Sweet and Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings

I have made no secret about the fact that I love chicken wings on this blog. I love them baked, roasted, deep-fried, and, of course, barbecued. Today, we will look at that last one, BBQ Chicken Wings. You are seriously missing out if you have never had BBQ Chicken Wings. I consider them to be superior to most other types of wings for a lot of reasons. The skin gets crispy, the meat stays tender, and much of the fat renders out, making them a little bit better for you.

Jump to:

• The Sauce
• BBQ Chicken Wings
• Heat Management on the Grill
• Recipe
• Final Thoughts

In this post, we will discuss how to make Sweet and Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings, including a quick homemade sauce. However, we will also look at one of the many techniques for barbecuing chicken wings. Don't worry; we will discuss the other techniques over the next few months.

The Sauce

If you want a delicious chicken wing, you need a delicious sauce. For the sauce, I decided that I wanted to go with a Southeast Asian influence. To do this, I used Sambal as the base, which is an Indonesian chili sauce. You can usually find it at most grocery stores, but if you can't find it you can use Sriracha or any other hot sauce you prefer.

Along with the sambal I used soy sauce (gluten-free tamari), honey, powdered ginger, garlic, and onion. To add a little more tartness to the sauce I also used a touch of rice vinegar. To bulk up the umami flavour I added a touch of fish sauce then finished the sauce with some sesame seeds. This all got whisked together and the sauce was ready. If you enjoy making your own sauces, you might also like my post on homemade condiments.

You can find the full sauce recipe below.

BBQ Chicken Wings

Grilling the Wings

First things first, I heated my barbecue up over medium heat. Then I went to work on the wings. For the wings I used about two pounds which were split, meaning the wings and drums were separated. I seasoned them lightly with salt and pepper, lined them up on the grill, then shut the lid and let them cook for four or five minutes.

After five minutes I flipped the wings, turned the heat down a little bit, and moved the wings around to make sure they were all getting even heat. I put the lid back down and cooked them for another five minutes.

Saucing and Finishing

Once the wings cooked for about ten minutes in total I took them off the heat, tossed them in the sauce, then placed them back on the barbecue. I cooked the wings for about three minutes per side to bake the sauce on and caramelize a little bit.

To me, baking the sauce onto the wings is key. This makes the sauce sticky, and a little sweeter. It's what really makes wings like this special. You can do this with any sauce, not just the sauce I used here. For more sauce ideas, take a look at my barbecue sauce post.

I checked the wings to make sure they were cooked by picking up the biggest wing and pulling the meat away from the bone. If the meat comes away from the bone easily, the wings are done. You can also use a thermometer to make sure the wings reach an internal temperature of 170°F. Proper heat management on the grill is crucial here -- if you're new to grilling, my post on preheating your pan covers the same heat principles.

With the wings fully cooked, I removed them from the heat, put them on a nice plate, and garnished them with some sliced green onions.

Heat Management on the Grill

A very important thing to remember when barbecuing chicken wings, or anything for that matter, is heat management. Here are the key points:

• If the wings are flaring up, turn the heat down or move them to a cooler part of the grill.
• If some wings aren't crisping up and others are getting too crisp, switch their positions.
• Barbecuing is not passive cooking like baking. It requires constant attention and activity.

Recipe

Final Thoughts

These are hands down some of the best wings I've made at home, and the sambal-based sauce has become a regular in my rotation. Give the technique a try with whatever sauce you like -- once you start baking the sauce onto the wings on the grill, you won't go back to just tossing them in a bowl.