Breaded Grilled “almost fried” Chicken Wings – courtesy of http://www.dizzypigbbq.com/recipesWings.html , home of the best BBQ spices you can get your hands on.
These crunchy breaded wings are awesome. I had my doubts about breading wings to be cooked on the grill, but was amazed how the coating cooks up crunchy and golden brown. I have tried several different cooking methods, and have settled on cooking between 1.5 and 2.5 hours at a low 250 degrees direct over the coals (indirect I’d go 275). Seems to work best on an elevated grate, about 12-15 inches from the coals. The long cooking time helps render the fat in the skin, and produces a crunchy exterior, and a moist juicy interior.
Makes 12-15 wings
Ingredients
Breading:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 2 tbsp Dizzy Pig rub (works well with all rubs except Cow Lick….try mixing a couple up)
- 2 tsp salt
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- (you might need 2 eggs and 1 cup milk for a large batch)
Technique:
First thing I do is clip off the wing tips, and reserve for making chicken broth.
And trim any hanging pieces of skin at the other end.
Mix the egg and milk in one bowl. In another, the flour, corn meal, Dizzy Pig Rub, and salt, and mix well.
Cover the wing in the eggwash, and shake off excess.
Roll the wing in the flour mixture, and try and cover fully and evenly. Shake off excess, as you just need a thin even coating.
Refrigerate breaded wings for an hour or more to set coating.
Spray (or wipe) cooking grid with oil, and place wings on oiled grate of a 250 degree established fire, approximately 12-15 inches above the coals. Close cooker, and wait 30 minutes before flipping (assuming fire is low). Oftentimes I will rotate the grate 180 degrees after the first 15 minutes, just to compensate for any hot spots in the fire.
Once coating has started to set up on side one, they are ready to flip. CAREFUL!!! This is the trickiest part. If you simply pick up the wings to flip, you could lose some of the coating, so I came up with a little trick that works well for me. Gently slide the wings back and forth parallel to the grate bars without lifting. Just enough to break lose any areas that might be sticking. Once they are free, then gently flip to the other side.
Another half hour (rotating grid halfway if you want) and they are ready to flip again…..CAREFULLY! You can see they are starting to brown nicely…and evenly.
After the first hour, I start flipping every 20 minutes, and moving the pieces around to finish all pieces evenly.
Cooking times will vary depending on the conditions in your cooker, but when they look like they are almost done, I sometimes sauce with a real thin coating. 20-30 more minutes and the sauce caramelizes into the crunchy breaded coating. Great without sauce too, so I change it up to keep things interesting!
The kids like ranch dressing, so this is what we dipped the wings in tonight.
Rip em apart at the joint, and savor the crunchy skin and sweet juicy meat!
Enjoy, everyone! And thanks for the inspiration Ron!
Chris
Tips
- these can be done on the grill using indirect heat.
- if the wings sit overnight in the batter they will come out best.