Huli Huli Chicken Wings
Are you looking for a new recipe to try for the upcoming Super Bowl this Sunday? With chicken wings being a classic food to serve for the Super Bowl, I decided to share one of my favorite chicken wings recipe: huli huli chicken wings. This Hawaiian chicken wing recipe is sweet, savory, sticky, and delicious.
My first time trying huli huli chicken
Prior to 2018, I never even heard of huli huli chicken. In May of that year, my wife and I took a trip to Maui. While on the island, we decided to take the Road to Hana trip one day. While making the trek, we saw a roadside BBQ stand and immediately knew that we needed to stop. He was smoking some huli huli chicken and I knew that I needed to try some local BBQ meats. It was incredible. From that moment on, I knew that I needed to recreate this delicious recipe at home.
It’s all in the marinade
Before I get into the marinade for this recipe, I wanted to mention a disclaimer: this is my version of huli huli chicken wings and may not be 100% authentic. With that out of the way, here’s a list of what you will need for the huli huli marinade:
- Brown sugar
- Ketchup
- Soy sauce
- Chicken broth
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
The combination of these ingredients works really well on all types of chicken. Just combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, add the chicken wings, cover, and refrigerate over night. That’s all of the prep work that there is – it’s that simple.
How to cook the wings
My favorite way to cook the wings is to grill them over indirect heat. Just like with our Grilled Tandoori Chicken with Mango Chutney recipe, I like to use the vortex method with my Kamado Joe Big Joe 3. The vortex method is when you put the chicken wings in a circle on the outer end of the grill grates with the heat below being blocked, except for the center where there is no chicken. This can be done using Kamado Joe’s SloRoller. I’ll preheat my grill to ~400ºF and cook the chicken until an internal temperature of 175ºF, flipping the chicken every 10 minutes. This should take about 40 minutes in total. If the chicken does not have enough grill marks to my liking, I’ll move it over direct heat for a few minutes at the end.
No grill no problem
The good thing about this recipe is that you can cook the wings with many different methods: grilling, smoking, baking, air fryer, etc. As long as you cook them to an internal temperature of 165ºF, then you can cook them however is convenient for you. In fact, wings can be very forgiving as you could go as high as 190ºF-200ºF for an internal temperature. Some people prefer this as more fat will render out, leaving you with tender meat.
These wings are perfect for a party
This wing recipe is great for a crowd and can be the perfect appetizer for your Super Bowl party. The tasty flavor is unmatched and caramelization of the brown sugar in the marinade will leave your wings sticky with a beautiful char. Seriously, these are the ultimate wings. Hawaiian food is amazing and I am happy to share one of the dishes that I enjoyed the most. Try this recipe out – I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Huli Huli Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chicken wings
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 1/2 cup Ketchup
- 1/2 cup Soy sauce
- 1/2 cup Chicken broth
- 8 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp Ginger minced
- 1 tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Onion powder
- 1 tbsp Paprika
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken wings, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- Set your grill up for the vortex method or indirect cooking and preheat to 400ºF. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator.
- Add the chicken wings to the grill over indirect heat and cook until an internal temperature of 165ºF, flipping every 10 minutes. This should take around 40 minutes. If preferred, add the chicken over direct heat at the end to get some grill marks.
- Remove from the grill. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
