Simple BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe

A chicken wings recipe that is simple and easy to prepare, it is one of my family favourites. I find that an uncomplicated recipe is often the best one, it is easy to remember for future use and is so much less fuss in a complicated world.

These are delicious barbeque wings that turn out juicy and perfectly flavoursome. Personally, I prefer to oven bake the wings, I find them to be richer in flavour and less dry than fried wings.

Even if the wings are to be used on the BBQ, I always bake them in the oven first to be sure they are cooked thoroughly before putting them on to the grill, this way they will always be cooked properly while getting that unmistakable smokie flavour from the barbeque afterward and can be crisped a little more on the grill if desired.

Buffalo wings can be made too if you take off the wing tips and spice up that marinade with hot cayenne pepper to make them as fiery as you dare.

I tend to use this recipe, not only as a delicious barbeque food, but as a picnic food as well as an evening treat for family nights in watching a movie and could be a perfect addition to a buffet spread while watching a match with friends. 

What’s great about this easy recipe for chicken marinade, is that it can be used with chicken wings, thighs, or breast if you prefer, and other meats too really if you desire. It can be adapted for a keto diet, which I will expand on later. 

Difference between BBQ wings and buffalo wings

As a general rule, you will find American restaurants serving buffalo wings as drumettes or in other words, with the wing tips removed, and these are usually deep fried before being coated in a vinegar based hot and spicy cayenne pepper style sauce that can be as hot as you can dare, which will then be called hot wings. 

It has been said that the reason for them being called buffalo wings is that they originated from a town in Buffalo where there had been a delivery mistake to a restaurant and chicken wings were delivered by mistake and so the owner made good of the poultry mistake and invented the spicy wings that are now so popular worldwide.

BBQ wings in comparison are mostly served in a darker sauce that can be sweet or smoky in different degrees all in all it’s all about preference and styles of spice.

Sticky wings usually use brown sugar or honey to bring a sweet sticky finish to the chicken wings. 

The Recipe

Simple BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe

Recipe by Janine Moore

5.0 from 10 votes

A chicken wings recipe that is simple and easy to prepare, it is one of my family favourites.

Course: DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

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Servings

4

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

Calories

210

kcal

Ingredients

• 10 to 15 good quality chicken wings or more if required.

• 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil, plus a little more for the tray.

• 4 crushed garlic cloves or 2 teaspoons garlic powder.

• 1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar.

• 1 tablespoon tomato puree.

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika.

• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard.

• 2 teaspoons or more of chilli powder of your choice I often use two types of chilli or leave out if you don’t like spice.

• Peri peri or other hot sauce can be added if you would like more heat.

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce.

• 1 tablespoon honey if you want a sweeter sauce. Or a teaspoon of sweetener.

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Prepare a deep tray with greaseproof paper/ parchment, personally I would lightly coat it with coconut oil too.
• My way of combining the ingredients is to add the liquids to one bowl, coconut oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Mix thoroughly.
• In the next bowl add the tomato puree, smoked paprika, mustard, garlic and honey or sweetener if using. Mix well.
• Third bowl, add the hot spices, if you are using them.
• In a large container or mixing bowl put the fresh or defrosted chicken wings or other meats in ready for the marinade. If you want to make buffalo wings, just cut off the wing tips first. These can be used to make chicken stock so that there is no waste.
• Now add the runny ingredients to the container of chicken wings and with clean hands or meat tongs toss the wings in the liquid marinade, keep moving them about until a good coating is on all areas of the wings or meat.
• Follow up with the less runny ingredients, the puree etc, and keep turning and coating the surface of the wings until covered entirely.
• Now add the hot spicy ingredients if you decide to spice them up.
• Leave to marinate, covered over and in the fridge for at least half an hour. If you have time to leave them marinating for longer the more flavour will infuse into them. Overnight is even better.
• Wash your hands after touching any raw chicken or meat.
• After the wings have marinated, toss in the sauce again thoroughly because some of the marinade will have dropped to the bottom of the bowl or container.
• When you have a complete covering of marinade, spread the wings out onto a pre prepared baking tray, I normally line the tray with parchment paper/ greaseproof paper.
• Put the wings into a pre heated oven at the lower temperature of 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for 30 minutes, turn over and coat with a little of the left-over marinade.
• Now return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes and turn up the oven to 190c for electric 180 fan assisted, gas mark 5.
• Keep checking the wings throughout the cooking process, make sure they are not over cooked.
• Now they are ready to be served or if you want them on your barbeque, you can put them on a medium hot BBQ grill to give them that authentic smoke and sizzle, a quick turn over on each side watching that they don’t burn. This way you can have the wings pre prepared before you start lighting up the grill and those guests arrive.

Chicken wings can be served with a salad, and taste great with rice, especially so with cauliflower rice. More ideas for serving suggestions are sweet potato wedges, broccoli and cauliflower cheese, onion rings or why not try courgette fries for a change. 

Any left-over wings can be kept in the fridge for three to four days, but make sure they are well covered first. I don’t usually have any left-over wings in my house, they usually get devoured very quickly by my family and friends.

Tips for keto wings 

This recipe can be keto friendly if you remove the tomato puree and the honey, which you can leave out, or substitute for a teaspoon of your choice of sweetener. The soy sauce can be opted out or you could use an alternative, coconut aminos. The amended recipe will now have zero carbs.