How To Make A Special Glaze For Great Grilled Chicken Wings

Jump to Recipe

Grilled chicken wings for backyard BBQ’s during the summer are a must. With a apricot buffalo glaze to die for you’ll keep coming back!

There is nothing like grilled food!

I am certain grilled food and smoked meats are so popular because it’s what we had long before stoves were invented.

Grilled chicken wings don’t have to be complicated and you have a chef here to show you the way.

With this recipe I included and amazing apricot buffalo glaze that pairs perfect with the chicken wings on the grill.

Once you taste it you’ll want to use it everywhere.

Keep reading and let’s dive into the recipe.

How To Make Grilled Chicken Wings

First, check off these ingredients for the recipe

• Chicken wings
• Salt & black pepper
• Apricot preseves
• Garlic
• Buffalo Sauce
• Honey

Quick tips to avoid mistakes

• If you have a meat thermometer this is a perfect recipe for it. Chicken wings vary so much in size, it’ll make your life easier.
• Do not add the sauce before the chicken wings are fully cooked. The sauce is to be added after they are cooked and grilled slightly to caramelize the sauce. If exposed to heat too long the sugar will burn in the sauce.
• Use buffalo sauce and not hot sauce for this recipe. You will want the creaminess the buffalo sauce provides. My go to buffalo sauce will always be Primal Kitchen.

Making chicken wings on the grill

1. To start, the night before or a few hours before, salt all the chicken wings then place in the refrigerator to dry the skin out. The more moisture left in the skin will cause them not to get as crispy. Lay them out evenly after you salt them. If you crowd them together in a bowl the skin will remain wet.
2. About and hour before grilling remove the wings from the refrigerator the come to room temperature.
3. Fire up the grill, you want to bring the grates to 400ºF. While the grill is heating make the sauce.
4. In a sauce pan, add apricot preserves, honey and buffalo sauce. You’re only heating the sauce up to melt the honey and the preserves. Once the sauce is smooth remove it from heat.
5. Then, add the sauce into a blender with garlic cloves. Blend the sauce until smooth and creamy.
6. Now, add black pepper to the chicken wings toss them in about 1-2 tablespoons of oil and place them on the grill. Give the chicken wings about 5 minutes on each side and continue repeating this time until the chicken wings come up to temp. Do not put the lid down over the chicken wings while cooking!
7. Once the chicken wings are done, give them a toss in the sauce then place back on the grill for 2-3 minutes each side.
8. Place the grilled chicken wings on a serving platter and serve.

Leftovers from the recipe

This recipe can be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. The chicken wings should keep at least 4-5 days. Any leftover sauce will last well over a week.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do you season chicken wings before or after grilling?

Salt and pepper are fine to season with before grilling. However, due to the high heat seasonings like garlic, paprika and sugar all burn very quickly at high temperatures. The sauces with sugar are always best to add at the end of cooking to avoid this as well.

How long to cook chicken wings on the grill?

This will vary because some wings are larger than others. From my experience it will take 15-20 minutes to reach a done temperature for the chicken wings. This is about the same amount of time it takes in the oven and air fryer.

What to serve with grilled chicken wings?

• Orzo salad
• Mexican street corn salad
• Cowboy caviar

This bbq sauce was inspired by the triple threat wings from pitmaster Chris Prieto at Prime BBQ in Knightdale, NC.