Sticky Sweet-Chilli & Harissa BBQ Wings

Name: Sticky Sweet-Chilli & Harissa BBQ Wings
Total time: 830 min
Yield: 20 kg raw bone-in wings plus marinade; weigh after cooking
Cuisine: Street-food fusion
Ingredients: Wings:; 20 kg raw chicken wings — Prepared, split and kept chilled; do not wash raw chicken.; Marinade:; 3 kg Thai sweet chilli sauce; 3 kg brown sugar; 1.5 kg harissa paste — Heat and salt vary by brand.; 800 g tomato paste; 1 L white vinegar — Record the product and its labelled acidity.; 500 g vegetable bouillon — Source quantity; confirm product strength.; 300 ml light soy sauce — Editorial product choice replacing the source’s ambiguous “savoury sauce”.; 100 ml sesame oil; 100 g ground ginger; 50 g garlic powder; 40 g whole star anise — Enclose securely in a food-safe spice bag and remove before serving.

Chicken wings marinated in a sweet, tangy glaze of sweet chilli, harissa, tomato, ginger, garlic and star anise, then oven-cooked until tender.

Time830 min plus 720 min restLevelSee methodMakes20 kg raw bone-in wings plus marinade; weigh after cooking

Illustrative photo: Sticky honey-garlic chicken wings, used as a serving illustration. The photographed sauce differs from this sweet-chilli and harissa glaze; sesame seeds shown are an additional garnish. Photo by Debbie Tingzon, licensed under CC BY 2.0. View source. This image illustrates the dish; it is not a photo of a kitchen-tested version of this recipe.

Behind the plate

Batch: Commercial batch.

Equipment: Food-grade marinating tubs, Several shallow roasting trays, Food thermometer, Small spice bag for star anise.

The recipe

Ingredients

Wings:
20 kg raw chicken wings — Prepared, split and kept chilled; do not wash raw chicken.
Marinade:
3 kg Thai sweet chilli sauce
3 kg brown sugar
1.5 kg harissa paste — Heat and salt vary by brand.
800 g tomato paste
1 L white vinegar — Record the product and its labelled acidity.
500 g vegetable bouillon — Source quantity; confirm product strength.
300 ml light soy sauce — Editorial product choice replacing the source’s ambiguous “savoury sauce”.

100 ml sesame oil

100 g ground ginger

50 g garlic powder

40 g whole star anise — Enclose securely in a food-safe spice bag and remove before serving.

Method

1. Trial the glaze: Start with a 10% batch before making the full 20 kg service. Confirm the salt, sweetness and heat using the exact bouillon, chilli sauce, harissa and soy sauce intended for production.
2. Mix the marinade: Whisk the sweet chilli sauce, sugar, harissa, tomato paste, vinegar, bouillon, soy, sesame oil, ginger and garlic until evenly mixed. Reserve any sauce intended for a clean finishing glaze before it contacts raw poultry.
3. Marinate chilled: Coat the wings evenly in clean food-grade tubs. Add the secured star-anise bag, cover and refrigerate at 0–5°C for about 8–12 hours, within the chicken’s use-by date. Keep the tubs away from ready-to-eat foods.
4. Arrange the trays: Preheat to 160°C conventional or approximately 140°C fan. Arrange the wings in a single layer over several trays rather than piling them deeply. Distribute the marinade across the trays.
5. Cook to temperature: Bake for roughly 60–90 minutes, turning every 20 minutes. Check several of the largest wings in different trays: each must reach 75°C near the bone without the probe touching it. Oven load and wing size determine the actual time.
6. Finish the glaze: If the wings are cooked but the sauce is loose, transfer the wings to clean trays. Bring the used cooking liquid to a thorough boil and reduce, stirring, until glossy. Return it to the cooked wings. Any raw-poultry-contact marinade must be thoroughly cooked; never use it as a cold finishing sauce.
7. Remove spices and serve: Remove and account for the star-anise bag. Serve the wings hot. A brief hotter oven finish can deepen the colour if needed, but watch carefully because the sugar can burn.

Chef’s notes

The original title called these Korean-style, but the supplied formula uses Thai sweet chilli and harissa; the revised title describes the actual ingredients.
Do not wash raw wings. Use clean utensils after cooking and check more than one tray.
Editorial review: PRODUCT CHOICE: light soy sauce is an editorial choice. The source allowed soy sauce or hoisin under a brand name; confirm which product was intended.
Editorial review: Bouillon 500 g, sugar 3 kg and harissa 1.5 kg are preserved source quantities that need a small flavour trial.
Editorial review: The original “exactly one hour means fully cooked” is replaced with temperature checks and a timing range.
Editorial review: Retitled to avoid an unsupported Korean authenticity claim; yield now distinguishes raw bone-in weight from cooked output.
Storage: Marinate at 0–5°C. Serve cooked wings immediately, hot-hold at or above 63°C, or cool rapidly in shallow portions and refrigerate within 2 hours. Reheat only once to at least 70°C throughout, following a validated business process.
Conditional allergens: Bouillon, harissa, chilli sauce and vinegar may contain celery, mustard, sulphites or other allergens. Check every product label.

At the table

Serve as a hot sharing dish or portion with slaw and the coriander yoghurt dip. Accompaniments are additional.