Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken Wings

I really love the Italian flavors of herbs and lemon zest and garlic that are infused through these marinated grilled chicken wings! And the recipe is so easy too. Make a quick marinade in the morning, wait (that’s the hard part), and fire up the grill in the evening. Done. You don’t even need any sort of sauce to go with them since the flavor is in the wings.

If you have never made grilled chicken wings, today is the day to try!

Okay, tomorrow is the day to try since you will need several hours to marinate these wings. But it’ll be worth it! 🙂

Get them started in the morning or the night before and the flavor of the herbs will infuse the meat and be so good. I have tried to do this in just a few hours, but it wasn’t the same. The feedback from the family was they needed more, and I have to listen to my chief tasters.

There is a reason they are my chief tasters. They make my recipes better!

I mean grilled chicken wings are going to be tasty even with a short marinade, but, trust me, they will be amazing once they have a nice, long soak in the herbs and garlic.

You can of course use chicken wing parts for the recipe instead of the whole wings. However, I like how easy it is to turn the larger pieces, and I’m a fan of that little end piece which is often cut off of the trimmed wings. (Full discloser: It’s actually my favorite bit. 🙂 ) Whether you are using whole wings or parts, this recipe is a wonderful example of taking simple ingredients and a simple cooking method to make great food.

I would also like to note that the herbs I use in the recipe are all herbs I grow in my garden or in pots in my house. There is a fair amount of flexibility in what herbs you can use – depending on what you grow, what your neighbor grows (if you’re on good terms and they invited you take some! no stealing herbs), and what looks fresh at the supermarket. Other herbs or flavors that might fun are scallions/chives, dill, fennel, basil, sorrel, mint, and more!

We usually have the wings as a main course with a Caprese Salad or with Potato Salad Nicoise, but I would totally serve them as part of a part of a cookout with other food or as an appetizer if I was having people over for dinner. Either way, I do prefer them fresh off the grill so that they keep their crispy skin. Yum!

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

Print Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Herb Marinated Grilled Chicken Wings

Grilled chicken wings take on Italian flavors when they are marinated in fresh herbs and lemon and then grilled to crispy perfection.

Prep Time8 hrs

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time8 hrs 15 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Keyword: grilled chicken wings, marinated chicken wings

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 400kcal

Author: justalittlebitofbacon

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as oregano, rosemary, parsley, sage, and thyme
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 3 lb chicken wings

Instructions

• In a gallon sized resealable bag combine the oil, garlic, herbs, salt, and lemon zest. Add the chicken and thoroughly coat the wings with the marinade. Refrigerate for 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
• Heat your grill.
• Once the grill is hot, reduce the heat to medium, add the wings, flat side down, and grill covered for 7-8 minutes, or until the wings are browned and marked on that side.
• Then turn them and grill for another 7-8 minutes. The wings should be well browned and crispy and the meat fully cooked through when you take them off.

Notes

• Type of wings: I used whole wings in the recipe, but wing portions will work too.
• Herb Mixture: The exact herb mixture is flexible depending on what herbs you have available. I use mostly oregano and rosemary and then add in little bits of whatever else is around. Also, lemon thyme is especially nice if you have that.
• Grill Safety: The grill will sometimes flare up when you first add the wings since they are coated in olive oil. If you have more than the occasional flare, lower the heat to low for the first couple of minutes and then bring it back to medium when the grill calms down.