The Best Grilled Buffalo Wings Recipe

Looking for a great tasting buffalo wings recipe? Look no further. These smokey, grilled chicken wings will make you hungry as soon as you smell them cooking. They have just the right amount of heat and flavor to make you question why you never grilled wings before.

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A good grilled buffalo wing recipe is perfect for backyard cookouts – and honestly one of favorite meals to make, even when its snowing and gross out.

The grill adds a nice smokey flavor to the wings, and the homemade buffalo sauce adds just the right amount of heat to each grilled chicken wing.

The direct heat from the grill helps to crisp up the skin for a slight crunch on the outside and tender meat on the inside.

Once you make grilled buffalo wings, you will never want to go back to frying or baking chicken wings again.

We never really did. Pretty much if we make chicken wings, they are going to be grilled.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

When you make this grilled buffalo wings recipe, you will need:

• Butter – This forms the base of the sauce, adding a richness to the buffalo sauce.
• Hot sauce – We use Frank’s hot sauce for just about everything, including grilled chicken wings. We put that sh*t on everything.
• Fresh garlic – You can dice it finely or use a garlic press to get a smooth consistency.
• Salt and black pepper – You only need to add this to taste.
• Rub seasonings – To add flavor to every layer, you will want to make a rub for the chicken wings. We use garlic powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and a bit of salt. We also add a bit more Frank’s sauce and butter mix the seasonings together.
• Chicken wings – You can use fresh or frozen chicken wings. If you use frozen, just make sure to defrost them first.

For a more basic grilled chicken wing recipe, you can use garlic powder, salt, and paprika.

If you want to reduce the heat or like a slightly sweeter grilled chicken wing, you can add a little bit of honey to the sauce.

Of course, if you want to burn your face off, you can add some cayenne pepper or other hot peppers to the rub or to the sauce.

You don’t need much for kitchen supplies when making this grilled buffalo wing recipe, but you will need a grill.

Grilling options for chicken wings include:

• Charcoal grill – The most basic type of grill you can get and often the cheapest. We find it tends to produce a better smokey flavor for grilled chicken wings, at least compared to gas grills. The main con is getting coals to light and heat evenly can be challenging as can keeping a consistent temperature.
• Gas grill – Fast and reliable, a gas grill is pretty much ready on demand. It can also produce a consistent level of heat. It can be a bit more expensive compared to charcoal grills, but more basic models are generally affordable. The biggest con of gas grills is they tend to not produce as good of a smokey flavor, but the convenience more than makes up for it.
• Wood Pellet Grill – Possibly the most expensive option, a wood pellet grill is a great blend between the convenience of gas and smokey flavor of charcoal. Mainly come with automatic feeds that allows you to set a precise temperature, and – like gas – they typically allow for easy starting. The biggest con tends to be the price of wood pellet grills.
• Electric Grill – A newer type of outdoor grill, the electric grill plugs into a standard outlet. Like gas and pellet grills, you can generally set temperatures on the grill. They often have cooking surfaces on both sides, meaning the grilled chicken wings will cook up a bit faster.

We have a standard charcoal grill at home. In general, when making grilled buffalo wings, we tend to fill up the bottom of the charcoal kettle and have a enough fuel to cook up the wings nicely.

How to make grilled buffalo wings

To make this grilled buffalo wing recipe, follow these easy steps.

1. Prepare the wings and rub

If you are using whole wings, you are going to want to cut off the tips and discard them as well as seperate the two bottom portions.

When using frozen, make sure to thaw them overnight in the fridge before grilling them.

To make the rub, combine the seasonings, portion of melted butter, and portion of Frank’s red hot sauce in a small bowl.

Mix well until combined.

Toss the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl and pour on the rub.

Using your hands or tongs, mix the wings with the rub until well-coated.

2. Grill the chicken wings

Start your grill and set it to a medium-low setting or about 300 degrees should work.

If you are using a charcoal grill, you may want to start the charcoal before you start the rub.

Place the chicken wings on the grill with a bit of space between the pieces.

To avoid burning the wings, flip them every 3 minutes until they are done.

The wings will take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook through.

For best results, you should consider using a food thermometer to make sure the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.

3. Make the sauce

Either as the wings cook or when they finish, its time to make the sauce.

First, melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.

Once it melts, add the fresh garlic to the pot and let simmer for about 1 minute or until the garlic starts to become fragrant.

Mix in the remaining ingredients.

Cook the sauce for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it is warmed through and steamy.

4. Toss the wings in the sauce and serve

Once you grill the chicken wings and make the sauce, toss it altogether in a clean bowl.

Serve the wings fresh with ranch dressing, blue cheese, carrot sticks, or your favorite sides.

Storing grilled chicken wings

You should really eat grilled buffalo wings fresh after you make them.

Of course, if you have left overs, you can reheat them in the oven or microwave.

To store them, allow them to cool and then place them in an air tight container.

The grilled wings should save for about 2 to 3 days.

Tips and tricks to make grilled chicken wings

Here are some handy tips and tricks to make the best grilled buffalo wings:

• You can adjust heat levels a bit. You can add less hot sauce or add honey to make it more of a sweet heat. You can also add additional pepper to the rub or sauce for added heat.
• If your grill is really hot, you may want to adjust how far away the grill is from the heat source. You may also want to use indirect heat if you find the wings are starting to burn quickly.
• Don’t add the sauce until after the wings cook. If you try to grill the chicken wings with buffalo sauce on them, it will all cook or drip off.
• Use an internal meat thermometer to make sure the chicken reaches 165 degrees. If it doesn’t reach this temp, the chicken is not safe to eat, but if it goes too high, it can lead to tough, dried chicken wings.

Other summer recipes you will love

Looking for some other summer or anytime flavors? Check out these great options:

• Fried Mozzarella Caprese– Why not fry the cheese first?
• Strawberry Caprese Salad– Sweet strawberries replace tomatoes in this salad.
• Panzanella Caprese Salad– Caprese and toasted bread cubes.
• Easy Baguette Caprese Sandwich with Pesto– A hoagie or sub style sandwich featuring classic Caprese flavors on a crusty baguette.
• No Bake Blueberry Pie – An easy no bake pie that uses one of summer’s best fruits.

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