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Grilled chicken wings with sambal sauce, garnished with onions and cilantro.
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5 from 1 vote

Sambal Barbecue Chicken Wings

When game day approaches, we gravitate towards these sambal barbecue chicken wings. The wings pack heat from the sambal oelek, sweetness from the ketchup, with umami from the soy sauce.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Author: Lindsey Baruch

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 to 2.5 pounds of chicken wings flats, and drums
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons sambal oelek
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • Top with thinly sliced red onion and cilantro

Instructions

  • Season your Wings: Pat your chicken wings dry with paper towels. Transfer your dried wings to a large bowl with olive oil and salt. Toss to combine and set aside.
  • Preheat your grill for two-zone cooking, positioning one side of the grill on low heat, and the other side on medium-high heat.
  • While your grill is heating up, make your Sambal Barbecue Sauce: In a small saucepan, add ketchup, sambal, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce. Bring the heat to medium-low, stir to combine, and allow the sugar to melt and the BBQ sauce, for about 3 to 4 minutes. The BBQ sauce should darken and thicken slightly, but you still want the consistency to be pretty pourable. Turn off the heat and set aside until ready to use.
  • Grill your Wings: Place your wings on the low heat side of the grill, skin side down for 12 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway. Then transfer the wing's skin side up to the medium-high heat side of the grill to char and crisp the wings, for another 3 to 4 minutes, flipping halfway.
  • At the last minute or two of the wings, brush half of your BBQ sauce on all sides of the wings, and let them cook on the grill for another minute.
  • Transfer the wings to a large bowl, and toss in your remaining barbecue sauce. Transfer to a serving platter, finishing with thinly sliced red onions and cilantro scattered around. Serve alongside Jalapeno Dill Ranch for dipping.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 525mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 154IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.3mg