to 6 minutes or until you see a char form. Flip the wings and continue grilling over direct heat for an additional 6 minutes or until you see a nice char.
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Grill Indirect: Move the chicken wings to indirect heat on the grill grates, close the lid and continue to grill indirect for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the wings reaches 180 degrees F. Then remove the wings from the grill and serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Drying Wings: You want to start with dry wings before grilling and this is a very important step in the process. Pat them dry with paper towels. Place them in a single layer on a wire rack in a sheet tray. Then transfer wings into the refrigerator for up to four hours after they are patted dry. The airflow from the refrigerator helps them dehydrate a little more.
Chef’s Note: If you want to dry brine the wings you can dry them, season them, then dehydrate them in the refrigerator.
Calories: 47kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.5g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.02g | Vitamin A: 43IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.