Level up your grilled chicken wings with an easy smoky, sweet, saucy and sticky glaze! These chipotle bbq wings are mind blowingly simple and easy to make with just a few ingredients -- perfect for a backyard barbecue or tailgating on game day!
Tasty Chipotle BBQ Wings Recipe!
This one is for all the wing lovers out there. I got a ton of replies to my newsletter survey and giveaway asking for grilling and smoker recipes this summer, so I decided to have June start the STAT Grill Series: a season-long 'playlist' of summer-ready, family-friendly, cookout-superstar, easy and flavorful recipes that are all made on your grill or smoker.
No stove, no oven, we are keeping the house COOL this summer!
Let's get into these chipotle wings, honey. The grilling of the wings is simple enough, but the flavor star is the amazing sticky glaze. It's made with smoky chipotles in adobo and orange marmalade, giving sweet, smoky, a touch spicy, with a little acid from other ingredients I know you already have in your pantry.
My chipotle wings are juicy and tender, coated in the most amazing orange-chipotle sauce and simply grilled. No fuss, tons of flavor, it's a very beginner friendly recipe so if you are new to grilling, I got you in this series!
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Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chicken Wings - you'll want to grab 'party wings', which is a term for chicken wings that are already separated. If you're using whole wings, carefully separate the three segments and save the tips in the freezer for making homemade chicken stock.
- Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
- High Heat Oil - because we are directly cooking the wings on the grill, they'll need to be well oiled so they don't stick to the grill. Try vegetable oil, grapeseed or avocado oil, or canola oil.
Sweet Chipotle BBQ Sauce Ingredients
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce - They're smoked red jalapeños -- around a sch-medium spice so if you're sensitive to spice these won't hurt you too bad, just use less of them in the recipe if you want to.
- Orange Marmalade - I had a jar of this just begging to be used, and I'm so glad that I decided the time was now: the sweet, citrusy notes play perfectly with the spicy, savory chipotle!
- Red Wine Vinegar - this gives more brightness and works so well with the djion mustard
- Dijon Mustard - tangy and vibrant, it's made with brown and black mustard seeds and white wine
- BBQ Sauce - you can also sub ketchup, but a little bit of a basic BBQ sauce gives body and keeps our sauce thick!
How to Make Chipotle BBQ Chicken Wings
- Make the Glaze by stirring all the glaze ingredients in a bowl and blitzing them with an immersion blender to combine. If you don't have one, do this in a blender or food processor. We don't want big chunks of chiles or orange peel from the marmalade.
- Season the wings with the salt and pepper.
- Prep your grill by getting it to medium heat (around 350-400 degrees F). If you marinated or brined your chicken, pat the marinated wings dry with a paper towel and then coat them with oil. Spray the grill grates with nonstick cooking spray.
- Grill the wings. When the grill is hot, place the wings directly on the grill, skin side down for great grill marks. Don't crowd the wings, we really want them to get that grilled flavor. Cook for 10 minutes, then flip and leave it alone for 5 more minutes.
- Coat the wings in the sauce using a heat-safe brush. Let that cook for another 5 minutes to let the sauce reduce and stick onto the wings.
- Flip the wings and sauce up the other side, then cook for another five minutes.
- Serve your chipotle bbq chicken wings on their own or with a sauce on the side. I made a really tasty sour cream buttermilk ranch dipping sauce that was so good! Can't wait to bring that to the blog.
Pro Tips + Substitutions
- Slather on a different take - Toss the wings in your favorite sauce instead! I have an amazing Honey Gold sauce as well as other great wing sauces like lemon pepper wet sauce, garlic parmesan sauce, a buttery homemade buffalo sauce, or your favorite wings sauce.
- Add more umami to your sauce by adding a teaspoon or two of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
- Don't have red wine vinegar? Lime juice will work in a pinch.
- Make the wings super crispy by simply grilling! Flip the wings every 10 minutes for so, remove the wings from the grill and then toss in the orange chipotle sauce before serving.
- Oil is your friend on the grill! Oil those grates (with the flame off!) and the wings well, otherwise they will stick really bad and tear your wings apart.
- If you can't find chipotle peppers, use chipotle seasoning or a chipotle paste instead.
- Marinate the wings in a great marinade - I'll never say no to more flavor! Pat the marinated wings dry so the wings can come right off the grill.
Storage and Reheating
Store the wings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat your leftover glazed wings, put them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and into the oven at 325 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or into an air fryer at 390 degrees F for 5 minutes, until the wings are heated through.
Equipment I Used
- Mixing Bowls
- Immersion Blender - for blending up the sauce.
- Nonstick Cooking Spray - regular ole nonstick cooking spray works great, but they also have a grill-specific one for really high heat.
- Grill - I use a propane grill, this works for a charcoal grill just have sides for direct heat and indirect heat and a grill thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature.
- Tongs - for flipping and moving the chicken wings
- High Heat Safe Silicone Brush - for brushing the sauce on your wings.
FAQs
How long does it take to cook chicken wings on grill?
Chicken wings cook to 165 degrees F in about 20-25 minutes. Flip every five minutes to ensure even grill marks and cooking.
Should I sauce my wings before grilling?
No, not for this recipe. Because we have a sweeter sauce, the risk for burning runs higher. Smother them in sauce after they get some nice grill marks, over indirect heat.
Should you coat wings in oil before grilling?
Yes! Coat the wings in a high-heat-safe oil so they don't stick to the grill grates. Spray the grill grates with nonstick cooking spray as well!
More Grilling and Smoking Recipes
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Chipotle BBQ Wings
Equipment
- grill
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wing segments, around 36 wing segments
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, or other high heat oil
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Chipotle Wing Sauce
- 4 chipotles, from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- ½ cup orange marmalade
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, or more, to taste
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, or ketchup
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
Instructions
Make the Chipotle Sauce
- Stir the chipotles, orange marmalade, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and barbecue sauce in a medium mixing bowl.4 chipotles, ½ cup orange marmalade, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, 1 cup barbecue sauce
- Use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together until smooth. For less spice, strain the seeds out with a fine mesh sieve. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Make the Chipotle BBQ Wings
- Oil the grill grates with high heat oil or generously spray with nonstick cooking spray before preheating your grill to 350-375 degrees F with a side for indirect heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, drizzle the oil over the wings and toss with tongs to coat the chicken. Season the wings with salt and pepper and give them a good toss with tongs again to ensure the chicken is well seasoned all over.3 lbs chicken wing segments, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Use the tongs to place the chicken wings over direct heat on the grill. Close the lid and let cook for five minutes before flipping on the other side and cooking for another five minutes.
- After those ten minutes are up, move the chicken wings to the side of the grill with indirect heat.
- Use a high heat safe silicone brush to generously coat the tops of the chicken wings with the chipotle glaze. Let that cook for 8-10 minutes, then flip and repeat on the other side for 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce has become sticky and thickened on the wings.
- Serve hot with thinly sliced scallion and a dip, if you like.1 scallion
Recipe Notes
Tips + Variations
- Don't want spicy wings? Use less peppers and strain the sauce through a sieve.
- Add more umami to your sauce by adding a teaspoon or two of worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
- Don't have red wine vinegar? Lime juice will work in a pinch.
- Make the wings super crispy by simply grilling! Flip the wings every 10 minutes for so, remove the wings from the grill and then toss in the orange chipotle sauce before serving.
- Oil is your friend on the grill! Oil those grates (with the flame off!) and the wings well, otherwise they will stick to the grill and tear your wings apart.
- If you can't find chipotle peppers, use chipotle seasoning or a chipotle paste instead.
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