Grilled Sriracha Hot Wings

Rich and spicy thanks to a liberal dose of garlicky Sriracha.

20120131-190766-sriracha-wings.jpg

Why It Works

  • Brushing the wings with sauce both before and after they're grilled ensures every bite has bright Sriracha flavor.

You can't go wrong with the union of Sriracha and wings, especially over Super Bowl weekend, and especially when you have a batch of homemade Sriracha sauce handy.

These started with a coating of baking powder—a method I've been using religiously since Kenji unleashed it upon us two years ago—which creates a textured, crunchy exterior when cooked either in the oven or over indirect medium-high heat on the grill, as I did here.

To double up the Sriracha awesomeness, the wings were first brushed with a rich and spicy Sriracha-based sauce in the last minutes of grilling. After that coating baked in, they were tossed with the remaining sauce, creating two layers of that hot garlic goodness, ensuring every bite was full of flavor.

A tripled recipe of these wings were gone in flash when I served them. They're now first string for any Game Day menu of the many, many wing recipes already in my arsenal.

February 2012

Recipe Details

Grilled Sriracha Hot Wings

Active 15 mins
Total 9 hrs
Serves 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons butter

  • 1/2 cup sriracha

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

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.

  2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in sriracha, honey, soy sauce, cilantro, line juice, and vinegar until combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

  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 wings skin side up over cool side of grill, cover, and cook until skins are crisp and browned, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush wings all over with sauce, cover, and continue to cook until sauce bakes in, 5 to 10 minutes.

  4. Transfer wings to a large bowl. Pour remaining sauce over wings and toss to coat evenly. Transfer wings to a platter and serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Grill

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
475 Calories
29g Fat
12g Carbs
39g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 475
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 29g 38%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Cholesterol 170mg 57%
Sodium 1414mg 61%
Total Carbohydrate 12g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 39g
Vitamin C 9mg 43%
Calcium 166mg 13%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 436mg 9%
*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.)