With this chicken wing dry rub recipe your chicken wings will have so much flavor you won’t even need sauce.
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Table of Contents
Whip up a batch of this chicken wing seasoning blend in advance and you’ll be ready for game day!
It’s the perfect blend of salt, pepper, garlic onion and smoky paprika and ancho chile with a little touch of celery seed.
Use it on whole chicken wings or party wings on your grill, smoker or air fryer.
What makes this rub different from other chicken rubs?
This seasoning blend includes a little bit of celery ceed, because celery and chicken wings are a match made in heaven.
Ingredients
- Kosher Salt: If you use table salt instead of kosher salt, reduce the amount by half.
- Smoked Paprika: You can also use regular paprika, but smoked paprika adds smokiness.
- Granulated Garlic: I like the coarseness of granulated garlic, but you can also use garlic powder
- Granulated Onion: or onion powder
- Black Pepper: I prefer 16-mesh coarse ground black pepper because it adds nice texture.
- White Sugar: Brown sugar and coconut palm sugar work also. If you want to make this keto, just leave the sugar out.
- Ground Rosemary
- Ancho Chile Powder
- Celery Seed
Substitutions: If you like your wings spicy, add a pinch of cayenne pepper. If you don't have paprika or ancho chile powder, substitute regular chili powder.
See the full recipe card below for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to make dry rub for chicken wings
- STEP ONE: Measure out all of the spices and mix them together in a small bowl.
- STEP TWO: Either store the chicken wing dry rub for later or use it right away.
How to use chicken wing dry rub
There are two ways to apply dry rub seasoning to chicken wings.
First, pat the wings dry with paper towels. You can apply a thin coat of olive oil or canola oil to the wings, if you want.
Then, either place wings in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet pan and sprinkle both sides with the spice blend. Or, Place the wings in a large bowl. Add, the seasoning and toss to coat.
Follow one of my many tutorials to how to cook wings based on your type of grill. The cook time will vary, depending on which grill you use.
Then, you can either serve them naked (without sauce) or toss them in buffalo sauce for hot wings or BBQ sauce.
Don’t forget the dipping sauces like blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing.
Storage
Store your chicken rub in an airtight container like a mason jar in a cool dark place for up to a year. I keep mine in the pantry.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
- Use fresh spices for the best flavor
- Mix up large batches of dry rub and store them so you’re ready for the next big game or party
- For the best flavor, allow dry rub to rest on your wings for a few hours
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan on using about 1 tablespoon of dry rub for every pound of chicken wings. This recipe makes about 5 tablespoons of rub and is enough for 5 pounds of wings.
Season your wings with dry rub before you cook them. For an extra pop of flavor, you can add a little dusting of rub after they’re grilled, too.
You can sprinkle your wings with rub and cook them right away. For the best flavor, sprinkle the wings with rub and place them on a baking rack over a rimmed sheet pan and let them chill uncovered in the fridge overnight.
This will help flavor the meat and reduce moisture from the chicken skin so you get perfect crispy skin.
Always pat your wings dry with paper towels before applying seasoning. If wings are wet with water, the seasoning won’t stick. You can also use a binder like oil, hot sauce or mustard before adding seasoning.
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Homemade Dry Rub for Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp granulated onion
- 1 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1 tsp ground rosemary
- 1 tsp ancho chile powder
- 1/4 tsp celery seed
Instructions
- Mix: Measure all of the spices and mix them together in a small bowl.
- Store: Use right away or store in an airtight container in the pantry.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
