BBQ chicken wings with a cherry glaze
- Prep1 hr 5 min
- Cook37 min
- Total1 hr 42 min
- Serves3–4
- DifficultyEasy
- Temperature130°C (265°F) dome indirect, then direct over live coals
I’d reduced the syrup from two tins of cherries down for a clafoutis a few days earlier, and about 100ml of it was still in the fridge, gone thick. It went into a pan with soy sauce and cider vinegar, I reduced it a little, then took it off the heat and whisked in a big knob of butter. I had about ten big chicken wings, salted and air-dried for an hour, and they went on the kamado indirect at 130°C (265°F) until they read 88°C, then into the glaze and back over open coals for about three minutes, turning.
Ingredients
- About ten big chicken wingsMine were 782g from Bevan's.
- Salt
- About 100ml of reduced cherry syrupThe syrup from two tins of cherries, reduced down until it has gone thick.
- About 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
- About 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar
- About 50g of butter
Equipment
- A barbecue you can run indirect and then switch to direct partway through.I cook on my Big Green Egg Large with the ConvEGGtor (ceramic deflector) in for the first stage and out for the second. Any kamado or kettle you can set up both ways will do the same job.
- A pan for the glaze.
- A bowl big enough to toss the wings in.
- An instant-read thermometer.Mine is a ThermoPro.
Method
- Reduce the cherry syrup the day before
- Salt the wings and leave them to air-dry for about an hour
- Get the fire going with the deflector in and settle it at 130°C (265°F)
- Wings on, indirect, until they read 88°C
- Make the glaze while the wings are on
- Wings off, and the deflector out
- Toss them through the glaze
- Back over the coals, turning
- Off, back into the glaze, then about twenty seconds more over the coals
Key takeaways
- You do not need a leftover to make this. Mine came off a clafoutis I had cooked a few days earlier, but the syrup from a couple of tins of cherries, reduced down on the hob and left to cool, is the same thing. Nearly any fruit reduction will do the job.
- It is two stages, and the deflector comes out for the second one. The wings go on indirect to get up to temperature, then straight over open coals once the glaze is on. You need a barbecue you can switch from indirect to direct partway through.
- Salt and an hour of air-drying is all the skin needs. No baking powder went anywhere near these. They were still pale when they came off the indirect stage, and it was the few minutes over the coals that crisped them.
- The glaze is the part you have to watch. It can burn very quickly. Mine had about three minutes over the coals on the first coat and came off just catching. A minute a side is plenty.
- This BBQ wings recipe makes far more glaze than about ten wings need. There was a good bit left in the bowl. It would have glazed about three times as many.
The cook
- Reduce the cherry syrup the day before. Mine was the syrup from two tins of cherries, left over from a clafoutis, reduced down on the hob until it had gone thick. That gave me about 100ml, and it was cold out of the fridge by the time it went into the glaze.
- Salt the wings and leave them to air-dry for about an hour. About ten big ones, out on a tray, a sprinkle of salt over them, and left alone. No baking powder.
- Get the fire going with the deflector in and settle it at 130°C (265°F). Standard grid height. There was no drip tray and no foil on this cook, so the deflector sat bare under the grate.
- Wings on, indirect, until they read 88°C. Mine went on just after half six and read 88°C on an instant-read twenty-five minutes later. They then sat there another eight minutes while real life got in the way, so the whole indirect leg was nearer thirty-three minutes than twenty-five.
- Make the glaze while the wings are on. The cold reduction goes into a pan with the soy and the cider vinegar and cooks down together for a few minutes. Then off the heat, and the butter whisked in. That is what a monté is, and it needs to be off the heat.
- Wings off, and the deflector out. They come off to be glazed, and the deflector comes out so the next stage is straight over live coals.
- Toss them through the glaze. In a bowl, off the heat, until they are coated.
- Back over the coals, turning. Mine had about three minutes on this first coat, and it can burn very quickly. They came off just starting to catch.
- Off, back into the glaze, then about twenty seconds more over the coals. That is the second coat. Then straight onto a plate.
What to serve them with
I ate these on my own on a weeknight, and the rest went in the fridge and got eaten over the next couple of days.
What I learned
The glaze can burn very quickly and I just about got there in time. Three minutes over the coals on the first coat is more than it needs. Next time I would go a minute a side, glaze them again, then another minute a side, and watch them the whole way rather than leaving them.
Variations
Use whatever fruit reduction you have. The cherry came from a clafoutis I had made a few days before, and I thought it would be interesting to use it up. Nearly any fruit reduction will do the same job.
On a kettle. Coals banked to one side to get the wings up to temperature, then straight over them once the glaze is on. I have not done these on a kettle myself, so that is what should work rather than what I have done.
Related
- Big Green Egg Large review — the unit this was cooked on.
- Cherry clafoutis on a kamado — where the cherry syrup came from.
- Smoked sausages on a kamado — another quick direct cook on the same kit.
FAQ
Do you need baking powder to crisp the skin?
No. These had salt and about an hour of air-drying on a tray and nothing else. They were still pale coming off the indirect stage, and it was the few minutes over the coals that crisped them.
What temperature do you take chicken wings to?
Mine read 88°C on an instant-read after about twenty-five minutes indirect. That is the last reading I took. They went back over the coals for the glaze after that and I did not probe them again.
Can you make the cherry reduction from scratch?
Yes. It is the syrup from two tins of cherries, reduced down on the hob until it has gone thick. Mine was left over from a clafoutis, but there is nothing special about where it came from. I reduced mine the day before, so it went into the pan cold, and that is the easier way to do it.
Does the glaze burn?
It can, very quickly. Mine had about three minutes over live coals on the first coat and came off just starting to catch. A minute a side is plenty. The second coat went back on for about twenty seconds and that was enough.
How long do you BBQ chicken wings for?
Mine read 88°C after twenty-five minutes indirect at 130°C (265°F), then sat there another eight minutes. After that they had about three minutes over the coals with the glaze on.
Disclosure and provenance
This recipe comes from a single cook on my own Big Green Egg Large on Friday 28 August 2026. The BGE Large was a Christmas 2025 gift from my sister, originally supplied to her by Big Green Egg as part of a paid content partnership that has since ended. I own the unit outright. Smoke and Lump has no commercial relationship with Big Green Egg, and no commission, payment, or other consideration was received in connection with this recipe.
Sourced from the 28 August 2026 cook log — chicken wings on the Big Green Egg Large, glazed with the reduced cherry syrup left over from a clafoutis three days earlier.