Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
Fire up the grill! These Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings are juicy and delicious. Add in the smoky grill flavor, and these grilled wings are perfect for a summer meal!
These Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings are all about Mom. Nope, not mother. Mom. As in “medium-off-medium,” or M-O-M. This indirect style of grilling chicken wings is the way to go! It produces juicy flavorful wings that aren’t burnt to a crisp. This wing recipe features a tasty garlic parm combo, but you could use this same method for all sorts of other flavors!
When it comes to chicken wings recipes, keep this one! The flavor of the wings combined with the smoky grill flavor is unmatched. I do love a classic fried chicken wing, but the M-O-M method produces some amazing grilled chicken wings!
Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
For grilling wings, you want to set up indirect cooking. So what does this mean? It means you aren’t grilling directly over a flame. When it comes to grilling a burger or a chicken breast? Direct grilling is perfect. For wings? Indirect. I’ve been guilty of grilling wings over direct flames in the past. It can work. But it can also lead to charred, burnt wings.
What type of grill should you use for grilling chicken wings?
The short answer – whatever type of grill you have in the backyard! If you have a ceramic grill or smoker, chances are you already have an insert for indirect grilling. I use a Big Green Egg, and they sell a ceramic “plate setter” that blocks the direct flame and allows for indirect grilling. Other companies have similar items, so just check out the options for the ceramic grill you have.
For a gas grill, you can set it up for indirect grilling by turning the two outside burners on medium heat or medium-low heat. Then just leave the middle burner(s) off. This method is called “M-O-M,” or medium-off-medium. The chicken wings will get placed over the middle (off) portion of the grill. It’ll take ~40-45 minutes to grill the wings, so plan accordingly. But those wings will be ah-mazing!
For a charcoal grill, simply pile equal amounts of charcoal on either side of the grill but leave the center portion without any charcoal. As with the gas grill, the wings will get placed over the middle (no charcoal) portion of the grill.
When it comes to the ingredients for these Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings, I kept it fairly straightforward. Garlic? Check. (Both garlic powder and minced garlic!) Parmesan cheese? Check. A bit of kosher salt, black pepper and smoked paprika rounds out the list.
The key to grilling juicy, flavorful wings? The main secret is the indirect style of cooking we talked about above. The other secret? Brining those wings. You’ve probably heard of brining when it comes to the Thanksgiving turkey. That same trick can be used on chicken to produce tender, juicy meat. Brining is simply soaking the meat in a salt water solution. I like to add a couple tablespoons of sugar in with the salt, but that’s about it. Brining your chicken wings before grilling them indirectly might sound fancy and complicated…but it’s not!
As the chicken wings cook, they’ll turn a beautiful golden brown color. The smell will be amazing, and your mouth will be watering. But once those wings are done, there is still one tiny step remaining. Tossing those grilled wings in a garlic-parm-butter sauce. This sauce holds the key to the garlic-parm flavor! If you want to sneak a bit of hot sauce or buffalo sauce in there, too, then go for it!
This recipe is a favorite in our house, and I hope you enjoy it, too! In fact, the first time I made it, Laura took one bite and requested, “Next time, can you make 100 of these?” Sure! Twist my arm! Happy (indirect) grilling!
Did you make these Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
Ingredients
For the Brine
- 8 cups water
- ⅓ cup kosher salt
- 1½ Tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 pounds chicken wings separated into drumsticks and flats (most bags of frozen chicken wings are already separated when you purchase them)
For Grilling
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- ½ Tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
For the Garlic Parmesan Sauce
- 4 oz. unsalted butter
- 2½ tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnishing
- chopped parsley for garnishing
Instructions
For the Brine
- Using a large bowl, add water, salt and sugar; stir until salt and sugar have dissolved into water.
- Place chicken wings in bowl. (If needed, add more water until wings are covered.)
- Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For Grilling
- Set up grill for indirect cooking and preheat to 375°F for indirect cooking (see notes in post).
