Crispy, meaty, and spicy when they're at their best, barbecued chicken wings are a tailgating essential. But too often, they miss on both flavor and texture—without the benefit of hot frying fat, they can end up flabby, overcooked, and bland. With a little extra know-how and Stubb's Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce at your disposal, your wings don't have to meet that sad fate.
If you want to achieve perfect grilled wings, a little advance planning is in order. This recipe incorporates two steps to help ensure fast-cooking wings. One: Add baking powder to your usual barbecue rub, which will help to absorb excess moisture. Two: Let the wings air-dry in the fridge overnight before grilling. Complete these two steps and you'll be on your way to the tastiest wings, with that just-fried crispness.
Cooking the wings over high indirect heat—meaning with the coals placed on one side of the grill and the wings situated on the opposite, cooler side—ensures that the chicken cooks through without getting scorched. With this method, it takes just over 30 minutes to get juicy meat and a crisp exterior.
To get the most flavor possible from Stubb's Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce, we brush it on in two layers—the first while the wings are still cooking over indirect heat, and the second just after they're moved to directly over the hot side. That last stage of direct-heat cooking allows the final layer of sauce to caramelize and char.
All that's left to do now is transfer the wings to a platter, pass it around, and wait for the sticky high-fives.
Stubb's Spicy Barbecue Wings
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours
Yield: Serves 4 to 8
Special Equipment: Charcoal grill, 1 chunk light smoking wood (such as apple or cherry), wire rack, rimmed baking sheet
For the Rub
1 tablespoon (12g) baking powder
1 tablespoon (12g) kosher salt
2 teaspoons (8g) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon (4g) paprika
1/2 teaspoon (2g) chili powder
1/2 teaspoon (2g) freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Wings
4 pounds (1.8kg) chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats and patted dry with paper towels
About 2/3 bottle (12 ounces) Stubb's Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce, plus more as needed
Directions
1. For the Rub: In a small bowl, combine baking powder, salt, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
2. For the Wings: Place half of wings in a large bowl and sprinkle in half of rub, tossing to evenly coat. Arrange wings in a single layer on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, leaving a little space between each wing. Coat remaining wings with rub and add to rack in baking sheet. Place baking sheet with wings in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate. Place wood chunk directly on coals. Place wings, skin side up, on cool side of grill, cover, and cook until skins have begun to crisp and brown, about 35 minutes. Brush wings all over with Stubb's Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce, cover, and cook for 5 minutes more.
4. Brush wings with sauce again and move to hot side of grill. Cook, flipping wings occasionally, until sauce chars slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer wings to a platter and serve immediately.