Merry Crispness!

[smokyYank]

Hi all,

I'm confounded on how to grill chicken wings so the exterior is crispy but the meat it moist and tender.

I've tried low and slow followed by 1,800 degree sear station; too much char. I've tried 400F indirect heat; most and tender, but not so crispy. I've used baking powder in my rub. I pat the wings dry. I keep them in the fridge on racks for 1-2 days to dehydrate the skin. All to no avail.

I'd love to hear your suggestions pertaining to my equipment: gas grill with 1,800F sear station, or PitBoss pellet smoker, or <gasp> kitchen gas oven. Thanks in advance!

[SheilaAnn]

Several Pitmasters here swear by their trusty vortex! I’ve tried a couple times and while somewhat crispier (chewier), it’s not the crispy that fried chicken is.

[smokyYank]

Thanks, but I don't have a charcoal grill to use the vortex...

[LA Pork Butt]

The Vortex works. Try roasting them at 375. After an internal temp of about 180 they begin to dry out.

[dpearce]

Weren't we just talking about this in another thread?

But yeah, definitely not "fried chicken" crispy, that's for sure. Since sugar burns at high heat, if your rub or sauce has brown or white sugar in it (or both!), it's going to darken up quite a bit if you sear at the end of the cook and probably get a little "burnt" tasting.

This is why people smoke their wings, then finish them in an oil or air fryer, to get that "more crispy than smoked, but smoked taste" finish. I'm betting if you left out the sugar in something like the Simon & Garfunkel rub, it probably would take a sear better.

[jfmorris]

We had a local BBQ joint near my house that made some of my favorite wings just that way - smoked, then a quick dip in the deep fryer to provide a crispy finish. Sadly 2020 plus a road closure for 6 months the same year put them out of business.

[smokyYank]

AHA! Thanks for the info

[SheilaAnn]

smokyYank

just saw this thread…. RichieB is really good at this!

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/food-recipes-techniques-show-us-what-youre-cooking/show-tell/1861173-show-us-what-you-re-cooking-suwyc-volume-42-summer-2026?p=1867968#post1867968

[smokyYank]

WOW - so you totally coat the wings with the baking powder? No off-taste from this? I thought you could only add about a teaspoon per pound...

[realdocBBQ]

Fried. That's it. Fried.


Actually, the things you've done already - the dehydrating the skin, etc., all helps, but it doesn't absolutely crisp them up. The secret I believe (besides frying!) is convection. The Vortex gets close to this, I think there is SOME convection because of its design and how it pulls all the airflow through the small opening, but still, an airfryer or convection oven I think is the best bet, outside of actual deep fat frying. Just my opinion.

[JCBBQ]

Ha! Came here to say this. Actually, double fry Korean style! I enjoy grilled wings too but there’s nothing like frying.

[smokyYank]

Yeah, I guess you can't really get away from frying...maybe I should get an air fryer...although my kitchen oven has that mode - anybody have experience with using a kitchen oven in air-fry mode?

[realdocBBQ]

smokyYank I have a fairly nice Breville toaster oven/convection oven thing. It's nice, has an air fry feature, but probably isn't quite as good as an actual air fryer - but it has a lot larger capacity than most. I will say, it does a 'pretty good' job with this. Have to flip and rotate and all that, but it does crisp things up pretty well.

[Murdy]

I've seen both air fryers and the vortex mentioned so far. I'm no expert, but perhaps convection is key?

[jfmorris]

Yes indeed! Heat and air flow.

[jfmorris]

I've been making wings - mostly buffalo wings - since the early 90's. I'll be the first to say that frying - not once but twice - produces the best results. You par fry in 325 oil, get through all the wings, then bring them back in batches for a quicker fry at 375 to 400. I learned that secret from talking to the Korean owner at a local wing place, and from America's Test Kitchen. You can par fry, get them mostly "cooked" but not crispy in advance, refrigerate, then do the finish fry right before serving.

That said, I do not fry wings if cooking for a crowd. It takes too long, and I don't have an industrial sized frying capacity. For that, I either use the Vortex on a Weber kettle - which indeed can come close, if you just salt the wings (I used seasoned salt), and spray them with a little oil, to help them crisp. I run the Vortex with vents wide open, and rotate the lid 90 degrees every 10 minutes. They are done by 35 to 40 minutes. I toss them in buffalo sauce to serve.

The other way I get crispy wings, with a little char, is to literally grill them direct, using Grillgrate panels on my Weber gas grill. This is one of the cooks where I think using Grillgrates with the ridge side up really makes a difference. No flareups, the wings get a little char from the rails of the Grillgrates, and they literally get CRISP. I do not oil them when grilled direct - once again, season a few hours in advance with seasoned salt, and this time I brush both sides with my buffalo sauce as a finish in the last 5 minutes, and serve additional sauce on the side.

That's about all I got. Frying is best, but messy and constrained as to how many you can batch in the typical air fryer. If I want 20 pounds of wings for a party, they are gonna get direct grilled on Grillgrates, and they always disappear fast.

Oh - I've tried the air fryer too, and it can produce wings similar to the Vortex, but is just too constrained, more than a small deep fryer, as you have to layer the wings without touching in a single layer in a small basket. And it takes a similar time to the kettle (30+ minutes to be crisp and done).

About the WORST wings I've ever had - and the folks who brought them were very proud of their recipe - were baked in a conventional oven, and had rubbery, soggy skin.

[jfmorris]

realdocBBQ I'll have to look for a picture. I had more than one grill running to do 20 pounds, and had Grillgrates on both charcoal and gas grill to get it done! I can fit about 6 pounds on the kettle, and about 10 pounds at a time on the 4 burner gas grill...

I also enlist helpers, like my son or son in law, and hand them tongs and tell them to turn the wings every 5 minutes!

[smokyYank]

Great! I left my gas grill with the grillgrates on LI when I moved to SC!

[jfmorris]

smokyYank actually the first set of Grillgrates I ever had was for my Weber kettle - they are great for being able to do a full grate direct 1 zone cook. I use flat side up for burgers or steaks, and rail side up for chicken and chops. I only use them though if I need to do a big cook. Otherwise I do 2 zone, using the SNS as the hot zone for searing.

[bbq_esq]

I've been doing wings on the indirect side of my Primo, and SnS kettle before that. Get temps up to like 375-400, hour or so, then on to the direct until they look good. They seem pretty crispy to me but they are never going to beat deep fried. I usually go no sauce, just dry rub, maybe a drizzle of hot honey if it works with the rub.