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In search of the perfect chicken wings. light smoke flavor w/ fried crispy crust and tossing sauce

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I'm looking for a true wing expert to show (coach) me the way to make the perfect drummy and flat chicken wings. 

My perfect is where the end result has a little bit of smoke flavor in the meat with a nice crispy fried outside. I've tried the true smoked, or the left uncovered in fridge to crisp skin, but nothing compares to a hot fry followed by a sauce toss. Let's not forget about the sauce. What sauce are the perfect wings tossed in?

My concept:

smoke, extremely low heat with cherry for about 20 minutes

pull off egg and toss in buttermilk and bread flour

fry at high temp to crisp, toss in sauce and then finish on the grill. 

Enlighten me!

Comments

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,749
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    havent done the breading but have smofried wings before
    :D you need a heavey smoke so that the frying doesnt remove all of that smoke flavor. im usually franks and butter for a sauce but last time i smofried i mixed greek yogurt with a carolina vinegar sauce and a cuban mojo sauce, they were crazy good. i smoked them at 275 for maybe an hour before a quick fry
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
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     Thank you @fishlessman. What is your frying temp?
  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    Go to $3 cafe in Atlanta
    New Albany, Ohio 

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,749
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    it would be 350 plus minus, the fry is quick because by this time theres not much moisture in the skin
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
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    I'll check that out next time i'm down there. Thank you @THEBuckeye. What flavor(s)?
  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    I usually go with the Medium. 

    They may have others a la Lemon Pepper and BBQ and that kinda thing but I go with the traditional flavor. 

    They have great steak fries too. I've actually cooked my own wings and bought their fries. There are some knock-off recipes out there ( $2.98 wings on Google) but it's not the same. 

    Non-fried wings on the Egg are a tad healthier though. 
    New Albany, Ohio 

  • Grillin_beers
    Options
    I tell you what I like when I go for fried wings on the egg without deep frying them. I modify the recipe found on dizzy pigs website for the almost fried wings. I double the amount of rub they call for. I like to do two tablespoons of a sweet rub and two tablespoons of Jamaican Fire Walk. I also season the wings with that same mix and let them sit for an hour before i cost them in breaking. Then I sit them high in the dome at 275 for 90 minutes. Afterwards i toss them in a homemade buffalo sauce or honey BBQ sauce.
    1 large BGE, Spartanburg SC

    My dog thinks I'm a grilling god. 
  • ShadowNick
    ShadowNick Posts: 533
    edited November 2014
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    Wings:  Cook indirect at about 350-400 with any seasoning of choice (I like swamp venom) and oak till almost done.  Have a skillet with hot oil ready, when you pull the wings off the egg fry them about 1.5 minutes a side, and move them to your tossing bowl.  Ladle sauce over and toss.  Alternately, rather that fry, i will sometimes baste them with honey the last 5 minutes on the egg.

    Sauce:  1 cup of Frank's Hot Original Sauce (not their premade buffalo wing stuff, thats just lazy not as good), 2/3 cup of unsalted butter (when just cooking for me, I use the cheap stuff, but if looking to impress, I use Kerrygold Grassfed.  Gives a richer flavor).  Put in pot, sprinkle in some powdered garlic and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add some cayanne if you want it a little hotter.
    ( This is pretty much the sauce I use for boneless skinless thighs at eggfests as well, and it goes over great!.)

    Pentwater, MI
  • DieselkW
    DieselkW Posts: 894
    Options
    I just bought a ten lb. bag of wings at Costco - Louisville reported whole packer prime brisket at Costco, but all they had was choice flats here in Indy so I bought wings instead.

    I like to use the same method as a reverse sear - bring the wings from defrosted up to warm over an hour or so at 250f indirect, legs down, 6" rise from a foiled plate setter. (I use half crushed aluminum cans)

    When they're nice and dry, pull the chicken, grill, & platesetter, open the vents, put the grill back and an iron frying pan with 1/4" oil and bring the egg up to 450.

    Dredge the warmed wings in a mixture of flour, salt, red pepper flakes and cracked black pepper. 

    Fill the frying pan with wings a minute or so on each side - keep going until you've fried all your wings. 

    I have a big plastic jar, with a wide mouth and a lid. (two gallons of mayo originally)  I put a cup of Franks and a half stick of melted butter in that jar, add it half full of wings, screw on the lid and shake.

    Repeat as necessary.

