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?
Recipe FAQ’s
Definitely before is the preferred method of using this wing seasoning. But you can always add a little more using a shaker to apply the seasoning after cooking if you like.
The natural moisture in the wings will attract the seasoning, allowing you to get a good coating on the wings.
You can dry the wings with paper towels and add a light coating of oil to the wings before the seasoning, but this step isn’t really necessary.
You can let the rub marinate on the wings for up to 8 hours, but 30 minutes should be more than enough time to let the seasonings penetrate the wings.
More Chicken Wing Recipes You’ll Love!
Dry Rub Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings split at first joint. *remove wing tip if desired
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp granulated onion
- 1 ½ tsp granulated garlic
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Measure all ingredients into a small mixing bowl and thoroughly mix to fully incorporate spices.
- Rub the chicken wings on all sides with a generous amount of the dry rub.
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat (350º-400ºF)
- Place dry-rubbed wings on the grill allowing to cook for 6-8 minutes. Turn wings occasionally to crisp them all over. They can cook longer if they don’t look crisp enough.
- *Be careful not to burn in the wings, the sugar in the dry rub can cause the wings to burn.
- Move the chicken wings to indirect heat and continue to cook with the lid closed for another 8-10 minutes.
John weimerskirk
5 out of 5 stars highly recommend this recipe heat and sweat squirt with a lime wedge bursting with flavor.
Tina
Hi Dennis, these look fabulous – could you please divulge the sauce you are dipping them in – or is it just a mayo?
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Tina
that was honey mustard. Mayo, mustard and honey. My videographer made that as a dip, I love using bleu cheese dressing
Teri
These wings were amazing. I followed the recipe to a T. I put coals on only one half of my grill and got a good char on them before moving to the cool side. Put the grill top back on and let them finish baking for about 20 minutes. Everyone loved them.
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed the wings. We love them at our house!
Angie Taylor
Best Wings I have ever had let alone made myself! Can’t thank you enough for this rub recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley
you’re very welcome Angie, and thanks for the great review!
Stephanie T.
This recipe is perfect as is. My family loves these wings. Thank you!
SBTx
This dry rub on wings was yummy. So easy and delicious.
Angela galloway
Very good wing recipe!!!
Ingelise
I made this and my partner about 2 weeks ago and he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT and raved about it.
So tonight I’m making it again 😊
Thank you for creating and sharing this dish – it will now be a regular treat for him (I don’t like chicken, but happy to cook it for him).
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear your partner enjoyed the dry rub wings! Thanks for the great review and comment!
Pattycake
I baked rather than grilled! Yummy! 😋 has everything in Munich cabinet already!!! Only had to purchase the chicken wings!
Aline
Oh my word! I love me some grilled wings and these look amazing! Trying’em this weekend while it’s still summer in California!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I WISH I could grill! I have sadly never owned a grill in my adult life. Maybe I’ll get a discounted one when grilling season is over 😉
Jo
I can’t resist chicken wings any time of the day. With dry spice rub, it’s even more amazing. The flavors are perfect. Can’t wait to try this chicken wings soon.
Daniela
Whoa these chicken wings def do look OMG! Drooling! Thanks so much for sharing :)!
Amy
These look delicious! I love a good dry rub and this rub looks so full of flavor and I love the spice! I cannot wait to try out these wings!
Lauren
Grilled chicken wings are a favorite in this house! The spice rub on these wings is so flavorful yet not overpowering!
Kate
I love those little charred bits on the wings, that’s the best part! And I appreciated that you added in directions for the oven, it’s about to get cold where I live so I will definitely want to make these inside! 🙂
Jenni LeBaron
You’re totally right about tinkering with spice rubs until you get them just right. I love the idea of making half a batch one way and half a batch another so you can really fine-tune the seasoning fast! This dry rub sounds excellent and I love a good wing recipe! These will be perfect for fall get-togethers!
Denise
Dry rubs are amazing. This one sounds like it could be used well with other things too!
Paula Montenegro
The charred bits are everything! These wings sound sensational and the perfect way to spend a weekend grilling outside and enjoying every seasoned inch of them! Thanks for sharing Chef.
Kelly Anthony
I also love to feed people too and sit around the table and enjoy what I’ve made. It fills my heart with so much joy!