Smoked Chicken Wings

Smoked Chicken Wings, did you even watch the big game if you don’t use your sauced up orange hands to reach for an ice cold beer?

Chicken wings are versatile, easy to make and can be prepared in many different ways. One of the most delicious and flavorful ways to prepare chicken wings is by smoking them. Smoking chicken wings adds an extra layer of flavor that you just can’t get from any other cooking method. The combination of juicy, tender meat and a smoky, crispy skin is sure to satisfy any craving. Whether you’re a seasoned pit master or a beginner smoker, this recipe will guide you through the process of making the best smoked chicken wings you’ve ever had.

Ingredients

The price of chicken wings has fallen from it’s bird flue/pandemic high, but they’re still priced well above the days of 10 or 25 cents wing nights. You should be able to find everything at your local grocer. If you can’t find a chipotle dry rub, I suggest using my recipe that is linked below.

• 2 Lbs of Chicken Wing Sections
• 1/4 Cup Chipotle Dry Rub
• 2 Ribs of Celery
• 2 Carrots
• 1/2 Stick of Butter
• 1/2 Cup of Franks Red Hot
• 1 Tbsp of Barbeque Sauce
• 1 Tbsp of Cajun seasoning

How to make Smoked Chicken Wings

Making smoked chicken wings is a breeze and this recipe will walk you through all the steps. If you don’t have a smoker, see the section below titled “Variations on Smoked Wings” to make them on a grill or in an oven.

Smoke the Wings

First things first, prep your wings. If you are working with frozen wings, defrost them. If you are working with fresh wings, get them out of their packaging. But most importantly, check them over to make sure there are no feathers or other odd bits adhered to your wings.

Next, make some room in your fridge, then make your dry rub. (if you’re using my recipe) You want to dry rub your wings well before you smoke them, so plan ahead and dust your wings with a very generous amount of dry rub 12 to 24 hours before you plan to cook them.

Once your rub has set, it’s time to fire up your smoker. I cook my wings at 225, but you can go higher if you are strapped for time or are using a pellet grill. Once your smoker has reached 225 degrees F, its time to place your wings in a single layer on the grill grates. Make sure none of the wings are touching and absolutely do not stack them on top of each other. If your wings are too close or stacked you will get uneven cooking.

Let your wings smoke with as little disturbance as possible. Once your wings have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees they are safe to eat, but the temperature you want to smoke your wings to is 205 degrees F internal. At 205 the fat in the wings will start to render and this is where the real magic of smoking happens. A temperature probe will help you keep an eye on things and don’t worry if the skins don’t look crispy, we’re going to take care of that in the next step.

Crisp the skins

Once you’ve smoked your wings to 205 degrees F. Either Preheat your oven to 425 Degrees, or set your grill on high and let it get hot. In this step we are not cooking, we are just crisping the skins. Move your wings to a baking sheet with a wire rack and bake them for about 5 minutes. You will be able to hear those skins sizzling with the door shut. If you are working with a grill, crisp the skins over high heat for about 30 seconds per side. Work in batches if you don’t have enough room to do everything in one run.

Sauce your Smoked Chicken Wings

Now its time for the sauce! I use a simple buffalo style sauce on these wings. Mix the ingredients together in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, mix everything together and remove it from the heat. You do not want to cook your sauce too long of the butter will separate and you will have to start your sauce over. Now, paint the sauce onto your wings using a basting brush. You can shake them in sauce if you want, but I find that technique to be way too saucy and leads to soggy wings.

All that’s left now is to enjoy!

Variations

There is no wrong way to eat a wing and the possibilities are endless. You can feel free to get wild with your sauces and rubs, just hold on to a couple key points: Cook your wings to 205 degrees, Crisp your skins second, Brush on your sauce.

So you want to grill you wings? just do your best to cook them under indirect heat. If you are using an oven to cook yours wings, set your oven to 225 and let it rip. If you are using an oven you will miss out on some smoke flavor, but don’t worry about it, these will still be great. You might be tempted to put a dash of liquid smoke in your sauce to compensate, but do us both a favor and throw that bottle in the trash.