Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

These lemon pepper chicken wings are ultra crispy! This recipe includes tips on how to perfectly grill, bake, and fry the perfect, extra-crispy chicken wing!

Be sure to try my Copycat Texas Roadhouse Steak Rub Recipe next!

Congratulations, you’ve found my husband’s all-time favorite recipe on the blog!

He absolutely loves how crispy these wings are, and how the dry rub doesn’t leave him with sauce all over himself afterward.

I recommend the frying method for these, (which takes some time, as you will be frying them twice), but it’s totally worth the time it takes.

I’ll also fill you in on how to bake or grill them as well. Let’s do it!

Twice-Fried Chicken Wings

• Twice-fried chicken wings ensure that the inside of the wing is full of extra-juicy chicken, while the outside is extra crispy.
• To achieve this, you need to fry them once at a lower temperature, and again at a higher temperature.

My Make-Ahead Trick:

• To prepare these ahead of time, proceed as instructed for the first frying session. Let them cool, then refrigerate. Save the oil.
• When you’re ready to serve, fry up the wings a second time. This takes much less time. Serve them warm and enjoy!

How Long to Fry Chicken Wings:

• A perfectly cooked, juicy, and ultra-crispy chicken wing needs to be fried two times, each at a different temperature and for a different amount of time.
• The first frying session needs to occur for about 25-30 minutes in oil that is just gently bubbling at 250°-275°. This cooks the chicken wing but maintains juiciness on the inside of the wing. The outside skin begins to brown slightly, but isn’t very crispy. That’s what round two is for.
• Let the chicken wing cool completely.
• Fry in the same oil at 400°, at a more rapid boil. This will crisp up the outside and takes about 10 minutes.

…And that, is how you obtain the absolute perfect chicken wing.

How to Bake Chicken Wings:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Place about ¼ cup of canola or vegetable oil in a large bowl and toss the wings in to coat.
• Place the wings on a baking sheet and bake for 50-60 minutes, until crispy.

How to Grill Chicken Wings:

• Contrary to popular belief, it’s best not to oil your grill grates before grilling. These guys can tell you why.
• Heat your grill to medium, (about 350°).
• Place the wings on the heated rack and close the lid for about 5 minutes, then use stainless steel grilling tongs to gently lift up the bottom of one of the wings to see if it’s sufficiently charred- some cook faster than others so you may not flip them all at the same time. Repeat this by covering and cooking, then checking.
• Once the wings are charred to your liking, flip the wings over and cook the other side. The internal temperature should be 165°, so use a meat thermometer if you have one.
• The total cook time is 20-50 minutes. If some of the wings are done before others, move them to a cooler part of the grill.

Try These Next!

• Island Chicken Marinade
• Marinated Bacon Ranch Cheeseburgers
• Lemon Garlic Grilled Shrimp
• Copycat Longhorn Parmesan Crusted Chicken
• Easy Potato Salad

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Lemon Pepper Wings

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

5 from 3 ratings

Servings: 4 servings

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These lemon pepper wings are ultra crispy! This recipe includes tips on how to perfectly grill, bake, and fry the perfect, extra-crispy chicken wing!

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• ▢ 1 quart canola oil, can sub vegetable oil
• ▢ 3 lbs. chicken wings, uncooked (equal to 20 wings)
• ▢ ½ cup butter, melted
• ▢ ¼ cup lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tbs Lemon pepper seasoning

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Instructions

• Heat the canola oil in a dutch oven to 250-275 degrees, which is about medium-low. It should bubble gently when the chicken is added to it so adjust the heat accordingly as needed.
• Use stainless steel tongs to carefully place the chicken wings, 6-7 at a time, into the heated oil. The temperature of the oil will drop temporarily when the chicken is added so give it a few minutes to rise back up.
• The wings will cook slowly, which will maintain the moisture inside of the chicken and prevent them from becoming too dry. Cook for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the outside begins to brown slightly. Use the tongs to remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to allow excess oil to drip off.
• Let the wings cool completely. From here, you can freeze or refrigerate until ready to serve if not serving immediately. This is a helpful prep-ahead step.
• Reheat the oil, but this time, increase the heat to just above medium, we want a 400 degree temperature here and a more rapid boil (though not too much, use caution as hot oil can splatter).
• Carefully lower the wings back into the heated oil and boil in batches of 6-7 until crisp, about 10 minutes.
• Remove them and place on another paper towel-lined plate.
• Combine the melted butter and the lemon juice and use a pastry brush to brush each chicken wing with the mixture, then top with lemon pepper seasoning. 
• The wings will absorb the lemon butter and will appear to be coated in a dry rub, making them easy to eat and cleaner to serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 541kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 44g, Fat: 38g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 185mg, Sodium: 176mg, Potassium: 411mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 355IU, Vitamin C: 7.6mg, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 2.4mg

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Author: Stephanie