Recipes / Chicken
Sticky barbecue chicken wings
Chicken wings braaied over medium coals, then brushed with a sweet, tangy tomato and honey glaze in layers until dark and sticky.
- Prep
- 20 min
- On the fire
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
- Done at
- 165°F (74°C)
Ingredients
Wings
Glaze
Method
Cooking on gas?
- Preheat with the burners on high and the lid closed for 10 minutes, then turn them down to medium so the lid thermometer settles at 175 to 200°C (350 to 400°F). Brush the grates clean and oil them.
- Close the lid between turns. It cooks a little faster than an open braai, so start checking about 5 minutes early.
- Keep one burner off or on low as a cooler zone. If fat flares up, move the food there. Never use water on a gas grill flare-up.
- For a smoky taste, put a handful of wood chips in a smoker box, or a foil parcel pierced with a few holes, over a lit burner while the grill preheats.
- Put all the glaze ingredients in a small pot and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until it coats a spoon. Pour half into a bowl for serving.
- Pat the wings dry and season them with the salt and pepper.
- Braai the wings in a hinged grid over medium coals for 20 minutes, turning every 4 to 5 minutes, until golden.
- Move the grid higher or to a cooler spot. Brush the wings with glaze, turn, and brush again.
- Keep turning and brushing every 3 minutes for 10 to 15 minutes, building up at least three coats.
- Serve hot with the reserved glaze for dipping.
Done when: the glaze is dark and sticky and a thermometer in the thickest part of a wing, away from the bone, reads 74°C (165°F).
Tips
- Do not glaze from the start. The sugar burns long before the wings are cooked through.
- Keep the brush for the raw-chicken stage and the serving bowl apart. Only brush from the pot, never the dipping bowl.
- Wing tips make good stock. Freeze them until you have enough.
Wings are the cheapest part of the chicken and the one most people fight over at a braai. They need time over moderate heat to render the skin, and a sweet glaze only at the end. For a hotter version, try the peri-peri chicken wings.
Source
Adapted from Sticky barbeque chicken wings at Woolworths and Grilled Honey Barbecue Wings at Rock Recipes.