    Instead of Franks, I have tried red pepper flakes and a honey - soy sauce mixture which results in an Asian tasting sweet/hot wing experience that was a big hit at a summer party this year. 

    A place named "Kilroys" in Indianapolis makes peanut butter and jelly fried wings. I was told if I didn't like them they would be free, which was what it took for me to order that horrible sounding mess.

    Just like it sounds, peanut butter and jelly, warmed up and tossed with hot wings out of the fryer. Yeah, I paid for them, they were that good. (Sticky messy good)

    Indianapolis, IN

    BBQ is a celebration of culture in America. It is the closest thing we have to the wines and cheeses of Europe. 

    Drive a few hundred miles in any direction, and the experience changes dramatically. 



  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
    Options
    I tell you what I like when I go for fried wings on the egg without deep frying them. I modify the recipe found on dizzy pigs website for the almost fried wings. I double the amount of rub they call for. I like to do two tablespoons of a sweet rub and two tablespoons of Jamaican Fire Walk. I also season the wings with that same mix and let them sit for an hour before i cost them in breaking. Then I sit them high in the dome at 275 for 90 minutes. Afterwards i toss them in a homemade buffalo sauce or honey BBQ sauce.
    I'm going to have to give that a try. How do you get them high up in the dome? i turn my plate setter upside down and firebricks side ways but i have a medium and the grate can't fit much above the felt line or it won't close. I guess i could got with a smaller grate but think then i could only do a handful of wings. 
  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
    Options
    Wings:  Cook indirect at about 350-400 with any seasoning of choice (I like swamp venom) and oak till almost done.  Have a skillet with hot oil ready, when you pull the wings off the egg fry them about 1.5 minutes a side, and move them to your tossing bowl.  Ladle sauce over and toss.  Alternately, rather that fry, i will sometimes baste them with honey the last 5 minutes on the egg.

    Sauce:  1 cup of Frank's Hot Original Sauce (not their premade buffalo wing stuff, thats just lazy not as good), 2/3 cup of unsalted butter (when just cooking for me, I use the cheap stuff, but if looking to impress, I use Kerrygold Grassfed.  Gives a richer flavor).  Put in pot, sprinkle in some powdered garlic and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add some cayanne if you want it a little hotter.
    ( This is pretty much the sauce I use for boneless skinless thighs at eggfests as well, and it goes over great!.)

    This looks pure genius. I've got to try this. Many Thanks. Love the kerrygold grassfed or plugra unsalted with truffle salt @ShawdowNick
  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
    Options
    DieselkW said:
    I just bought a ten lb. bag of wings at Costco - Louisville reported whole packer prime brisket at Costco, but all they had was choice flats here in Indy so I bought wings instead.

    I like to use the same method as a reverse sear - bring the wings from defrosted up to warm over an hour or so at 250f indirect, legs down, 6" rise from a foiled plate setter. (I use half crushed aluminum cans)

    When they're nice and dry, pull the chicken, grill, & platesetter, open the vents, put the grill back and an iron frying pan with 1/4" oil and bring the egg up to 450.

    Dredge the warmed wings in a mixture of flour, salt, red pepper flakes and cracked black pepper. 

    Fill the frying pan with wings a minute or so on each side - keep going until you've fried all your wings. 

    I have a big plastic jar, with a wide mouth and a lid. (two gallons of mayo originally)  I put a cup of Franks and a half stick of melted butter in that jar, add it half full of wings, screw on the lid and shake.

    Repeat as necessary.

    Instead of Franks, I have tried red pepper flakes and a honey - soy sauce mixture which results in an Asian tasting sweet/hot wing experience that was a big hit at a summer party this year. 

    A place named "Kilroys" in Indianapolis makes peanut butter and jelly fried wings. I was told if I didn't like them they would be free, which was what it took for me to order that horrible sounding mess.

    Just like it sounds, peanut butter and jelly, warmed up and tossed with hot wings out of the fryer. Yeah, I paid for them, they were that good. (Sticky messy good)
    Peanut butter and jelly. You have my attention. Have you tried to recreate at home?
  • mwraulst
    mwraulst Posts: 131
    Options
    Do you have a dual egg setup? you mentioned moving from the egg to the fryer and i wondered if you heat up the oil inside or have a separate egg with the pan of oil @DieselkW
  • DieselkW
    DieselkW Posts: 894
    edited November 2014
    Options
    @mwraulst: One Large BGE, I do it like a reverse sear - it takes ten minutes or so to get the oil over 325f with dome temp around 500+. I remove the plate setter and open the vents, then go inside and prepare the warmed (110-120f) wings for frying while the oil is heating up in the frying pan.

