This is a classic grilled chicken wing recipe that makes juicy and flavorful chicken wings. The wings are marinated in a delicious brine, then grilled and topped with an easy homemade sauce. Serve these up with your favorite dipping sauces, and you have the ultimate appetizer or easy meal.
How to Grill Chicken Wings
We love chicken wings any time of year! They are a go-to for us during the summer and in the Fall for football games! They are a classic appetizer, but they are also filling and relatively healthy. For so long, we ended up ordering wings as takeout, because I didn’t have a great recipe.
That’s not a problem anymore, not with this recipe in my back pocket. These are some of the tastiest and juiciest chicken wings.
The brine that they marinate in is so flavorful, and the sauce they are topped off with is just the right amount of sweet and spicy. They are filling enough to be served as a meal with a side, or solo as an appetizer.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings (party size of cut up into two pieces)
For the Brine:
- 5 cups water
- ½ cup salt
- ½ cup sugar
For the Sauce:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon liquid honey
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How to Make Chicken Wings on the Barbecue
In a large bowl stir together brine ingredients. Place chicken wings in the brine and cover with plastic food wrap.
Pro-Tip: When making this recipe, you have to let the chicken wings sit in the brine mixture in the fridge for at least two hours in order for them to get their flavor, so plan accordingly! I like to make these first thing in the morning on the day we will eat them. That way they can marinate for longer and they are ready to go when we want to eat.
In a frying pan over medium-high heat, stir together olive oil and garlic. Add in remaining sauce ingredients. Set the mixture aside.
Pro-Tip: Don’t let the garlic burn when you are cooking it in the oil. If it burns it will give the overall flavor a little bit of a bitter taste.
Preheat the grill to 350 F. Place wings from the brine on the grill. Flip these every 5 minutes for about 20 -30 minutes (until no longer pink inside).
Dip each cooked wing in lemon sauce mixture.
Grill for another 2 minutes on each side. Serve hot.
Pro-Tip: If you are unsure of when your chicken wings are done cooking, use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. When it reads at 165 degrees, they are done!
Additions & Substitutions
- Chicken: Any brand of chicken wings will work for this recipe, you will just want to make sure to have 3 pounds if you plan to use the same measurements listed above for brine and sauce. You can use frozen chicken wings or fresh, either will work.
- Herbs and Spices: You can adjust all of the seasonings listed here to suit your taste!
- Red Pepper Flakes: If you love spicy food, a delicious addition to the seasonings in the sauce is to add ½ to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. You could also just add this to half, if some people like spice and some people don’t.
- Dipping Sauces: You can’t have wings without all the dipping sauces! We love to serve these with bleu cheese, ranch, buffalo, our Alabama White Sauce and bbq sauce for dipping. That way there’s something for everyone!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftovers in the fridge in a sealed food storage container for 3-4 days.
Brining meat is a process of preparing the meat or poultry by submerging it and letting it sit in a brine typically made up of salt and water. It adds flavor and helps the meat retain moisture so it doesn’t become dried out.
It takes about 25-30 minutes to grill chicken wings. You will want to make sure they are no longer pink in the middle.
You can use a meat thermometer to check if they are 170-175 degrees in the middle.
These wings make for delicious leftovers and a super-easy meal when reheated. The flavors just get better and better. Although, I have to say they are the juiciest when they are hot off the grill.
These are the perfect wings for an appetizer or meal. Marinated for flavor, topped with a zesty sauce, and grilled to perfection. These wings are so juicy and delicious! They will definitely hit the spot on the next game day.
Other Easy Chicken Recipes
Ritz Chicken Casserole | Air Fryer Fried Chicken | Crockpot BBQ Chicken (Pulled Chicken) | Chicken Foil Packets | Sheet Pan Fajitas | Grilled Chicken Breast | Jamaican Jerk Chicken | Grilled Chicken Kabobs | Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
Grilled Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken wings (party size of cut up into two pieces)
Brine:
- 5 cups water
- ½ cup salt
- ½ cup sugar
Sauce:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp liquid honey
Instructions
- In a large bowl (5 Quart), stir together brine ingredients (salt, sugar and water). Place raw chicken wings in the brine and cover the top with plastic food wrap. Let this sit in the fridge for two hours before continuing to the next step.
- In a frying pan over medium-high heat, stir together olive oil and garlic until garlic starts to lightly brown. Add in remaining sauce ingredients: lemon juice, pepper, onion powder, oregano and honey. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat the grill to 350F. Remove chicken wings from brine and place on the grill. Flip these every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken wing reaches 165F.
- Dip each cooked wing in lemon sauce mixture and grill for an additional 2 minutes per side.
- Serve hot.
