Grilled Dry Rub Chicken Wings Recipe

If you love grilling as much as I do, you’re going to love my Grilled Dry Rub Chicken Wings! I especially love those extra charred bits.

I love the wing seasoning I use for my dry rub wings. It’s a blend of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and other favorite seasonings.

My dry rub wings are perfect for game day or anytime your friends gather to enjoy life and all the deliciousness it has to offer.

What do I need to make Dry Rub Chicken Wings?

The list of ingredients isn’t really long and you may even have most of the spices already in your cabinet.

I always like to gather my ingredients before cooking any dish in my kitchen. It makes the process go more smoothly and ensures I have everything I need to make the dish.

Here you see the split chicken wings and bowls of the spices needed for the dry rub. Feel free to add your own special touch to the seasonings. If there is a spice you don’t particularly like, leave it out.

How do I split Chicken Wings?

Let’s talk about safety first. 

Always use a cutting board to cut meats, seafood or vegetables. That being said, always make sure your cutting board has been properly cleaned and sanitized between uses. Use your favorite household cleaner and always wash the board twice.

*You can also place the once cleaned cutting board into your dishwasher for a really good cleaning. This is super important when cutting any meat or seafood.

Cutting chicken wings is really simple. All you need to do is locate the joint and cut through it.

Hold one end firmly and securely while cutting through the joint carefully. I leave the wing tips on for some of the wing dishes I create, but feel free to chop off the wing tip if you prefer. (If you do remove the wingtip, save them in a ziplock bag in the freezer for the next time you make chicken soup)

Chef Dennis Tip: If you keep the knife down low (directly on the joint) you’ll have less chance of cutting yourself.

How do I decide what spices to use for Dry Rub Wings?

A lot of what I do is my take on foods I’ve seen or eaten on my travels. These wings were recreated from a dishful of deliciousness I enjoyed on a recent adventure. I simply pulled out a few spices from my cabinet and started blending until I got the flavor profile just right.

Cooking is rocket science and lots of times it comes down to using ingredients that you like, rather than exactly what the recipe calls for. I went through a few variations of spice combinations to come up with the one I eventually used for my dry rub and hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

If you’re not sure about the flavors, make half a batch my way and try your own seasoning blend on the other half. Who knows maybe you’ll find a tasty compromise or enjoy them as is.

Pat the seasoning into the wing to get an overall coverage of the wings with the seasoning. Feel free to use less seasoning, I like mine bursting with flavor!

The next step is to place them on your preheated grill (medium-high heat) and cook for about 20 minutes. Turn the wings often to avoid burning them. The brown sugar in the seasoning mixture will caramelize and burn faster than you think.

That being said I love the charred parts as you’ll find most men do. Just serve green vegetables or a big salad along with them to add as a detox for the charring. Here’s a good article to read about foods that help detoxify the body.

You can reduce charing by placing a doubled sheet of tinfoil on the grill. This can be used as early in the process as you like, but I would recommend getting a little color on them before placing them on the foil.

*You will still need to turn the wings often, even on the foil.

Can  I cook Dry Rub Wings in the oven?

You certainly can. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and place the prepared wings on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet on an oven rack placed in the top third of the oven. After 7-10 minutes turn the wings over and return to the oven.

Turn the oven down to 350 and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until the wings have good color and the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Can I cook Dry Rub Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer?

Yes, you can. Place the wings in a non-preheated air fryer at 375°F and let them cook for about 20 minutes. The dry rub wings should be crispy on the outside and fully cooked through in the center.

Wouldn’t you love to sit down to this delicious plate of wings?

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