    When a drop of water splatters in the oil, it's hot enough. 

    As for the PB&J wings, SWMBO wants me to try it, but two reasons I haven't:

    1. it's going to be messy
    2. I'm worried they won't be better than Kilroys, which are deep fried and then drenched in warmed up peanut butter and jelly mixture. 

    I don't want to deep fry on my egg, too much oil and fire in the same place.

    Indianapolis, IN

    BBQ is a celebration of culture in America. It is the closest thing we have to the wines and cheeses of Europe. 

    Drive a few hundred miles in any direction, and the experience changes dramatically. 



  • VooDuuChild
    Options
    We usually toss all the wings frozen into a glass cake dish, bake until cooked through with our Franks/Butter mix....then toss over direct heat from coals, turn a couple times, then they're crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.  Then baste with more sauce and call it good.  Just as crispy without the oil.
    1) XLBGE                  1) PK's Pro 100 pound capacity commercial grade electric smoker
    2) Chief smokers        1) Brinkmann...first smoker...gave to a buddy after years of great service.
    1) Char Broil Gas grill  1) Square Char Broil coal grill   1) Round XL Weber round coal grill
    1) Rotisserie for the Weber grill (AWESOME).....I don't have a problem, I can stop anytime I want...I can.
  • Grillin_beers
    Options
    @mwraulst‌ I just kind of focus on the wings really hard and they float up there for me. JK. I have a large so it's a little different but I use a second grate to get them higher up in the dome. image
    1 large BGE, Spartanburg SC

    My dog thinks I'm a grilling god. 
  • Little Steven
    Options
    mwraulst said:
    I'm looking for a true wing expert to show (coach) me the way to make the perfect drummy and flat chicken wings. 

    My perfect is where the end result has a little bit of smoke flavor in the meat with a nice crispy fried outside. I've tried the true smoked, or the left uncovered in fridge to crisp skin, but nothing compares to a hot fry followed by a sauce toss. Let's not forget about the sauce. What sauce are the perfect wings tossed in?

    My concept:

    smoke, extremely low heat with cherry for about 20 minutes

    pull off egg and toss in buttermilk and bread flour

    fry at high temp to crisp, toss in sauce and then finish on the grill. 

    Enlighten me!
    I prefer egged wings to fried. Key factor is big wings, not the ones from the supermarkets but from the butchers that generally deal with 5lb+ birds. Put some spices in a plastic bag along with some corn starch, potato flour rice flour or tapioca. Shake and shake off excess starch. Cook raised direct at 350* to 400*. If any starch clumps and stays white for more than ten minutes spray with olive oil or Pam. If you are going to sauce pull and put in warm butter and sauce and return to the egg for a few minutes.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • ShadowNick
    Options
    mwraulst said:
    Wings:  Cook indirect at about 350-400 with any seasoning of choice (I like swamp venom) and oak till almost done.  Have a skillet with hot oil ready, when you pull the wings off the egg fry them about 1.5 minutes a side, and move them to your tossing bowl.  Ladle sauce over and toss.  Alternately, rather that fry, i will sometimes baste them with honey the last 5 minutes on the egg.

    Sauce:  1 cup of Frank's Hot Original Sauce (not their premade buffalo wing stuff, thats just lazy not as good), 2/3 cup of unsalted butter (when just cooking for me, I use the cheap stuff, but if looking to impress, I use Kerrygold Grassfed.  Gives a richer flavor).  Put in pot, sprinkle in some powdered garlic and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add some cayanne if you want it a little hotter.
    ( This is pretty much the sauce I use for boneless skinless thighs at eggfests as well, and it goes over great!.)

    This looks pure genius. I've got to try this. Many Thanks. Love the kerrygold grassfed or plugra unsalted with truffle salt @ShawdowNick
    Forgot to mention, when you simmer the sauce, the oil from the butter comes to the top.  Ladle that off.  It doesn't add any flavor and just makes things more greasy.  I make about a batch of these a week and bring to my bartenders at my local watering hole.  Keeps the cost of booze cheaper than even drinking at home :)
    Pentwater, MI