Memphis-Style Chicken Wings
Chicken wings get Memphis style with a traditional dry rub and zesty mop sauce, charred over oak firewood for extra flavor.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 5 lbs chicken wings either whole or cut into sections
- 1½ tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
For the Memphis Dry Rub:
- ½ cup paprika
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp fine ground black pepper
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp celery seed
For the Mop:
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup dry rub
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Place wings in a large mixing bowl and coat with salt and baking powder. Mix the wings around to ensure even coating. Place wings on a paper-towel lined baking sheet and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Light your grill by burning down two splits of oak wood until they form a bed of coals in the bottom of the grill. Using a charcoal rake, scrape the coals over to one side of the grill, leaving a cool indirect heat zone on the other side. Place the cooking grate at least 15 inches above the oak wood coals.
- While the wood is burning down, whisk together all ingredients for the dry rub in a small bowl. Transfer rub into a shaker bottle.
- Place the wings into a mixing bowl and toss with oil. Then season the wings evenly with the dry rub. Set aside.
- Add all ingredients for the mop sauce (except butter and ketchup) to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Divide in half and add butter and ketchup to one half, leave over medium low heat, and allow to reduce to about half. Set aside the remaining mop sauce to use while grilling.
- Place wings on grill over direct heat, close lid. Flip about every 2-3 minutes and mop with sauce after every flip, closing the lid in between. I highly recommend using a mop and not a brush when applying the mop sauce. The key is to drizzle the mop sauce on the wings and not wipe off the seasoning. When wings reach about 155° F, move them to the indirect side of the grill. Close the lid and allow them to cook till 185° F.
- Remove wings from grill and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour the warm reduced mop sauce over chicken and toss to evenly coat the wings. Give a light sprinkle of dry rub and garnish with green onions for service.
Notes
Wings are an all-time favorite of mine and countless others. There’s just something perfect about grabbing a flat or a drummie, dipping it into your favorite sauce, and gnawing away. As I was eating another combination platter of the traditional buffalo wings, garlic butter wings, Asian wings, etc. it hit me that of all the flavor profiles done with wings, Memphis-style chicken wings are some that I’ve never seen on a menu.
TIP: How quickly the wings char and cook will depend on their distance from the coals. Consider grilling one or two to begin with to ensure they aren’t cooking too fast or that the sugars in the rub aren’t burning.