OT: Smoking Chicken Wings

SirBarksalot

Junior
May 28, 2007
2,996
284
83
Anyone got a good recipe? This will be on a Weber Smokey Mtn.
Looking around, it’s all over the board.

Would like the final product to be somewhat crispy. Smoke then put directly over the coals to crisp? Just go high heat, no pan?
brine?
 
Nov 16, 2005
29,397
24,634
113
I know a lot of people that smoke them and then slap them in the oven on broil for a few minutes to crisp them up.
 

The Fatboy

Senior
Oct 18, 2005
2,782
744
83
Local place here smoked theirs and then flash fried for a minute or two to get the crispy. Hella good.
 

PBRME

All-American
Feb 12, 2004
11,416
5,525
113
I’ve tried low temp then high temp, and they still come out rubbery. Baking powder supposedly helps them crisp up.

I stick with 375 the whole cook now.

Eta Dawgbite below is right. It’s corn starch not baking powder.
 
Last edited:
Sep 21, 2017
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Another vote for 375 for about an hour if frying is out of the question. Just use a lot of smoke to get the low and slow flavor but at 375 the skin comes out nice and crisp.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,575
16,400
113
I fully disagree with the "lot of smoke". It doesn't take much for tiny wings to get a smoky flavor. They'll end up bitter with too much smoke.
 

msudawg12

Senior
Dec 9, 2008
3,967
714
113
I have tried a few hundred ways. If you dont fry at the end, they wont get crispy.

But I try not to fry so I just take them the way they are and try to get some crisp directly over high grill heat at the end
 

Dawgbite

Heisman
Nov 1, 2011
9,953
11,417
113
To get crispy wings on the grill without a final flash fry is all in the prep. Thaw you wings and dry them as much as possible. Pat each wing with a paper towel or line a cookie sheet with paper towels and spread the wings out on it to drip dry. Put the pan in the fridge with them spread out. Next, toss the wings in corn starch, don’t need much, just a fine coat. This drys out the skin. Next, season with dry rub Of your choice. Smoke indirect at 225-250 until done. If they still aren’t crispy enough then you can increase temp and throw them back on for a minute direct.
 

Polygonal

Redshirt
Sep 29, 2014
70
23
8
Amazing Smoked Chicken Wings

Prep time: 0:15
Total time: 2:45
Categories:
Source: dontsweattherecipe.com


Ingredients

• 6 LBS Chicken Wings
Rub
• 2 Tablespoon Olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 3 teaspoons Fresh Ground Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne


Directions

Separate wings into drumettes and wings, if necessary.
Pat wings dry.
Combine spices to form the rub.
Place wings in a container, add and mix rub over chicken.
Let wings rest for at least an hour.
Heat the smoker or grill to a temperature between 235 F.
Place wings over indirect heat.
Add wood for the smoke to coals.
Smoke for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, maintaining a constant smoke for at least 1 1/2 hours, the chicken should have an internal temperature of 160.
If using grill, place directly over coals to crisp, approximately 5 minutes each side. (I use a smoker and skip this step…still amazing wings)
Remove from heat and let rest for approximately 10 minutes.
Serve
 

dorndawg

Heisman
Sep 10, 2012
9,390
10,783
113
Only thing I'd change here, is I like to smoke a whole wing - seems like it gives you a little more room for error if you go to long. The tips get burned kinda but nobody is eating those anyhow.
 

Seinfeld

All-American
Nov 30, 2006
11,663
7,931
113
Baking powder is actually just a mixture that has corn starch in it, so it allegedly works too. That said, I keep hearing that you have to be careful with both because they can add a weird flavor to the wings if you go overboard.

Who knows... I’m giving these a shot tomorrow too, so I’ll let y’all know how it all turns out
 

johnson86-1

All-American
Aug 22, 2012
15,208
5,752
113
I fully disagree with the "lot of smoke". It doesn't take much for tiny wings to get a smoky flavor. They'll end up bitter with too much smoke.
IF you're getting a bitter flavor the problem is with your smoke I think. It's a challenge with a lot of lump charcoal, especially if it's cheaper. I usually have to get mine hot and bring it back down for it to go from a grey smoke that leaves an acrid taste to more or less clear smoke that leaves a good flavor. It's a pain because with the egg, it can end up taking an extra 30 minutes to get it hot enough for the smoke to be right and then get the temp back down low enough to smoke.
 

Uncle Ruckus

All-American
Apr 1, 2011
15,343
6,734
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invest in a deep fryer. heavy smoke. fry in peanut oil. oil dilutes the smoke flavor. impossible to get that super crispy skin without frying, even with corn starch. otherwise, cook at a high temp to get the skin as crispy as you can with a smoker. even searing over hot coals won't crisp it up enough.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,575
16,400
113
I'm fully aware. Yellow smoke = bad. White smoke = good. I cooked on a BGE for years. I still say too much smoke leaves a bitter taste on wings that have 1/2 oz of meat on them.
 

ronpolk

All-American
May 6, 2009
9,426
5,357
113
To get crispy wings on the grill without a final flash fry is all in the prep. Thaw you wings and dry them as much as possible. Pat each wing with a paper towel or line a cookie sheet with paper towels and spread the wings out on it to drip dry. Put the pan in the fridge with them spread out. Next, toss the wings in corn starch, don’t need much, just a fine coat. This drys out the skin. Next, season with dry rub Of your choice. Smoke indirect at 225-250 until done. If they still aren’t crispy enough then you can increase temp and throw them back on for a minute direct.

This. You can get the skin crispy without frying. Just make sure the chicken is dry as possible. I always let them sit in the fridge (out of the package) overnight. That usually does the trick.

But I usually grill them at least 325.
 

Russ Wheeler

Redshirt
Aug 3, 2020
2,430
0
0
Smoke them however you like. But after they are done with that process, spread the whole wing out via a wood skewer. This maximizes the amount of skin that hits the heat and gets crispy. Put on direct heat until you like the way they look. Then sauce them however you like.

Your choice of heat. I like to do all of this on a regular Weber circle grill. Smoke them in the middle with the coals on the side, then move the coals to the middle for the direct part.
 
Last edited:
Sep 21, 2017
975
760
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I'm fully aware. Yellow smoke = bad. White smoke = good. I cooked on a BGE for years. I still say too much smoke leaves a bitter taste on wings that have 1/2 oz of meat on them.


Have you ever done a high temp burn off on your BGE and what hardwood are you using for smoke?

For chickien wings at 375 for about 45 - 60 min, I load up my kamado joe with mesquite chunks and quality lump charcoal. The wings will come out with a smoke ring all the way to the bone and I have never noticed an excessive bitterness.

The only time I have had anything come out bitter is after I smoked butt without doing a burn off. If you don't regularly cook above 500 deg you may have a carbon buildup causing the bitterness.
 

SirBarksalot

Junior
May 28, 2007
2,996
284
83
Baking powder is actually just a mixture that has corn starch in it, so it allegedly works too. That said, I keep hearing that you have to be careful with both because they can add a weird flavor to the wings if you go overboard.

Who knows... I’m giving these a shot tomorrow too, so I’ll let y’all know how it all turns out
Results?
 
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