- Remove wings from brine; discard brine.
- Pat wings with paper towels to dry wings completely and then return them to the empty bowl.
- Using a small bowl, whisk together the oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Pour mixture into bowl with wings and toss until well coated. (Tip: Wipe the grill grates with a folded paper towel soaked with vegetable oil before placing wings on grill – this helps prevent the wings from sticking to the grates.)
- Cook wings for ~45 minutes, flipping about halfway through. (Note: While the wings are cooking, make the Garlic Parmesan Sauce.)
For the Garlic Parmesan Sauce
- Using a small saucepan, add butter and place over medium heat.
- Once butter has melted, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add smoked paprika, pepper and grated Parmesan cheese; continue cooking, stirring often, for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese has completely melted.
- Remove wings from grill and place in a large bowl; add Garlic Parmesan Sauce and toss until wings are well coated.
- Before serving, garnish with chopped parsley and additional grated Parmesan cheese.
Looking for more tasty grilled chicken recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use tofu / vegan butter and parmesan cheese cant wait to try this in my air fryer at home as i dont have grill at home i never had grilled garlic parmesan chicken wings before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Hey Ramya! You could totally use tofu with the garlic + vegan parm for a delicious meal. Give it a try in your air fryer and let me know what you think!
I love everything about this recipe! Love the brine, the seasoning, and the sauce. We’re not big grillers. Probably because it’s so hot in the summer. But I do love some wings!
Haha – I do understand what you mean about it being hot in the summer for grilling! Maybe save this recipe for a cooler fall day instead?? It’s seriously delicious, so definitely keep it on the radar! 🙂
drumsticks and flats? what is a flat please? These flavours sound great David. If only hubby would eat anything with a bone in it :=)
Hey Sherry! So chicken wings here in the States come in 2 different parts: the drumstick and the flat. Drumsticks look like miniature, well, drumsticks. 🙂 The flat is a flat piece with 2 skinny bones and the meat is in between the bones. Sometimes the flat is called the “wingette.” I would think it would be similar down there, but I actually don’t know! Here is a good link that breaks down the differences: https://barbecuefaq.com/drum-vs-flat/
And I totally understand about your husband and bones. I used to be that way, but somehow I got over it…and now I’ll eat chicken wings at every meal if I could! Haha.
Love these! This is certainly a way to “change up” just plain old grilled chicken wings. Definitely going to give these a shot next time the BBQ’s out David. The weather’s gone back to rain here at the moment but I’ll be ready as soon as the sun comes out again!
We could use some of that rain over here, Neil! It’s been sweltering hot lately, but at least the dry weather means we can keep that grill out! Do give these wings a try. They’re fantastic! 🙂
Wow, I’ve been using the MOM technique without even knowing it…! Only I use a charcoal grill, placing the hot coals on either end of the grill. It’s a great way to grill foods like these that would burn to a crisp over direct heat.
Anyway, this looks really tasty. My nephew is staying with us and he goes crazy for wings. May try these out and see how it goes.
You’re advanced beyond your years, Frank! 🙂 That M-O-M method is the perfect way to grill (or smoke) foods that would otherwise end up as a crisp over direct flames. You should totally try these wings out sometime. I suspect you might want to rotate the wings closest to the flames about half-way through when you turn ’em – just to keep those ones on the edge from burning. We love this recipe, and you can’t go wrong with garlic + parm!
We love garlic parmesan wings, but I’ve never made them on the grill – genius! Definitely trying this!
Summer is the perfect time to make wings on the grill! Definitely give these wings a shot soon, Marissa!
These Grilled Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings sound absolutely mouthwatering! The M-O-M method of indirect grilling is a fantastic way to achieve juicy and flavorful wings without the risk of burning them. The combination of the smoky grill flavor and the garlic-parm seasoning makes these wings perfect for a summer meal.
You said it, Raymund – the garlic + parm flavor combined with the smokiness from the grill is basically the best summer flavor ever!