As much as I like my grill-roasted chicken wings, the recipe doesn't make enough wings to serve more than a couple of people. Wings take up a lot of space on the grill, and the indirect cooking method uses up more of the precious space on my Weber kettle.
*I really need to get the recently released 26-inch Weber kettle
, but that's another story. One about lust and grills, that ends in tears for my checkbook.
I decided to try cooking them with direct heat, so I could use my entire grill surface. What I found is that this is not a recipe for the easily distracted. You get good, crispy wings, but they have to be in almost constant motion. The hot spots and flare-ups you get on a charcoal grill are magnified by the large amount of chicken fat that will drip from the wings. If you lose focus for a minute, the result will be black, charred, and not very appetizing.*
*I had a few wings turn out like that, so I peeled the skin off before I tossed them with the sauce.
Why go through all this, when you can take the easy way out, and cook the wings with indirect heat? Because you can cook twice as many wings, and it takes one third of the time. Oh, and if you're the type of person who likes a little char on your wings, you get that as a bonus.
gaps between them. I have a few too many in the top part of the grill, where they're
packed together, and it was too hot in that section.
📖 Recipe Card
Grilled Chicken Wings, Spicy Asian Glazed
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Soy-honey marinated chicken wings grilled over direct heat until crisp, then tossed in a spicy chile-honey glaze.
Ingredients
Wings
- 5 pounds chicken wings
Marinade
- ½ cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (or 1 tablespoon garlic powder)
- 1 inch piece of ginger, grated (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
Glaze
- ½ cup reserved marinade
- 1 tablespoon chile paste, such as Huy Fong sambal oelek (optional, or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Marinate the wings: 1 to 2 hours before cooking, cut the wings into tips, flats and drumettes (save the tips for stock), and put the flats and drumettes in a gallon zip-top bag. Whisk the marinade ingredients together, and reserve ½ cup for the glaze. Pour the rest over the wings, squeeze out the air, seal, and refrigerate, turning occasionally.
- Make the glaze: In the largest bowl you have, whisk the reserved marinade with the chile paste and honey. Set aside.
- Prepare the grill: Set up your grill for direct medium to medium-low heat. On a charcoal kettle, light a chimney ¾ full of charcoal, and when it's covered with ash, spread the coals out widely, with gaps between them. Leave a small area with no coals as a safe zone.
- Grill the wings: Take the wings out of the marinade, and grill over the coals, turning every 2 minutes and moving them around to avoid flare-ups, until cooked through and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Glaze and serve: Whisk the glaze, add the wings to the bowl, and toss to coat. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, toss again, and serve.
Notes
Equipment: A grill (I use a Weber kettle) and a large bowl for tossing the wings.
This isn't a recipe for the easily distracted - the dripping fat causes flare-ups, and the wings need almost constant attention. The price of non-burnt wings is eternal vigilance.
This is easier on a gas grill - you get even medium-low heat with far fewer flare-ups.
Don't marinate the wings for more than 2 hours - the soy sauce works like a brine, and they'll get too salty.
Save the wing tips in a bag in the freezer for pressure cooker stock.
Buffalo wings: Skip the ginger and use vegetable oil in the marinade. Toss with the Buffalo wing sauce from my grill roasted chicken wings.
Teriyaki wings: Toss with the teriyaki sauce from my grill roasted chicken wings.
Barbecue wings: Skip the ginger and use vegetable oil in the marinade. Toss with barbecue sauce.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Marinate: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts:
If you need a more relaxed chicken wing experience, here's my recipe for Grill Roasted Chicken Wings
[5/2010]: Improved wing technique! Â Check out my Grilled Buffalo Chicken Wings
Here's my recipe for Thai Style Grill Roasted Chicken Breasts
Adapted From:
Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling, Grilled Chicken Wings recipe
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Jim, I don't know who's going to win. A great offense versus a great defense? Tough choice. I *think* that defense wins championships, so I lean towards Seattle...but then I think of Peyton Manning, and I start to waver...
Jim says
Mike,
Though I live in NJ, I won't be at the "Big Game" or tailgating in the parking lot. All is not lost however, as I have another opportunity to "tailgate" at home with the grill set-up that I recently won from your site! Thanks again, it's great. On a separate note, I tried your pressure cooker stew recipe and it turned out fantastic. Reminded me of my mother's which brought back alot of memories. Thanks for that. Who are you picking to win? Should be a good game.
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Thanks, Peter - I'll have to check them out.
Peter says
To avoid flare-ups, I can recommend GrillGrates from http://grillgrate.com. I had a set (cut to fit my Weber Kettle) sent over to the UK, took it to my other place in France, and it was so successful that I left it there and ordered another set for the UK.
Peter from the UK (and France)
PS - Love your recipes, especially for the Rotisserie
Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says
Thanks for the tip! I was looking at that rack at my local grocery store last summer, but it seemed too specialized. I never thought to use it for wings, though; I may have to pick one up.
Are says
These sound great! About space on your grill, I use this on mine for wings/legs, it folds down for storage and seems to keep the chicken just far enough away for "indirect cooking" and there seems to be way less flaring up:
http://www.bayouclassicdepot.com/0770-kdl-bayou-classic-folding-leg-and-wing-rack.htm
MikeV says
Great! Glad to have you aboard.
Jane is one of my many cooking influences, and I was thrilled to be included in her e-mail. I read it every week!
Magnolia says
I just did a copy and paste of your vinaigrette recipes. Thank you so much for sharing. I found your site through Jane Snow's weekly e-mail and will be back.