High Heat Indirect BBQ Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Man, I’m super excited to show you all this new indirect cooking technique on the Weber that I have been using for chicken wings to get the skin extra crispy without frying!  It also looks super dope and is very visually appealing as well.

When I normally do indirect cooking on the Weber, I usually set it up for two-zone cooking by putting the lit charcoal on one side and nothing on the other side.  That method works great and has produced some of the best food I made over the years, but the max temperature the Weber would get up to is around 350-400 degrees.

This new high heat indirect cooking technique for chicken wings involves pouring lit charcoal into char-baskets in the center of the Weber.  This transforms the Weber into a 500-degree oven.  The extra 100 degrees+ of hotness produced inside the Weber cooks the chicken wings incredibly evenly without burning and rapidly melts away all the chicken fat with a quickness, producing an ultra fried-like crispy chicken wing without the frying. It will get Paris Hilton saying, “That’s hot!”

For this cook, I used lemon pepper seasoning, but you can use this technique for any chicken wing recipe you like. I also love this technique the results for bone-in chicken thighs and bone-in chicken legs as well.  I hope you give it a try and add another indirect cooking technique to your BBQ arsenal.

Ingredients:

Chicken Wing Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken wings
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper

Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1 teaspoon Italian parsley

2-ounce applewood chunk

Steps:

Season Chicken Wings – Lightly coat the chicken wings with olive oil.  Season the chicken wings on both sides with lemon pepper seasoning and cracked black pepper.  Let the chicken wings rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Set-up the Weber for Indirect Cooking – Light up a charcoal chimney full of charcoal.  Place two char-baskets in the center of the Weber Kettle.  Once the charcoal is fully lit, carefully pour the lit charcoal into the char-baskets in the center of the Weber.  Toss in the wood chunk.  Insert the grilling grate in the Weber.  Close the lid, open all the vents, and bring the Weber to 450-500 degrees.

BBQ Chicken Wings – Place the chicken wings around the perimeter of the grilling grate.  BBQ the chicken wings with the lid closed for 20 minutes or until the skin is extra crispy or the internal temperature of the chicken wings reaches 175 degrees.

Make Lemon Pepper Butter Sauce – Once the chicken wing reaches the desired temperature, place a small cast iron saucepan directly over the direct heat on the Weber.  Melt the butter.  Add lemon juice, lemon pepper seasoning, lemon zest, crushed black pepper, and half of the Italian parsley.  Mix well.

Finish Chicken Wings – In a medium mixing bowl, add chicken wings and lemon pepper butter sauce, and toss until chicken wings are evenly coated with butter sauce.  Plate and garnish the chicken wings with the remaining Italian parsley.

Tips:

• I used Kinder’s Lemon Pepper seasoning for this recipe.  The salt content in each lemon pepper seasoning brand may vary, so please make sure you season to taste and adjust as needed.
• I like to cook bone-in chicken thighs and bone-in chicken legs with this technique as well.
• Use heat resistant BBQ gloves when handling the meat using this technique.  It gets HOT!