Sweet and Spicy Dry Rub Chicken Wings

Great dry rub chicken wings are sometimes just what the doctor ordered to cure your hunger! This Sweet and Spicy Dry Rub Chicken Wings Recipe is wing perfection and is great for a perfect game-day appetizer or whenever the itch for some tasty wings strikes. 

This delicious wing recipe calls for spices a normally stocked pantry already has. The dry rub is easy, simple, and flavorful. We include a tasty chili-lime dipping sauce that complements the wing recipe perfectly.

🌶️🍯 What makes this recipe special?

This sweet and spicy dry rub chicken wing recipe hits the perfect balance between sweet and spicy flavors. The dry rub uses a blend of sugar, chili powders, and spices to create a complex and flavorful coating for the chicken wings. 

It uses a unique blend of ingredients to give the dry rub its distinctive flavor. This gives the wings a depth of flavor that sets them apart from other recipes.

Finally, this recipe is unique because it is so easy to prepare. Whether you’re looking for something sweet and spicy to satisfy your cravings or just want an easy and flavorful recipe, this sweet and spicy dry rub chicken wing recipe will surely hit the spot.

Oh, and it comes with a delicious and simple Chili Lime Dipping Sauce that is perfect for these wings.

If wings are your thing, try this Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken Wings Recipe. Maybe this Bacon and Sriracha Chip Dip is more your style or this simple Homemade Quesos Sauce recipe.

🍗 Ingredients

Nearly all of the ingredients, outside of the wings, are for the dry rub and the tasty chili lime sauce. Here is what you will need:

• Vegetable Oil for Frying
• Chicken Wings
• Brown Sugar
• Paprika
• Chili powder
• Ground mustard
• Salt & Pepper
• Cayenne powder
• Ground cumin
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• Lime

See the recipe card for quantities.

🍲 Instructions

This recipe has very little fuss and muss. We just fry up some chicken wings in 375° Fahrenheit oil, toss it in our rub, and then start eating them. Really, that is all there is to it. 

So many wing recipes call for all sorts of pomp and circumstance surrounding cutting the wings, prepping the wings, or baking the wings, but this is about as simple as it gets. Fry them. Toss them. Eat them.

Then, we pull together a super simple sauce you can make in minutes. The Chili-Lime dipping sauce we serve with this complements the dry rub and tastes excellent. 

You can prep this sauce when your oil heats up for the wings and call it done. All in all, you can finish these dry rub chicken wings very easily in 30 minutes.

We don’t cut our chicken wings

I get why people do it. You can cut your wings and served up the drummette vs. the wing separately, which can plate nicely. Additionally, since the individual pieces (drummette vs. wings) are a bit more uniform, so you might be able to cook them separately and get them to the safety point, 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Many recipes call for clipping the little wingtips, but I am not an advocate. Well, maybe if you want to save them for chicken stock (check out my Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe), but too many just have you toss them! I don’t get it.

They are tasty little pieces, and there isn’t really any meat in them, but they are good to chew on and bite into. Many recipes indicate throwing them away, but I think they are just fine to cook.

Oil safety

The recipe uses hot oil, which can be dangerous. Make sure to follow all safety rules regarding frying. I used a big pot and vegetable oil for frying in this recipe. A big thing to remember is that water and hot oil are NOT friends.

Patting the moisture off your wings with a paper towel is a good idea. This gets a bit of moisture off the wing and helps ensure you don’t end up in a messy and/or dangerous situation.

Take note of any utensils you are using in this recipe. Are the tongs and/or baskets all metal? If there is plastic on them, they are probably aren’t great for deep-fat frying. Be careful.

Also, make sure to use an oil that is appropriate for frying. Don’t use olive oil, but vegetable oil, peanut oil, canola oil, or some other high smoke point oil.

Temp Them Wings

The recipe calls for cooking them for eight minutes, but the most important part is temping the wings. Whether it is 6 or 10 minutes, the wings need to reach 165° Fahrenheit. Really, I want my wings out as close to 165° Fahrenheit as possible while still being above that mark.

