General Tso’s Wings Recipe
General Tso’s Wings are excellent on the smoker, and wings are the perfect foundation for experimenting with different types of flavor. For this recipe I’m using Asian style ingredients to mimic one of my favorite Chinese takeout dishes – General Tso’s Chicken. This is sauce is sticky, sweet, and has just enough heat to know you’re eating something spicy. I start with a family pack of whole chicken wings (you can use individual pieces of flats and drums as well). To season the wings I use a foundation of Salt, Pepper, and Garlic (1/2 cup Killer Hogs AP Rub works great here) mixed with 2 Tablespoons of Chinese 5 Spice seasoning and 2 teaspoons of crushed Red Pepper. Combine these ingredients and evenly sprinkle over all sides of the wings. I’m firing up my Yoder pellet grill for these General Tso’s Wings cook running Cherry BBQr’s Delight pellets for fuel/smoke.
Set the grill temp for 300⁰ for wings to get the skin just right. You can use any type grill/smoker for this cook just hold the temp steady at 300⁰ and throw on a few chunks of cherry wood for smoke flavor.
Once the grill is up to temp, place the wings on the cooking rack and cook for 45 minutes. Flip the wings over and continue to cook for another 25 minutes and glaze with the wing sauce.
General Tso’s Wing Sauce:
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Hoisin Sauce
- ½ cup Rice Vinegar
- ½ cup Water
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet Chili Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper
- ½ Tablespoon Garlic Chili Paste
- 2 Tablespoons Green Onion chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger minced
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
Glaze the wings with the General Tso’s Sauce on both sides and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce caramelizes on the wings.
Remove from the smoker and garnish with a little Sesame Seeds and sliced green onion.
If you’re a fan of Asian flavors, you’ll love this sauce on these General Tso’s Wings . The soy and hoisin give it a savory flavor but it’s also sweet and spicy.
It’s excellent on wings but you can use this sauce on just about any meat. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
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General Tso’s Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 3lbs Whole Chicken Wings
- ½ cup Killer Hogs AP Rub
- 2 Tablespoons Chinese 5 Spice
- 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper
- 16oz General Tso’s Sauce* recipe to follow
General Tso’s Sauce
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Hoisin Sauce
- ½ cup Rice Vinegar
- ½ cup Water
- 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Sweet Chili Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper
- ½ Tablespoon Garlic Chili Paste
- 2 Tablespoons Green Onion chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger minced
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Water
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
- Directions:
- 1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil in a small sauce pot over medium heat; sauté garlic, ginger, and green onion for 1–2 minutes.
- 2. Add the Soy Sauce, Hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, water, and brown sugar. Stir to combine
- 3. Stir in the sweet chili sauce, garlic chili paste, and crushed red pepper. Continue cooking until mixture reaches a slight boil.
- 4. In a separate bowl combine the cornstarch and cold water. Slowly add the slurry to the sauce pot while stirring. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat. Pour the sauce into a jar and allow to cool.
Instructions
- Prepare Yoder Smoker or other grill for indirect cooking at a temperature of 300⁰. Use cherry pellets for wood smoke (cherry wood chunks if other type grill/smoker is used).
- Combine Killer Hogs AP Rub with Chinese 5 Spice and Crushed Red Pepper; coat both sides of the chicken wings with this mixture.
- Place wings on the grill and smoke for 45 minutes then turn each wing over to evenly cook both sides.
- After 1 hour 10 minutes glaze each wing with General Tso’s Sauce on both sides and continue to cook until wings are tender. Internal temperature should be at least 165⁰ and juice should run clear. Total Cook time about 1:20 minutes.
- Arrange the wings on a large platter and garnish with Sesame Seeds and chopped green onion before serving.
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Good afternoon,
I think you have the best videos on Youtube. I enjoy your no nonsense, no arrogance way of explaining yourself. It is great that you and your wife do this together. Your cooks are awesome. Take care, I just wanted to let you know I appreciate what you do.
Appreciate it! We like making the videos, so it’s always nice when folks enjoy watching them
I want to second what the Prince Denson said. I also appreciate your honest, no ego, no BS approach to the way you do your videos. I appreciate your love of quality food and clear instructions. I don’t have a fancy smoker, but love good food. Your recipes are great as I have tried a few, especially the ribs on a gas grill and the chicken wings – the ones with the corn starch or without. I haven’t tried The General yet, but I will, as I love Asian food – it would be good for legs too. I live in Vancouver, Canada, but was able to get one of those Dexter Russel boning knives you use and man is it great – sharp and stiff, just the way I like ’em. Also, I have some friends in the Southern US and they are great people. Keep up the great work – you are an inspiration!!
I really enjoy watching your videos. Still getting use to the new web page. I recently bought a Traeger grill and plan on doing a lot of grilling. Your videos have given me the grilling itch. How do you set up a pellet grill for two zone cooking? Again, I want to thank you for your fantastic web site you certainly make me feel confident that I can achieve great success.
Don’t really set a pellet smoker up for two-zone. You can have it low and then turn it up to a higher temp for searing if that is what you want to do.
The General Tso sauce was great. I followed your recipe with the exception of two things. I subbed Chipotle chili powder for crushed red pepper. I also used legs instead of wings. They turned out great.
I made another batch of your General Tso wings this past weekend for a party and everyone loved them as usual. I made extra sauce with the intention of storing it for future use, how long would you think it will keep safely in the refrigerator?
On a side note, i am going to be in the Collierville, TN area right outside Memphis this coming weekend. Do any retail stores (Kroger, Walmart, etc) carry your rubs & sauces?
It would be good for at least 2 weeks in the fridge.
And we do have a few retailers in the area – Memphis BBQ Supply is probably closest to you.
https://h2qshop.com/pages/retailers
I used Chicken Thighs instead (boneless) and they turned out amazing. The sauce is excellent. Plenty of sauce to reserve and use on rice or riced cauliflower.
Thanks!
I gave this recipe a try last night on my Memphis pellet grill with excellent results. The sauce had a great aroma and the sweet heat really set it off. Definitely restaurant quality.
I’ve tried many of your recipes, always with fantastic results. The whole beef tenderloin and whole smoked chicken at Thanksgiving were huge hits. I also appreciate the tips you provide as you go through the steps in each recipe. I’ve recommended your website to many friends.
Malcom,
Your General Tso’s Chicken Wing Recipe is the bomb! Big hit with the Wife. My smoker enthusiast buddies at work had to have the recipe when I gave out some samples. Your’e my secret weapon when I need a go-to dish for my Grilla OG smoker. They always impress! Thanks!
Love your recipes! We are huge wing eaters here, My next cook is Voodo and General Tso wings. I am not familiar with sweet chili sauce and I also try to follow your recipes to a T. So, what brand of Sweet Chili sauce to you use? I tried to catch it on the video but all I saw what appeared to be a yellow color label at the bottle neck lol. Is it Maggie’s? Thanks
Correct. Maggies is one of the best along side Franks Red hot!