Hot Wings at Camp
Grilled chicken wings with spiced butter sauce. Better than takeout, worth the cooler space.
- calories
- 750
- weight
- 16 oz
- cal / oz
- 47
- protein
- 28 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Chicken wing sections | 4 pounds | fresh from your cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | 1 tablespoon | for brining |
| Sugar | 1 tablespoon | for brining |
| Butter | ¼ cup | |
| Hot sauce | ⅓ cup | Frank's Red Hot or Louisiana style |
| Cider vinegar | 2 tablespoons | |
| Honey | 1 teaspoon | |
| Garlic | 2 cloves, minced | or ½ teaspoon powder |
| Dill | 1 teaspoon | dried |
| Lemon juice | 1 tablespoon | fresh squeezed or concentrate |
| Tabasco | ¼ teaspoon |
Method
- Brine the wings: dissolve salt and sugar in 1 cup cold water, add wings, refrigerate in your cooler for 1–2 hours before leaving home or right when you arrive at camp.
- Pat wings bone-dry with paper towels or a clean cloth.
- Set your grill grate over medium-hot coals. Oil the grate to prevent sticking.
- Grill wings for 15–20 minutes, turning every 3–4 minutes, until the skin is golden and the meat is cooked through.
- While wings cook, combine butter, hot sauce, cider vinegar, honey, minced garlic, dill, lemon juice, and Tabasco in a small pot over low heat.
- Toss finished wings in the sauce or serve it on the side for dipping.
- Eat immediately while they're hot. Cooled wings congeal.
Grilled wings beat fried wings when you’re heating over coals and fuel is limited. The brine makes cooking fast even over variable heat, and the meat stays juicy through the whole process.
The sauce is just butter and hot sauce with dill to cut the richness. This is a first-night meal—your cooler keeps everything safe for 24 hours, and having dinner sorted before fatigue sets in is worth the weight.
Packing
Keep wings in a sealed container in your cooler. Hot sauce and Tabasco fit in small bottles. Cider vinegar and lemon juice in leak-proof containers. Butter stays in the cooler or wrap it in parchment. Salt, sugar, dried dill go in your spice kit.
Variations
- Add bourbon or whiskey to the sauce.
- Grill lemon halves alongside the wings and serve them together.
- Make it less spicy by reducing the hot sauce and omitting Tabasco.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/classic-hot-wings