Grilled Nashville Hot Wings

This recipe for grilled Nashville hot wings gives you all the flavors of Nashville hot chicken with a smoky twist from cooking over hot coals. A homemade hot chili oil baste ensures that your wings are juicy and crispy, and also loaded with flavor and heat.

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Marinate Time4

Total Time5 5

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Keyword: Nashville Hot Wings

Servings: people

Author: Susie Bulloch

Ingredients

2 ½ pounds chicken wings flats and drumettes

Buttermilk Brine

2 cups buttermilk
⅓ cup hot sauce

Dredge

2 cups flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne powder

Chili Oil Dunk

1 cup cooking oil I prefer canola oil for this recipe
⅓ cup cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Brine the chicken. Combine the buttermilk and the hot sauce and add the chicken wings. Mix to thoroughly coat the wings and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Preheat the grill. Preheat your charcoal grill to 450 degrees F with your charcoal arranged on one side of the grill basin and no charcoal on the other (two-zone cooking).
Make the dredge. Prepare your chicken for grilling by setting up a dredging station. In one shallow pan, whisk to combine the flour, cornstarch, and all of the seasonings.
Coat the chicken. Use tongs to move one chicken wing at a time from the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, thoroughly coating the chicken wing in the flour.
Grill. Place the coated chicken wings directly on the grill grates, on the indirect heat side of the grill, away from the charcoal. Spray the wings with a high heat spray cooking oil (I like avocado) until the flour on the wings is lightly coated. Close the lid of the grill and allow to cook for 20 minutes before flipping. After gently flipping the chicken wings, spray them again with cooking oil. Be cautious here to only spray the oil on the wings and not near the burning charcoal. Close the grill lid again and cook for approximately 20 more minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to 170 degrees F. If your chicken hasn't browned as much as you'd like, you can gently move them to the direct heat side of the grill to crisp the exterior for 2-3 minutes.
Prepare the oil. While your wings cook, prepare your hot oil dunk. Add your cooking oil to a medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, or until the oil starts to shimmer on top. Add in all of the seasonings while whisking and turn off the heat. The heat will infuse the chilis and spices throughout the oil. Keep the oil hot until ready to use.
Coat in hot oil. When your chicken comes off the grill, set it on a cooling rack above a cookie sheet covered in a paper towel. This prevents the finished chicken from turning soggy. Baste each chicken wing in the hot chili oil, making sure there is a good amount of chili in each baste. Once your chicken is coated, you’re ready to serve with lots of pickles, white bread, and napkins!

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