There is something very special about rotisserie chicken wings. They are not like your grilled wings, charred and juicy but not quite crispy. They remind me of deep-fried chicken wings instead, being almost as crispy but way more flavorful, not oily and with no oil smell. The crispiness and unparalleled flavor is what sets apart rotisserie chicken wings from any other wings.
Equipment to make rotisserie chicken wings
It goes without saying, you will need a rotisserie to make rotisserie chicken wings. On top, you will need a rotisserie basket to be able to cook chicken wings. Something like the Napoleon 64000 Rotisserie Basket which I bought for my Classic-size Joetisserie. This basket is huge and can easily hold and cook 4 lbs of chicken wings. It could probably take 5lbs without any ill effect.
This basket is a tight fit in my Classic Joetisserie but it works perfectly fine. I'd rather have the largest possible basket to accommodate larger batches when needed, rather than a small basket with a more comfortable fit, to be honest.
Brining and seasoning chicken wings
While I like brining chicken wings that will be smoked, rotisserie-cooked wings don't need it. Brining seems to negatively affect the crispiness. As a result, you end up cooking them longer and the wings tend to dry out more.
Since rotisserie chicken wings will be perfectly browned all over, they don't need a lot of seasonings. Like crispy bacon, the golden-brown crispy chicken skin will add a ton of flavor on its own. You don't want to overpower it with seasonings. Salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder are all that I like to add. But feel free to experiment. I tried the good ol' Old Bay seasoning mix and it worked great too.
Serving Rotisserie Chicken Wings
Serve them as is, with a side of creamy dipping sauce and celery sticks. They are perfect the way they are. For the dipping sauce, use half a cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt and 1-2 tablespoons of Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel seasoning, or to taste.
Another great way to serve rotisserie chicken wings is to toss them with a 50/50 mix of melted butter and hot wing sauce, like Duff's hot wing sauce or Frank's hot sauce. You can increase the hot sauce ratio if you like your Buffalo-style wings hot.
Or warm up some of your favorite BBQ sauce and toss the wings with that sauce.
Rotisserie Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken wings cut into wingettes and drummettes
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Place the chicken wings in a large mixing bowl.
- Drizzle the oil over the wings. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and garlic and onion powder. Mix well to ensure even coverage.
- Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
- Preheat the cooker to about 300F at the rotisserie basket level.
- Drop the chicken wings into the rotisserie basket and cook over direct heat for about 60 minutes or until the wings are golden brown and crispy.
- Serve with a dipping sauce or toss with a 1/3 to 1/2 cup of a 50/50 mix of melted butter and your favorite hot wing sauce.
Nik Petro says
Do you keep the Kamado grill lid closed when you cook these on the Joetisserie?
Also, I noticed you said 300F at the basket level.... I've never seen anybody do Joetisserie wings that low (typically I see 400F for 1 hour on the Joetisserie wing 'recipes' out there. Did you really mean 300F?
Thanks,
Nik
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Yes, I keep the lid closed, and, yes, I cook mine at 300F at the grate level.
Nik Petro says
Thanks for the reply! I'm gonna try these wings. How do you measure grate level temp when using a Joetisserie (no grates)? I would like to do this temp measurement also.
Also, I'm wondering, when your grate is 300F, what does the dome temp measure on the temp gauge?
Just curious, how do you like these Rotisserie basket wings compared to your "Smoked Brined wings" and your "Extra Crispy Smoked Wings" ?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
My dome temp is practically always 25 degrees higher than the grate level, which I measured a number of times using my Thermoworks thermocouple thermometer. So, when I use Joetisserie and see 325F on the dome thermometer, I assume 300F at the grate/Joetisserie basket level.
Good question about the wings. They are different and good in their own way. If I was pressed to pick one, I'd say that smoked extra crispy wings are my favorite and the other two are a close second. Sometimes I crave one, sometimes one of the other two. I wouldn't want to just pick one and stick to it forever.
GINA says
Awesome!!!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Glad you enjoyed them. Happy cooking!
Joseph says
Bought the same basket for my joetisserie and made 4 lbs of wings over the weekend. One word - amazing! Five stars!