Just three ingredients–chicken wings, bacon, and black pepper–go into making these steller bacon-wrapped wings. In about an hour you’ll have the best-grilled finger food you can imagine. And sooo simple.
LC Behold, The Beauty of Bacon Note
There’s a time and place for slabs of ridiculously thick-cut, smoky-to-the-point-of-choke-inducing bacon. This isn’t it. This is the time and place for restraint, for daintily thin-sliced, only-mildly-smoked-not-even-to-the-point-of-cough-inciting bacon. Trust us. That’s what you want wrapped around your wings before you toss them on the grill and step back as piggy perfection slowly imbues those benign little poultry wings. Behold, the beauty of bacon.
Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Wings
Ingredients
Directions
Soak at least 20 toothpicks in water for an hour.
With a sharp knife, cut the tips off the chicken wings and save them for stock. Slash the inside of the wing joint but don’t cut all the way through. You just want to help them cook more evenly. Working with 1 wing at a time, straighten it and then wrap it with a slice of bacon, starting at the top and spiraling to the bottom. Secure it with a couple of toothpicks. Season the bacon-wrapped wings liberally with the pepper.
Prepare the grill for cooking over indirect heat. Grill the wings for 30 minutes. Flip and cook for another 30 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the wings are fully cooked. (In what can only be acknowledged as a serendipitous act on the part of the universe, the two are done at almost the exact same instant.) Transfer the wings to a platter and let rest for 5 minutes.
You may serve the wings whole or you could serve them in individual segments by cutting them apart, taking care to keep the bacon in place. Remove the toothpicks and serve.
Recipe Testers' Reviews
These wings grilled up so beautifully. Imagine that once-exotic bacon-wrapped appetizer called rumaki, but without the chicken liver and water chestnut, and you get the idea. These were crispy-skinned, yet were juicy and tender on the inside. And it’s true: The bacon and chicken were magically done at the same time—like some kind of cosmic convergence. This is an easy main dish any time of the year or, as the recipe suggests, a winning appetizer.
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I had a sudden hankering for chicken wings at the grocery store last weekend so I got a pack (already halved, because that’s what they had) knowing a recipe would reveal itself, and this one did. We tried it tonight, halving the bacon strips to match the halved wings. As you can see from the attached photo, I also threw on some extra minced herbs from another recipe because – why not? The preparation is simplicity itself and the result is excellent.
Paul, the chicken looks great. And I love the addition of extra herbs.
Turned out perfect. Used a grill matt so they really did cook evenly with no sticking. Basted with melted Sriracha butter after turning and at table.
Baltisraul, sounds awesome!