Dry Rub for Grilling Chicken Wings - Drumsticks, Halves or Quarters too

lightly coated wings

- One Perfect Wing Rub.

When grilling chicken halves, leg quarters and even big ol' breasts, I often start out with a good coating of a rub of some sort. A rub is a dry seasoning mixture made to adhere to the chicken during the initial stage of cooking. Many times I finish off with a sop to aid in keeping the meat tender and moist. That's the way I grill chicken.

And when grilling wings and drumsticks, I often use only a nice dusting of a flavorful rub, rarely a sop. I have many rubs in my arsenal but not one specially for wings. That was the purpose of this recipe. As it turns out, I tried it on more than just wings and I liked it's use on chicken quarters too.

This is a rub that seals in the juices and protects the meat while bringing a desirable and most satisfying enjoyment to the wing eating experience. In other words, it's really good.

This recipe was a trial and error of many attempts but the final outcome is one darn good rub. What may seem like a lot of ingredients is a blend that harmoniously dances on your palate. The taste is right on as in a desire to eat every last one of 'em and the purpose is on target too in creating a rub that is so good, you do not even want a dipping sauce. Well, not me anyway, but if you do, a good ol' Alabama White Sauce will do just fine.

Enjoy!

Many Colors of the Dry Rub

Dry Rub for Chicken Wings

good coating for grilled chicken too!
enough for about 36 wings

1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
1 tablespoon smoked (Spanish) paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet (Hungarian) paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper)
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground bay leaves (optional)
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Use a handheld fine-mesh strainer to filter the ingredients into a mixing bowl. This will prevent any small lumps. Mix completely with a whisk and store in a tightly sealed container until needed. A used spice shaker is nice.


To coat the wings:
After cleaning and removing tips if desired, wash chicken under running water. Drain and pat completely dry with paper towels. Place in a sealable bag and add enough rub to put a light dusting over the wings ( we like 'em coated fairly well). Or sprinkle each piece directly with the rub. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

To cook:
Grill on low heat cooking until nice and brown on all sides. Move to cool area of grill if needed as the sugar will darken the coating.
If cooking indoors > Place the wings on a shallow metal roasting pan. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees F or until the wings are nice and brown. Flip about half way during baking.