Grilled Soy and Honey Glazed Chicken Wings

I have an unhealthy (literally and figuratively) obsession with Buffalo chicken wings. To me, the hotter the better. I’ll have to admit though, lately I have been craving a new (to me) type of chicken wing, something a little different and a lot Asian. One of my son’s favorite grilling recipes is soy and honey glazed chicken skewers. He loves to eat them on the stick and we love to make them into delicious chicken wraps. Well, a slight modification to the soy honey glaze is awesome on chicken wings as well. The key is to get the skins of the chicken wings nice and crispy on the outside and then start basting on the cool side of the grill so that all of that delicious glaze soaks in and sticks to the skins. Let’s get right into my new chicken wing obsession….

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5 from 1 vote

Grilled Soy and Honey Glazed Chicken Wings

Grilled wings with a soy and honey glaze.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken wings
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions

• Peel and chop the garlic and ginger. If you haven't worked with fresh ginger before, it can look a little strange and maybe somewhat daunting, so I'll offer you a few tips. There is a thin skin on the outside, sort of like an onion. All you need to do to remove the skin is to scrape the ginger with the edge of a spoon. It's that easy! Freeze your unused ginger in freezer bags for the next time. Want another tip? Next time you use that frozen ginger, grate it with a cheese grater, it's a lot easier than chopping! Ok, back to the show...
• Heat the sesame oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.
• Add the ginger and garlic and "sweat" them, just until you start smelling the aroma of both. Don't brown that garlic!
• Add the soy sauce, honey and vinegar and reduce your heat to low.
• Let the glaze slowly simmer for a few minutes, stirring often and then kill the heat.
• Light your grill for medium heat.
• Grill the chicken wings over medium heat with the lid closed for about 4 minutes per side. These times always vary. What you are looking for is nice golden brown skin on all sides of the wings. A little charring never hurt anyone, but don't burn them.
• Once the wings are nice and brown and crispy, shut the burner off on one side of the grill and turn the remaining burners up to high. We DON'T want to glaze over an open flame. The glaze has honey and we all know honey and sugar burn, so keep the wings away from the flame! If using a charcoal grill, carefully remove the wings and the grate and pile all of the coals up to one side. Replace the grate and put all of the wings over the cool side of the grill.
• Now we glaze! Continually brush the wings with the glaze and close the lid in between brushings until you create a great sticky glaze all over those beautiful wings.
• While that's going on, toast your sesame seeds on a dry pan until you start to smell them cooking and remove from the heat.
• Once you are satisfied with the glaze (or you can't stand it anymore and have to dig in), remove the wings from the grill and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
• Serve the remaining glaze as a dipping sauce.

I’m not saying this recipe will cure you from your own Buffalo sauce addiction, but it has definitely become a new favorite around my house. I may be weird, but I think these are even better the next afternoon straight out of the refrigerator…