When you temp your wings, I do it in two places. First, temp them in the thickest part of the chicken drummette. Then, the widest part of the wing part of the entire chicken wing. This way, you are confident that you are hitting the right temperature.

I use 8 minutes as the guide, and every time I have made these, that was enough for my wings to finish. I suppose this might vary depending on variables like chicken wing size and your fryer. 

I would just make sure to get one out right away and ensure it is at 165° Fahrenheit, pull the rest out, and spot-check your temps on the wings. If you don’t have a digital thermometer, get one! (Affiliate Link).

Dipping sauce for dry rub chicken wings

This is such an easy sauce, and it tastes great, too. We really just mix up the ingredients, and it is ready to go. You could make this in advance, and I feel there might be some marginal benefit to letting the completed dipping sauce hang out in the fridge for a few hours, but totally not needed.

Any sauce will be great for these wings, but making your own doesn’t have to be a big deal. Instead of throwing money at the store, just take some sour cream and make something special! Heck, you could even make your own sour cream.

Serving sizes

I am not gonna lie. I can eat all of these in one sitting. You might be able to, as well. Because I am using 10 wings, I need to either have 2 wings or 5 wings as the serving size. 

I chose 2, as this really is meant to be an appetizer. Besides, 2 wings really is a bit more than what it may appear. Each wing is one drummette and one wing.

For the sake of simplicity, I made the serving size 2 wings. This is a total of two drummettes and two wings. If you up this to 5 wings, we are talking about 5 drummettes and 5 wings, which is more than one serving. I will let you be the judge.

If you truly use this as an app, 2 wings might be enough. If this is the only appetizer you are serving, I would maybe go to the 5 wings for a serving.

🤷 Substitutions and variations

There are a few ways to change this recipe up.

• Spices – If you don’t like any of the individual spice components, feel free to leave them out.
• Sauce -The chili lime dipping sauce is great for these wings, but use whatever you want. Ranch or blue cheese would be great substitutes.

📦 Storage

Allow the wings to cool completely before storing them. This will help prevent the wings from getting soggy or losing their crispiness.

Store the wings in an airtight container. This will help keep the wings fresh and prevent them from drying out.

Keep the wings in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them within a few days. This will help prevent the wings from spoiling.

You can also freeze the wings to extend their shelf life. To do this, wrap the wings tightly in plastic or aluminum foil, then place them in an airtight container. When you’re ready to eat the wings, thaw them in the refrigerator and then reheat them in the oven, microwave, or stovetop until they are heated through.

🎓 History Tidbit

Chicken wings as an appetizer have a relatively recent history. They were reportedly invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. The story goes that the restaurant’s owner, Teressa Bellissimo, needed to come up with a snack to serve to her son and his friends late one night. 

She decided to deep fry some chicken wings (typically discarded or used for stock) and tossed them in a spicy sauce. The wings were an instant hit and have since become a popular appetizer and game-day snack.

Since their invention, chicken wings have become a staple at bars and restaurants. They have inspired a wide variety of sauces and flavorings. Today, chicken wings are served in various styles, from traditional buffalo wings to more exotic flavors like teriyaki and honey mustard. In our recipe, we make a delicious dry rub!

❓ FAQ

📝 Tips and tricks

• Don’t cut off those wingtips, but if you have to, save them for Chicken Stock
• Temp your wings at 8 minutes and you know they are done when they hit 165° Fahrenheit.
• Follow all frying safety guidelines
• Don’t skip the step of allowing to sit on a paper towel-lined plate
• If you are grilling your wings, check out our Grilled Tequila Lime Chicken Wings recipe.

🛠 Products used in this recipe

• Digital Thermometer
• Fry Skimmer
• Large Bowl With Cover
• Thermometer for oil

😋 Did you make this recipe?

That is awesome, and thank you so much for giving this Sweet and Spicy Dry Rub Chicken Wings Recipe recipe a try. If you could leave a rating in the comment area below, it would be greatly appreciated. This lets me know how I am doing and also helps others decide if they want to make this recipe. Most of all, thanks for visiting Ramshackle Pantry.