Recipes & Guides

Smoked Thai Chili Wings with Sriracha Honey Glaze

Name: Smoked Thai Chili Wings with Sriracha Honey Glaze
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 3-4
Cuisine: BBQ
Ingredients: Grab the featured sauce and rub combo in our “Be My Wingman” Grill Box; 3-4 oz Honey Garlic Sriracha Rub by Ninjacue; 1 bottle Melinda's Thai Sweet Chili Sauce; 24-36 chicken wings (flats and drums separated); 1/4 stick butter; Fresh cilantro; Sesame seeds; Lime wedges; Charcoal or pellets to run the smoker at 275°F.; Suggested smoking wood chunks: Cherry. 2 to 3 fist-sized chunks on a charcoal, kamado, or drum smoker. Almond blend pellets on a pellet grill. 1 to 2 cups of cherry chips in a smoke box on a gas grill. Apple or pecan are the substitutes if you are out of cherry.NOTE: See the Pro Tip at the end of this recipe for more information on smoking wood for this cook.; Fruitwood 2-Pack: Cherry + Pecan (bundle and save $15 - free US shipping); Cherry Chunks; Cherry Wood Chips; 100% Almond Wood Pellets by Knotty Wood

Recipes

Aug 20, 2026

Most wing nights run the same playbook. Buffalo, ranch, celery, done. This weekend we are pointing the smoker somewhere else entirely with the Smoked Thai Chili Wings with Sriracha Honey Glaze from the Be My Wingman Grill Box. Sweet, sticky, a little tangy, with real smoke underneath it. If you have people over who think they already know what a chicken wing tastes like, this is the cook that resets them.

It works because the rub and the sauce hit from opposite directions. Ninjacue's Honey Garlic Sriracha Rub goes on dry and builds a sweet-heat crust over 275°F smoke, honey and garlic up front with a sriracha kick sitting behind it. Then Melinda's Thai Sweet Chili Sauce gets melted down with a quarter stick of butter right on the smoker and becomes the glaze. Melinda's is a mild 1 out of 5 on heat, so it is not fighting the rub for attention. It is there to bring the piquant, zingy sweetness and the lacquered finish, and the butter is what makes it cling instead of run off.

Two things carry this cook. First, perforate the skins with a needle-style tenderizer, a sharp fork, or a skewer before the rub goes on. It gives rendering fat a way out, and that is most of the crispiness battle on a smoked wing. Second, take them to an internal temperature of 190 to 195°F rather than pulling at 165°F. Wings are dark meat full of connective tissue, and that last stretch is what turns them tender instead of chewy. Toss them in the glaze the moment they come off, while the skin is still hot enough to grab it, then finish with cilantro, sesame seeds, and a squeeze of lime. The lime is not garnish for the photo. It cuts the sweetness and makes the second wing taste as good as the first.

Everything this recipe calls for ships in one box. The Be My Wingman Grill Box has the Ninjacue rub and Melinda's Thai Sweet Chili for this smoked build, plus Rufus Teague Chick N' Rub and Kinder's Buttery Buffalo for a second grilled wing recipe if you want to run both flavor profiles back to back. Both recipes come printed on the postcard inside, and our 8.5 inch silicone mop brush is in there for glazing. It is a limited release and stock is running low, so grab it while it is still up.

Get the Be My Wingman Grill Box 👉

Smoked Thai Chili Wings with Sriracha Honey Glaze

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

BBQ

Servings

3-4

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Smoky wings meet bold Thai flavor. Ninjacue's Honey Garlic Sriracha Rub builds a sweet-heat crust, and Melinda's Thai Sweet Chili Sauce glazes it all with a sticky, tangy finish. These wings will disappear before they hit the table.

Author:

Gary - Grill Masters Club

Image of Smoked Thai Chili Wings with Sriracha Honey Glaze

Ingredients

Grab the featured sauce and rub combo in our “Be My Wingman” Grill Box
3-4 oz Honey Garlic Sriracha Rub by Ninjacue
1 bottle Melinda's Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
24-36 chicken wings (flats and drums separated)
1/4 stick butter
Fresh cilantro
Sesame seeds
Lime wedges

BBQ Fuel Options

Charcoal or pellets to run the smoker at 275°F.
Suggested smoking wood chunks: Cherry. 2 to 3 fist-sized chunks on a charcoal, kamado, or drum smoker. Almond blend pellets on a pellet grill. 1 to 2 cups of cherry chips in a smoke box on a gas grill. Apple or pecan are the substitutes if you are out of cherry.

NOTE: See the Pro Tip at the end of this recipe for more information on smoking wood for this cook.
Fruitwood 2-Pack: Cherry + Pecan (bundle and save $15 - free US shipping)
Cherry Chunks
Cherry Wood Chips
100% Almond Wood Pellets by Knotty Wood

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Directions

Preheat your smoker to 275°F and get your wood going. On charcoal, kamado, or drum, bury two or three fist-sized cherry chunks in the lit coals. On a pellet grill, fill the hopper with Almond Wood Pellets by Knotty Wood or a fruitwood of your choosing. On a gas grill, load a smoke box with cherry chips and set it directly over a lit burner, since chips will not smolder without direct heat under them.
Prepare the wings: if you have not already sectioned the wings, separate the flats from the drums.
Pat dry with a paper towel. Perforate the skins of the wings using a needle-style meat tenderizer, sharp fork, or skewer. This step is optional, but it helps deliver a crispy wing.
Season the wings generously with Honey Garlic Sriracha Rub by Ninjacue and let rest 10 minutes while your smoker comes to temp.
Wait for thin blue smoke before the wings go on. Thick white smoke means the wood is smoldering badly and it will leave an acrid taste on the skin. Once the smoke runs clean, place the wings onto your smoker and smoke for 30 minutes. Two or three cherry chunks will carry the full hour, so you should not need to add more wood.
After 30 minutes, flip the wings and continue smoking until they hit an internal temperature of 190-195°F (approximately 30-45 minutes).
While the wings are in the last 10-15 minutes of smoking, prepare your glaze. Add 1/4 stick of butter and 1/2 bottle of Melinda's Thai Sweet Chili Sauce to a foil pan and place it on your smoker. Allow to combine for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the wings have hit 190-195°F, remove them from the smoker and add to a bowl. Toss with the Thai chili glaze.
Garnish with fresh cilantro, sesame seeds, and a squeeze of lime. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Note

On the wood: Cherry is the right call for wings and it is not close. It is mild enough to sit behind the honey garlic sriracha rub instead of stepping on it, and it darkens the skin to a deep mahogany, which is exactly what you want under a glossy chili glaze. Apple is even more forgiving. Pecan adds a little nuttiness without taking over. Skip hickory and mesquite here. Both are excellent on pork and beef, but on a bird this small they turn sharp and bitter well before the wings are done. Our Fruitwood 2-Pack of cherry and pecan chunks covers this cook and most others, and our complete guide to the best wood for smoking has the full breakdown by protein.