These Korean-style chicken wings glazed in a gochujang glaze and fired over oakwood for the perfect blend of spice and smoke.

These smoked gochujang wings really up the ante by first infusing the chicken with a smoky flavor before then adding a punchy Korean-style sauce. The gentle bitterness from the smoke pairs perfectly with the spicy sweetness of gochujang, a fermented chili paste that’s a favorite in Korean cuisine.

Made from red chili powder, glutinous rice, and fermented soybeans, gochujang has a complex sweet, spicy, and umami flavor unlike any other. Thanks to its complex flavor and sticky consistency, it’s the perfect sauce to coat crisp, smoked chicken wings.

Ingredients

This recipe comprises three main elements that really make the dish pop:

Chicken Wings

Chicken wings are typically divided into two sections: the drumette and the flat. The drumette is the meatier section that resembles a mini chicken drumstick, with a single bone running through the middle. The flat (or wingette) contains two thin bones, slivers of tender meat, and crispy skin. We like to use a mixture of both so there’s something for everyone.

Korean-Style Dry Rub

This recipe’s dry rub base features gochugaru, a Korean chili powder known for its vibrant red color and spicy taste. It’s mixed with paprika, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Gochujang Glaze

A condiment used widely throughout Korean cuisine, gochujang provides the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and spicy flavors for our chicken wing glaze. To create the sticky sauce, you’ll heat butter, gochujang, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and ginger.

How to Smoke Gochujang Chicken Wings

These Korean chicken wings pack a punch of flavor thanks to the two-step cooking process of first smoking and then finishing them with a quick sear.

1. Prep

Pat the chicken wings with paper towels before applying a thin layer of olive oil to the skin. Having the wings be as dry as possible will help the skin crisp later, while the olive oil will act as a binder for the dry rub later.

2. Rub

Combine the ingredients for the Korean gochugaru dry rub, using a fork to crush any lumps that form. Coat the wings generously with the rub, covering all sides.

3. Smoke

Fire up your smoker to 250°F (120°C) and lightly coat the grates with oil (either canola or vegetable oil works best here). Once your smoker is at temperature, smoke the seasoned wings to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). This should take about one to one-and-a-half hours.

4. Grill

Once the smoking phase is complete, cook the wings on a grill set to high heat for just a minute per side to give them a crispy char to finish. Rather than go to the effort of firing up a grill for a short cook, I tend to just give the wings a quick sear over the lit wood in my smoker’s firebox.

5. Sauce

While the wings are smoking, make the sauce by mixing gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, fresh garlic, and ginger. Cook the mixture in a saucepan over medium heat until it thickens so and becomes glossy. This will help take away some of the harshness in the raw ingredients (like garlic) and also help it cling to the wings better.

6. Toss

Finally, toss the wings in the sticky, sweet sauce and finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped green onion—this is best done in a large bowl so you can shake and flip them to coat fully.

Times & Temperatures

The wings cook at a low temperature of 250°F (121°C), so it will take approximately 1-1½ hours until they’re cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).

The chicken wings are finished on the grill over high heat (450°F/232°C) to add a little char to the outside, deepening the flavor further and helping to crisp the skin.

Quick Tips

To prevent the wings from sticking, thoroughly clean your smoker’s grates before cooking and coat them lightly with vegetable oil. Do this on your grill’s grates, too.
Want more spice? Add gochugaru to the sauce as well as the gochujang, or finish the wings with a drizzle of chili oil.
We like to use maple, apple, or cherry wood to smoke these wings. Each will give a slight sweetness without overwhelming the chicken’s natural flavor.