Sesame Chicken Wings are a fun and delicious way to serve your favorite Chinese food take out at home. These are perfect for your next party or upcoming tailgate.
Well, I don’t know where you live but here in Colorado it’s been scorching hot. I’m talking like in the 100’s hot. We haven’t had this kind of heat in at least 5 years. In my book (and my dog Tommy’s book) it’s too hot to do anything productive outside. It’s really been awful but alas, we have a beautiful day in the 80’s today. I am thrilled and find myself going outside and playing in my garden!
When it’s this hot (you have to remember, in Denver, we are at 5280 feet, we are much closer to the sun, so hot here is really hotter than when the thermometer says), eating and cooking are the furthest things from your mind. I have been running my Traeger like crazy and eating salads. It’s all a girl can do to keep the house cool!
Last week it was my turn to bring the main course to the tennis picnic after our match. I decided that chicken wings would be something fun to bring that everyone would love and that I didn’t need to heat up my house making. I was right. These wings were a big hit!
Sesame Chicken Wings
I came up with the idea of these wings from everyone’s favorite Sesame Chicken found at just about any (American) Chinese restaurant. It is more sweet than spicy and at the restaurant, it is fried to give it a deliciously crispy texture. The sesame marinade was easy. It’s loaded with lots of sesame oil, garlic, ginger, tamari (soy), a bit of heat and honey. A perfect Asian marinade for the typically boring chicken wing!
If you know me, I rarely eat fried foods so I needed to improvise on the crispy chicken part…
I follow a lot of grilling/smoking forums and blogs, and something that is discussed quite often is how to make the chicken crispy on the grill. The biggest complaint is that the skin turns out like rubber. Well, the reason that this is a common complaint is that the skin is “wet” when it goes on the grill. It is easily avoidable if you pat the wings dry. I mean really dry them off before putting them on the grill. This is the same way for all meats, give them a good drying before grilling to achieve all those beautiful grill marks.
To make them really crispy, basting the wings with a thick and gloriously sticky sauce will put your wings over the top and much healthier than anything fried for sure. I hope that you give them a try. So much better than what you can order out!
Marinating chicken wings is as easy this! Place everything in a gallon-sized zippy bag, close it up and let it do its thing. Minimum 4 hours up to overnight.
I’m salivating just looking at this picture! I need to make another batch of these sooner than later! Whoever thought that a chicken wing could be so pretty?
Sesame Chicken Wings on a plate ready for the party. These didn’t last long!
Other Chicken Wing Recipes
Clearly, I love chicken wings! I have posted a lot of recipes over the years. Check them out and give them a try. Football season is just around the corner!!
Alabama White Sauce Chicken Wings
Buffalo Chicken wing with homemade blue cheese dressing
Sesame Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Grill or Smoker
Ingredients
The Sesame Marinade
- 1/2 cup sliced green onions, green and white parts
- 3 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1-2 tablespoons sriracha
- 3/4 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 4-5 pounds chicken wings
The Sesame Glaze
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/3 cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce
Finishing the Wings
- Sesame Seeds
- Sliced Green Onions
- Assorted Veggies
Instructions
- In a large zippy bag, add all the ingredients listed in the marinade section, close the bag and squish it around until it's all incorporated. Add the chicken wings, close the bag and shake around until all the wings are coated with the marinade. Place the bag in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- When you are ready to cook your wings, remove them from the refrigerator and place them on a cookie sheet. With paper towels, pat them dry. I mean, really dry them off. If you skip this step, the skin won't crisp up. So it doesn't even hurt to pat them dry and then leave them out for a 1/2 hour or so while your grill warms up.
- To make the glaze, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the honey, sesame, ginger, garlic, and tamari (soy). Set aside.
- Cooking 2 ways:If you want to smoke the wings, preheat the smoker to 225 degrees. Place the wings on the smoker and smoke for 1 hour. Remove the wings and place on a cookie sheet and turn your smoker (or another grill) to high heat. Baste the wings with the glaze and place on the hot grill. Cook for 5 minutes and then flip the wings over and cook for another 5 minutes or until they are golden brown and delicious. Remove from the heat and toss the wings in the additional glaze and serve. If you are grilling the wings, turn your grill up to a medium-high temperature. Baste the wings with the glaze and place on the grill. Cook the wings for about 10 minutes and flip them over. Baste them again and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. When done, remove from the grill and toss with the remaining glaze.
- Serve the wings with additional sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Can be served warm or at room temperature.