Buffalo Wings Recipe | Grilling

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated August 09, 2018

On Fridays, Joshua Bousel drops by with a recipe for you to grill over the weekend. Fire it up, Joshua!

My hat goes off to whoever first paired pizza and wings. I don't know if it's just the fact that I've enjoyed the two together my whole life, but a hit of spicy buffalo sauce, followed by a bite of smooth mozzarella, is one of the great pleasures in the unhealthy diet I maintain. So, when I grilled up some pizzas last week, it went without saying that buffalo wings would be served alongside. But instead of busting out the fryer, I took them to the flames.

With a previous success in getting a great, crisp skin on grilled wings, I thought this would be a snap. Unfortunately, my fire may have been too hot and I started getting burnt, rather than crackling, skins--so I adopted a two-zone method to get them finished in an edible state. Although the skins did not get that super crispness that I prefer, the wings were a hit all around. They were juicy and had a pleasingly complex buffalo sauce, achieved by mixing multiple sugars and hot sauces together with butter. It was the perfect accompaniment to some grilled pizzas.

Recipe Details

Buffalo Wings Recipe | Grilling

Prep 30 mins
Cook 15 mins
Total 45 mins
Serves 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds chicken wings (18 wings), cut up

  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1/2 cup hot sauce, preferably Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce

  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste

Directions

  1. Mix together the cayenne, black pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the mixture all over the chicken wings. Place the wing in the refrigerator until ready to use. (This can be done the night before.)

  2. Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the rest of the sauce ingredients until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

  3. Light a chimney 3/4 full of charcoal. When charcoal is fully lit and covered in gray ash, pour coals out and arrange them on one side of the charcoal grate, keeping the other side empty. Place the wings over the cool side of the grill, cover, and cook until skins are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Move the wings to the hot side of the grill and continue to cook until the skins have crisped, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the wings to a bowl. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss to coat evenly. Remove wings to a plate and serve hot.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
578Calories
38gFat
9gCarbs
47gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories578
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g49%
Saturated Fat 15g74%
Cholesterol 216mg72%
Sodium 1421mg62%
Total Carbohydrate 9g3%
Dietary Fiber 0g2%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 47g
Vitamin C 28mg140%
Calcium 39mg3%
Iron 3mg19%
Potassium 483mg10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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