Huli Huli Chicken Wings
It’s September and that means football season, tailgating and wings! This recipe for Huli Huli Chicken Wings is sure to please the pickiest of eaters at your game day watching parties!
Huli Huli Chicken has been around since the mid-50’s when a guy named Ernest Morgado of Pacific Poultry grilled up his mama’s special chicken recipe of poultry marinated in a teriyaki-style sauce, stuck between two grills, and “turned” from side to side to grill it to charred perfection. Huli means turn in Hawaiian.
Apparently I am still on a Hawaiian kick, having just gone to that luau with Mr. Wonderful’s family and going nuts over the Musubi and making it (click here for THAT recipe)! I mean, seriously, how can Hawaiian food be bad?
Oh wait, there IS poi….so never mind.
It’s a pretty simple recipe to conquer. You just whip up a marinade, reserve half for marinating the chicken wings, and reduce the other half in a small pan on the stove to use as the glaze.
Oh and just for fun, it’s good to grill some fresh pineapple along side to go with it. It just seems you know…Hawaiian I guess?
The result is charred and sticky goodness that served along with that grilled pineapple, is a finger licking game day recipe of perfection.
- 3-4 lb. chicken wings and drumettes
- 1 medium ripe pineapple cut into long wedges
- 1 c. pineapple juice
- ½ c soy sauce
- ⅓ c. ketchup
- ½ c. honey
- 1 T. sesame oil
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger root, grated (about 2 t.)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 T. garlic chile crunch *See note or Sriracha
- ½ medium lemon, juiced
- 2 green onions, sliced thinly for garnish
- Mix pineapple juice, soy, ketchup, honey, sesame oil, ginger root, garlic, garlic chile crunch or srirachi and lemon juice with whisk to stir well. Divide in half
- Pour half over chicken wings and drumettes in gallon freezer bag and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight. Reserve other half of liquid mixture for glaze.
- Preheat charcoal or gas grill to medium heat
- Put reserved glaze in small sauce and heat until it barely simmers - about 5 minutes or until it thickens by half.
- Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
- Cut pineapple into wedges
- Grill chicken, flipping after 2-3 minutes then another 2-3 minutes until wings are cooked.
- Grill pineapple to create grill marks on both sides
- Brush chicken and pineapple with glaze, flip all to the other side and brush again.
- Remove to platter and sprinkle with green onions to serve.
