Rubio Spice Grillers Rub

A Briefing

Comparable to skirt steak, chicken wings have gone from scrap to prime due to marketing. Back before they became game day fare, chicken wings were only used to fortify soups due to their high level of collagen.  Due to great marketing, they are now a staple in bars, tailgates, and backyards everywhere. The best grilled chicken wings meet three criteria: crispy unbroken skin, juicy meat, and flavorful charred ends.  This guide will help you achieve all three criteria and teach you that fried isn't the best option for cooking.

The Purchase

Before we get to cooking let us discuss the purchase of raw poultry.  It's always a good idea to buy where everyone else does; a store with high turnover. Unless you want to serve your friends and family old wings that have sitting around for days. Knowledgeable and friendly staff is always a better option than going to a budget location where nobody cares about you, nor the stores product. Buy poultry that has a vibrant fleshy hue and firm texture. Avoid any poultry with ashy grey colors as well as spongy textures and odd smells.

The Method

Start by giving your wings a cold water rinse. While still moist generously apply Griller's Rub and toss to distribute.

Finely chop some yellow onion and add to wings along with a second helping of rub and toss.

Set your grill with two zones, blazing hot and warm.  When cooking with wood or charcoal, set your fire to one side at its furthest point possible, preferably on the side of the grill with a vent. 

Once your fire is on and rolling, stack the wings down opposite the fire, on the warm zone, in two columns. You should stack them one on top of the other skin side up and shut the lid.  Keep all the vents above the grill grates closed and anything under open to feed air to the fire.  What this does is create an intensely hot convection oven and by stacking one on top of each other it allows the higher wing to sear and the lower to bake.  

After approximately 8-10 minutes rotate the wings so that the wings that were on the bottom are now on the top to allow them to sear and the others to bake. It is important to not flip the wings as we are trying to maintain skin and crisp it up. After another 10 minutes check for doneness and if need be move all the wings over to the hot side skin side up with the lid open to watch for flare-ups. 

You can serve as is or you can sauce on the grill and close the lid for 3-5 minutes to let sauce thicken on the wing. Total cook time is about 30-45 minutes, but it's well worth the time.  Oh and do yourself a favor and buy wings that are whole like the ones pictured.  They are far easier to control, usually less expensive, and with the time saved from having to deal with individual pieces, you can cut them into portions yourself if need be.

Enjoy!