Grilled Buffalo Wings are a summertime favorite and great for parties. It is hard to beat them, and grilling makes chicken wings simply outstanding.
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What Are Grilled Buffalo Chicken Wings?
Do you love the taste of deep-fried wings but not all the fat and calories that go along with them? Then, it’s time to fire up the barbeque and make this grilled buffalo wings recipe.
Why Grilled Chicken Wings Are So Good
These grilled buffalo chicken wings have all the flavor of your favorite bar finger food without the guilt that goes along with them.
Whether you are throwing a backyard rager or just making dinner for your family, you won’t be able to get enough of these grilled wings with the classic flavor everyone loves.
Why This Is the Grilled Buffalo Chicken Wings You Must Try
Marinating the chicken in a spiced-up version of a classic buffalo sauce means that each chicken wing is moist, tender, and full of flavor from the charred, crispy skin to the bone!
Grilled Chicken Wings Buffalo Sauce
You will use a homemade hot wing sauce for this recipe. Many standard hot wing sauces are simply a mixture of butter and hot sauce. Those sauces taste quite good but can be so much better.
For my grilled wings, I add a little something more. To prepare this sauce, I add some fresh garlic and some fresh hot peppers for additional flavor and heat to the sauce.
Recipe Ingredients
To make this grilled chicken wings recipe, you’ll need:
- Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce
- Garlic
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Butter
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Chicken Wings
- Vegetable oil for the grill
How to Make Grilled Chicken Wings
To make the Buffalo marinade/sauce:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Once the butter melts, stir in the hot sauce, jalapeno peppers, and the Worcestershire sauce.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, occasionally stirring, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 20 – 30 minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat.
To make the wings:
- Place the chicken in a bowl or large plastic bag with one cup of buffalo sauce. Stir to coat the wings with the sauce. If using a bag, seal the bag and shake to coat the wings.
- Marinate the wings in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but no more than two hours.
- Meanwhile, preheat the grill to 400 degrees.
- Rub oil on the grates or use a spray to prevent the chicken from sticking.
- Drain the chicken from the marinade and put the wings on the grill. Throw out the leftover marinade.
- Cover the grill and cook for about 25 minutes, turning a few times.
- Toss the cooked wings in the sauce (not the used marinade) and serve.
Recipe Variations
Not everyone loves the heat of Buffalo sauce, and that is okay. With this grilled wings recipe, you can use just about any sauce as a marinade. Here are a couple of alternative marinade recipes you can try:
- Lemon-Garlic Chicken Wing Marinade. Combine a cup of Italian dressing, a third of a cup of lemon juice, three tablespoons of minced garlic, and a tablespoon of honey.
- Honey Soy Chicken Wing Marinade. Combine a cup of honey, a half cup of soy sauce, a third of a cup of apple cider vinegar, a third of a cup of Shaoxing wine or dry sherry, two tablespoons of minced garlic, and a tablespoon of sesame oil.
Note: There is no need to cook these marinades before using them. But please do not use any marinade that touches raw chicken as a sauce for cooked wings.
To thicken any unused marinade to make a sauce, heat in a saucepan and sprinkle in a few pinches of cornstarch. Simmer on low for a minute or two while whisking. Toss the sauce with a few cooked wings at a time to coat.
How Long To Grill Chicken Wings
These take 25 minutes on a medium-hot grill. You will need to flip these about halfway through their cooking time. When they are done, there may be some pieces with charred spots.
What Goes With Grilled Chicken Wings
Blue cheese and ranch dressings can cool these wings down. A few celery and carrot sticks add a nice bit of crunch to this Grilled Chicken Wings recipe.
How To Store Grilled Chicken Wings
You can leave leftover grilled wings in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
If you want to keep them longer, put the cooked wings in a freezer-safe container and store them in the freezer for up to three months.
How to Reheat Grilled Chicken Wings
There are two good options for reheating cooked chicken wings: the oven and the air fryer.
To reheat wings in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the thawed chicken wings on a baking tray.
- Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until warm.
To reheat in the air fryer:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F.
- Place the grilled chicken wings in the air fryer.
- Cook thawed chicken wings for four to five minutes and frozen chicken wings for 8 to 10 minutes.
Best Chicken Wing Recipes
- Asian Wings
- Boneless Buffalo Wings
- Garlic Buffalo Wings
- Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Hooters Buffalo Wings
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
- Plucker Wings
- Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings
Can’t get enough chicken wings? You have got to see this list of over 60 wing recipes.
Love Buffalo Flavor? Try These Recipes
Check out more of my easy chicken recipes and the best appetizer recipes here on CopyKat!
Grilled Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups hot sauce Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce recommended
- 4 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 2 jalapeno peppers sliced
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 pounds chicken wings cut into two pieces (you may want to cut off the wing tips)
- vegetable oil for the grill
Instructions
- In a small pot, combine the hot sauce, garlic, jalapeño peppers, butter, and Worcestershire sauce over low heat.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring to combine until the butter melts.
- Place the chicken wing pieces in a large container.
- Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the chicken, and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.
- Heat the grill to approximately 375°F to 425°F.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on a paper towel, and rub the oiled towel over the grates to lubricate the grill.
- Remove the wings from the marinade, allow the excess marinade to drip off, and discard the used marinade.
- Place the wings on the grate in a single layer so they’re not touching (if needed, cook them in batches).
- Cover the grill and cook, flipping the wings occasionally with tongs, until they’re no longer pink at the bone and the skin is slightly charred in spots, about 25 minutes total.
- When all of the chicken wings are done, place them a bowl, drizzle with the remaining sauce.
- Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing if desired.
Clarence Obert
I don’t marinate mine first, but I do boil them from about 20 minutes. This way it cleans some of they grease off and cooks them through. As soon as I place them on the grill, I brush the hot sauce over them. Once one side gets a little brown, I flip and baste again. I keep doing that until no more sauce is left, or I get really good carmelazation on both sides. I don’t toss them in sauce afterwards … I don’t like my wings with sauce running down my hands/arms. Also, in my hot sauce, I also add garlic, but add also add ground Ancho pepper. Gives a little heat but add more flavor.
Jeff the Chef
I’m a huge wings fan, and these look delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Stephanie Manley
Thank you! What are your favorite types of wings?
bastisraul
Garlic Parmesan tossed with Texas Pete Buffalo Sauce.
Stephanie Manley
I am going to have to look for Texas Pete Buffalo Sauce. I love Frank’s Red Hot Sauce so much I never try anything else.