Learn how to parboil chicken wings. It’s easy and cuts down cooking time. After parboiling, bake, grill, or deep-fry the wings to make them crispy and delicious.
Do you want to cook some chicken wings for dinner or at the weekend? Learn how to parboil chicken wings; it makes the whole process so much faster. And if you like chicken, check out our Baked Cajun Chicken Wings, Honey Lemon Pepper Wings, or the Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings.
Ingredients: 1 + salt and pepper
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
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What is parboiling?
A method of partially cooking food in boiling water, the food you intend to finish cooking using another method.
Why should you parboil chicken wings?
- Time: It cuts down on actual cooking time. Usually, wings need about 40 minutes in the oven; when parboiled, you only need to bake them for half that time.
- Grill: This method is perfect for grilling wings. We have a relatively small grill, and we don’t want to have it occupied with just the wings for too long. Parboiling makes them cook faster.
- Meal prep: You can start cooking the chicken a day ahead or in the morning and quickly finish it before serving.
- Healthier: The process removes some of the fat in the skin.
- Crispier: The removal of excess fat makes the pieces crispier as well.
Only three ingredients
Chicken wings: They can be whole or separated into drumettes and wingettes. You can parboil as many as you like, but ensure that the pot you are using is large enough. If you have many pieces, cook them in batches.
Salt or stock cube: Coarse sea salt. Fine sea salt, Kosher, or table salt is fine as well; use less. To add more flavor, use a chicken stock cube, stock powder, or paste instead of salt.
Pepper: About 5 black peppercorns or ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
How to parboil chicken wings?
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot.
- Add salt or stock cube and stir shortly to help them dissolve. Add pepper.
- Add the meat carefully (1).
- Cook for 8 minutes or 10 minutes if your wings are left whole (2).
- Remove with a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper.
- Dry well before rubbing with spices and finishing cooking the wings.
Grill the parboiled wings
Grill them for 15-20 minutes on medium heat or until slightly charred and crispy. Flip regularly. Make sure that they are cooked through.
Bake the parboiled wings
Bake them for 20-30 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit/ 230 degrees Celsius or until cooked through and crispy. Check with a meat thermometer. Cook them on a lined baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Make these Baked Lemon Pepper Wings or the Spicy Dry Rub Chicken Wings next!
Deep fry the parboiled wings
Deep-fry them for 10-15 minutes in batches, in a large pan. Fill the pan with vegetable oil about 3 inches/ 7 cm deep. Heat the oil until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ 180 degrees Celsius. Dry the pieces thoroughly. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Place on kitchen towels to remove the excess fat.
Tip
Ensure that the parboiled chicken wings are completely dry before rubbing them with spices. Place them on kitchen towels and let them dry at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or pat them dry individually.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate them in an airtight container as soon as they are cool.
Yes. You can toss them with sauce and continue baking or grilling them for another 5 minutes. Or you can toss them with the sauce just before serving (I do this mostly when the chicken pieces are deep-fried).
Check out the Peanut Butter and Jelly Wings, too.
Whether or not to parboil chicken wings before grilling is a matter of personal preference. Parboiling chicken wings is a quick way to partially cook them and make them more tender. Grilling parboiled chicken wings will only take a few minutes on each side. Keep an eye on the temperature of the grill and make sure not to overcook them.
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📖 Recipe
How to Parboil Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Large pot
- Slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 8 whole chicken wings or 16 split wings
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or ½ tablespoon fine sea salt or Kosher, Note 1
- 5 black peppercorns or ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Dissolve the salt or chicken stock cube in the boiling water, add pepper.1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or stock cube + 5 black peppercorns
- Add the chicken wings carefully.8 whole chicken wings
- Parboil for 8 minutes if the wings are split and for 10 minutes if they are whole. Remove with a slotted spoon.
- Dry well before rubbing them with spices.
- Cook them until done; the internal temperature should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit/ 74 degrees Celsius. You can either bake (Note 2), grill (Note 3), or deep-fry (Note 4) parboiled chicken wings.
Notes
- Alternatively, use 1 chicken stock cube (or 1 teaspoon of stock powder or paste)
- Bake for 20-30 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit/ 230 degrees Celsius or until cooked through and crispy. Check with a meat thermometer. Cook on a lined baking sheet fitted with a wire rack.
- Grill: 15-20 minutes on medium heat or until slightly charred and crispy. Flip regularly to ensure that they are cooked through.
- Deep-fry: 10-15 minutes. Fry them in a large pan, in batches. Fill vegetable oil in the pan, about 3 inches/ 7 cm deep. Heat the oil until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ 180 degrees Celsius. Dry the chicken pieces thoroughly. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Place on kitchen towels to remove the excess fat.
Paul says
Sounds good
I’ll have to try it