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Breaded “Almost Fried” Grilled Chicken Wings

By Chris Capell

These crunchy breaded grilled chicken wings are awesome. I had my doubts about breading wings to be cooked on the grill, but was amazed how the coating cooks up crunchy and golden brown. I have tried several different cooking methods, and have settled on cooking between 1.5 and 2.5 hours at a low 250°F direct over the coals (indirect I’d go 275°F). Seems to work best on an elevated grate, about 12-15 inches from the coals. The long cooking time helps render the fat in the skin, and produces a crunchy exterior, and a moist juicy interior.

Ingredients

Print Recipe

12-15 chicken wings

Breading:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
2 Tbsp Dizzy Pig seasonings (works well with all rubs except Cow Lick)
2 tsp salt

Egg Wash:

1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Preparation

Clip off the wing tips, and reserve for making chicken broth. Trim any hanging pieces of skin at the other end.
Mix the egg and milk in one bowl. In another bowl mix the flour, corn meal, Dizzy Pig® seasoning of choice, salt, and mix well.
Cover the wing in the egg wash, and shake off excess.
Roll the wing in the flour mixture, and try to cover fully and evenly. Shake off excess, as you just need a thin even coating.
Refrigerate breaded wings for an hour or more to set coating.

Cooking

Spray (or wipe) cooking grid with oil.
Place wings on oiled grate of a 250°F established fire. Set grate approximately 12-15 inches above the coals.
Close cooker, and wait 30 minutes before flipping. Often, I will rotate the grate 180°F after the first 15 minutes, just to compensate for any hot spots in the fire.
Once coating has started to set up on side one, gently flip to the other side, being careful not to lose coating.
Another half hour (rotating grid halfway if you want) and they are ready to flip again… CAREFULLY! You can see they are starting to brown nicely… and evenly.
After the first hour, start flipping every 20 minutes, and moving the pieces around to finish all pieces evenly.
Wings are done when browned. Cooking times will vary from 1.5 to 2.5 hours total. When they look like they are almost done, I sometimes sauce with a real thin coating. 20-30 more minutes and the sauce caramelizes into the crunchy breaded coating. Great without sauce too, so I change it up to keep things interesting!
The kids like ranch dressing, so this is what we dipped the wings in tonight.
Rip em apart at the joint, and savor the crunchy skin and sweet juicy meat! Enjoy, everyone! And thanks for the inspiration Ron!

Step by Step

First thing I do is clip off the wing tips, and reserve for making chicken broth. Trim any hanging pieces of skin at the other end.

Mix the egg and milk in one bowl. In another, the flour, corn meal, Dizzy Pig seasoning (all blends work well here with the exception of Cow Lick), salt, and mix well.

Cover the wing in the eggwash, and shake off excess.

Roll the wing in the flour mixture, and try to cover fully and evenly. Shake off excess, as you just need a thin even coating.

Refrigerate breaded wings for an hour or more to set coating.

Place wings on oiled grate of a 250°F established fire, approximately 12-15 inches above the coals. Often, I will rotate the grate 180°F after the first 15 minutes, just to compensate for any hot spots in the fire.

Flip wings, being careful not to lose coating. Another half hour (rotating grid halfway if you want) and they are ready to flip again . . . CAREFULLY! You can see they are starting to brown nicely . . . and evenly.

After the first hour, I start flipping every 20 minutes, and moving the pieces around to finish all pieces evenly.

Cooking times will vary, but when they look like they are almost done, I sometimes sauce with a real thin coating. 20-30 more minutes and the sauce caramelizes into the crunchy breaded coating. Great without sauce too, so I change it up to keep things interesting!