Grilled Hoisin-Glazed Chicken Wings

Sweet and salty wings with a lightly charred crust.

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated February 10, 2023
A close-up shot of grilled hoisin-glazed chicken wings sprinkled with sesame seeds and thinly sliced scallions.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Why It Works

  • Dusting wings with baking powder leads to crisp skin. 
  • The combination of hoisin, honey, ginger, soy sauce and five-spice powder creates a spicy, salty, sweet sticky coating. 

My great love of wings has led me to concoct so many different wings that I've now lost track of how many there are in the arsenal. Not all wings are hits but these hoisin-glazed wings were some of the best I made all summer.

It all started when I had a grilled pizza party going. Though I had made my ultimate grilled buffalo wings to pair with the pies, I wanted to add a little variety and came across this recipe for hoisin wings. I adapted it for the grill, and gave it a whirl.

I started the wings off with Kenji's baking powder "trick" to crunchy skin—a step I never leave out anymore. Then over indirect heat, the wings crisped nicely, and right after pulling them off, I gave them a brushing of a primarily hoisin, honey, and soy sauce mixture, and set that glaze quickly over direct heat.

I love hoisin, so I was easily sold on these sweet and salty wings with a light Asian barbecue flavor. Luckily, all my guests agreed, with the wings disappearing so quickly that there were a few calls of remorse from those who were not quick enough to get their desired share.

October 2012

Recipe Details

Grilled Hoisin-Glazed Chicken Wings Recipe

Active 45 mins
Total 9 hrs
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Glaze:

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup honey

  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce

  • 2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)

  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

  • 1 teaspoon Chinese Five-Spice powder

  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

  • 1/3 cup finely sliced scallions

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions

  1. Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels. Place wings in a large bowl and sprinkle with baking powder and salt, tossing to coat evenly. Arrange wings in a single layer on wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours.

    Chicken wings air-drying on a rack set over rimmed baking sheet.

    Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

  2. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, honey, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, and sesame oil. Set aside.

    Whisking together ingredients for hoisin glaze.

    Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

  3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to medium-high heat, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Place the wings skin side up over the cool side of the grill, cover, and cook until skins are crisp and are starting to brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush wings all over with glaze. Move wings to hot side of grill and cook until browned all over, about 3 minutes per side.

    Grilling chicken wings to golden brown.

    Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

  4. Transfer wings to a platter. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Grill and chimney starter

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
582Calories
29gFat
29gCarbs
50gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories582
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 29g38%
Saturated Fat 8g40%
Cholesterol 186mg62%
Sodium 1980mg86%
Total Carbohydrate 29g11%
Dietary Fiber 1g5%
Total Sugars 22g
Protein 50g
Vitamin C 3mg16%
Calcium 274mg21%
Iron 5mg25%
Potassium 553mg12%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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