Huli Huli Chicken Wings--

[HC in SC]

Huli Huli Chicken Wings

I know I have mentioned it in other posts, but if you have not tried MH's Huli Huli marinade on chicken you are missing out on a super taste. Not quite teriyaki - the sesame oil and the KC style BBQ sauce really put on one of a kind taste!

I also plan to try it on some beef for jerky at some point, but that's another cook. We were invited to a potluck Xmas party tonight and this is what I am bringing.
I started out with 8 lbs of sectioned chicken wings and marinated them for 3 days in Ziploc bag with MH's Huli Huli marinade in the fridge.

I cooked them on the gasser so I would keep temps up with all of the lid opening, flipping and painting.



I drained the remaining marinade into a sauce pan and rapidly boiled for about 15 minutes constantly stirring to pasteurize the marinade and make it more of a glaze by reducing it appx 15%.

I wish the close up of the Huli Huli reduction had a smell file to go with it for everyone - it had my whole house smelling good!



I cooked the wings on direct med-low heat. I kept the grill about 250 for about an 50 mins-1 hour flipping and basting every 5-10 minutes or so. Yeah - should have used the grill grates to even out the hot spots on the grill since going totally direct, but totally forgot. Probably a little anxious to taste em too!




The wife and I ate a couple of the more "well done" wings as tests and they were great!

Hopefully everyone at the party will love them, if not I am just fine taking any leftovers home.

Thanks for looking and thanks to MH for this fabulous recipe!!

[Jerod Broussard]

Neat. Have to check those out the next time I get a wing kick.

[HC in SC]

The Huli has what I call "flavor sparkle". Nothing quite like it with some many flavors happening at once.

I might try soaking a chuck roast and putting it on the PBC.

[Jerod Broussard]

That would be something.

[_John_]

Look Good, i need to try that out

[fzxdoc]

Yeah - should have used the grill grates to even out the hot spots on the grill since going totally direct, but totally forgot. Probably a little anxious to taste em too!

You were reading my mind, HC. I have yet to use my grill grates and dunno why either. Made burgers a few days ago and the grill grates would have been perfect but then I thought that for only 3 burgers and a Thermapen, a hot spot is no biggie. I've got to break those grates in one of these days. Maybe chicken wings is a way to go.

I'm not real big on chicken wings (not enough meat for the mess, IMO) and neither is DH but we have friends who love 'em. They would be perfect to take to a Xmas party potluck that we've got on deck for this coming week. I had a couple of other ideas lined up for apps to take (pig candy and also cheese biscuit-encrusted olives) but wings would be welcome instead I'm sure.

I'm going to make a note of your recipe just in case...

Thanks!

Kathryn

[HC in SC]

I like the Huli on bone in chicken breasts the best. I'm not a huge wing fan either, but these were pretty tasty.

[Psinderson]

Those look really good! I am making garlic/cilantro/lime wings on Christmas Eve ( just going to wing it for the marinade...ha!) but was going to do it high heat indirect, in a Vortex fashion. I will have to check out this recipe too. Thanks for the details.

[HC in SC]

So there were no wings left. The host and one other guest ate so many wings they barely ate anything else. Definitely a huge hit!

[The Burn]

I've done the Huli on chicken halves and it was good. I've been meaning to do it on wings, but I never seem to plan far enough ahead for wings to marinate them. And I'm thinking that it's a hassle to do all that turning with wings. Thinking out loud, it's going to be a good marinade for when I get a rotisserie...

@PSinderson - High indirect with the Vortex is definitely the way to go with wings. I don't have a garlic/cilantro/lime recipe, but I do have a garlic chile wing recipe from a friend, for 15 large wings: 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder (you can add more if want them hotter)

[HC in SC]

Yeah - after the last few cooks on the PBC the babysitting or turning and basting was kind of a pain, but since they were just wings that cooked rather quickly it was worth it.

Our favorite is the Huli on bone-in split breasts using the 2-zone method on the gasser at appx 225-250 for 1.5 - 2 hours with a little of the Stubb's wood chip mix (Hickory, oak and apple) in the metal smoker box. DEEEEE-LICIOUSNESS!!!

[VonTexan]

Haven't tried Huli-Huli but it sounds great! Could I slow smoke, with or without chips, then take to party and finish them on gas grill, w marinade? Wanting to keep as fresh and moist as possible. Thoughts?

[Spinaker]

I would not use the marinade you soaked them chicken in. Rather, when you are making the marinade set some aside for bating purposes. Again, I would cook them the whole way on the gasser, at the party.

[Spinaker]

Man HC was a good dude! I miss having him around! This is a great recipe and a great write up. Thanks for bumping this up VonTexan

[Willy]

Huli huli is extra easy and extra tasty with a rotisserie set-up--just use a basket accessory. No flipping required.

An example of a basket: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PNO2YHU...a-349187111449

[MBMorgan]

Huli huli is extra easy and extra tasty with a rotisserie set-up

Exactly! In fact, I now do huli-huli whole chickens on my gasser rotisserie (grates removed) ... over a foil lined drip pan to greatly simplify cleanup. At first I did them (thighs usually) indirect on the grill grate (as pictured below) but cleanup was a total nightmare. It took about three days of scraping, scrubbing, and even steam-cleaning the poor Weber before I could use it again. The thighs were delicious ... but not worth the effort due to cleanup woes.



FWIW, I always use mesquite wood smoke for huli-huli chicken because it closely approximates the mesquite-like wood used (and only found) in Hawaii.

[Willy]

I almost exclusively use thighs only anymore--for any chicken dish. Whole bird rotisserie is also good, though, especially Thanksgiving turkey.

[VonTexan]

This is what I went for tomorrow, but I have a big picture question. I am following the above advice, original post, by HC and have had the wings marinading all day. According to a lot I see/read by Meathead onlybsalt penetrates meat. So is a non-rub, wet marinade like Huli-Huli worth soaking meat in beforehand?

[Thunder77]

VonTexan, somewhere in the article, Meathead calls Huli Huli a sort of "brinerade", a cross between brine and marinade, because of the salt in the soy sauce, some flavor does penetrate.

[Spinaker]

I am going to give this a run on Friday night.

[(Mike S.)]

Talking mostly about Huli-Huli chicken in the form of chicken breast, and maybe wings, what about cooking it first with Sous Vide? And then searing on the Weber Kettle?

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL