Tried a different method for wings

YukonRon

I have done wings a thousand times, likely a thousand different ways, always trying to find the Holy Grail.

Temps vs times, dehydrating in the fridge for different lengths of time, rubs, marinades, smoke, direct,  indirect, below, at, above the felt line, high in the dome, baking powder, etc., flipping at different time intervals,seriously you name it.

So.....last night attempt 1001:

I bought a package of whole wings, cut them into pieces, placed them in a heavy duty foil type aluminum pan on a double layer of paper towels, covered them with one layer of paper towels and placed them in the fridge naked with no rubs or baking powder/starch for 24 hours.

After getting them out of the fridge, removing and discarding the paper towel layer I had previously placed on the top (for those folks cheap like me, you can soak these towels in canola, and use them to light your BGE) applied my rub (with approximately 20% to 25% corn starch mixed in), vigorously.

The egg was set up with Rockwood, and if you wish to smoke the wings use very little smoke wood, I used two very small pieces, 1 pecan, 1 peach. Use whatever you want or go without.

The temp was 400⁰F raised, indirect (this was in my XL).

I placed a small bakers rack, inside a heavy duty, aluminum foil pan, placed the wing pieces on it and placed it in the BGE.

I flipped the wings every 20 minutes 4x. Total of about 90 to 100 minutes.

The result was extraordinary. Perfectly crisp, juicy wings that were demolished by the children in less than 10 minutes from being served.

Unfortunately, I only experimented with 28. I got two pieces, a flat and a gripper. Awesome.

I will never do these any other way. Might not be the Holy Grail, but the best I have ever cooked on the BGE, and it was not even close.

Apologies for the totally unprofessional image shared, but, I was hoping to convey the cooking set up used inside the XL. 

Having done this without the pan and baking rack, and comparing it to this method, doing the same heat, times, etc., this direction was noticeably superior.

The only change I will make going forward is figuring out a method to double the amount cooked. The way our children love grilled wings, I will purchase a second XL or be like the other bold and brave on this forum....an XXL.

Anyway. Thought I would share, hope it works for you if you try it.

Goes great with bourbon slushies.

gmanrva

Those look fantastic. 90-100 minutes at 400 seems like a really long time but I normally go direct, I will have to give the indirect method a try. Thanks for sharing.

YukonRon

gmanrva said:

Those look fantastic. 90-100 minutes at 400 seems like a really long time but I normally go direct, I will have to give the indirect method a try. Thanks for sharing.

Try the foil pan and rack too.

Thank you for checking in.

lousubcap

Great outcome right there.  Gotta admit I would not have tried the pan method but will have to give it a shot.  Nailed 'em.  

YukonRon

lousubcap said:

Great outcome right there.  Gotta admit I would not have tried the pan method but will have to give it a shot.  Nailed 'em.  

Thank you Frank. Appreciate it. 

Make sure you use the rack inside the pan.

frazzdaddy

Ron, you are an inspiration. On the to do list!

Legume

Funny Ron, I’ve always felt I “overcook” wings compared to what I see posted here most of the time.  I like them crispy, rendered and well done.  They’re really hard to dry out overall.  I too cook hot and long, raised high indirect, most of the time drip pan and no stone.  I’ve never tried the foil pan.  I fridge dry maybe 10% of the time, only when I plan ahead for it.  Going long and hot like this, I’ve never noticed it making a difference.

ColtsFan

Great looking wings!

Legume

You could do something similar in two levels with an AR.  You would need two sliding racks.  Wings on top, short drip tray just underneath, then wings again and another drip pan on the primary BGE grid.  I don’t have enough wing eaters around during the lockdown to try that.

HendersonTRKing

That sure looks like a winner to me!  Time 1002 will have to be stacked trays with enough space between them to get that good convection effect working to crisp them up. 

I’ve been craving wings and they seem to be the only thing I didn’t stock up on before this virus curtailed my frequent trips to the store. At least I was smart enough to lay in sufficient bourbon for slushies and other applications. Need to find out just how good a slushy will taste with this wing method! (Altho I have a pretty good idea.)

Canugghead

Great looking wings. May steal your prep method but want to try my new rotisserie basket. Have to hunt down my pack of frozen wings though.

SciAggie

@YukonRon Thanks for sharing your experience. That’s part of the fun around here. Folks try things - then share the success (or failure) and we all learn. 

I’m curious since you were already cooking indirect what the pan and rack brought to the cook? 

Do you feel it was extra indirect protection - allowing the 90 minute cook?
The way you dried in the fridge is interesting. We’re the paper towels wet/moist when you took them out?

thetrim

they look awesome

mEGG_My_Day

Those wings look fantastic- thanks for posting the method. (And enjoy your second XL 😂😂😂)

Lit

Wings look great. If you have a Weber kettle pick up a vortex. Best and easiest way I have found for wings. 35-40 minutes and nice crispy skin. 

ColbyLang

Nice looking cook @YukonRon. Love wings. Wife and kids not so much. May have to try and win them over with these. Any sauce post cooking?

1voyager

Those look fantastic. I'll give your method a try next time.

dmchicago

Great approach and results. 

I have not nailed wings yet. They are usually a day of decision so no overnight sleep in the fridge. 

Thanks for sharing. 

thetrim

You don't happen to have a picture of your wings after the corn starch/rub application do you?

YukonRon

SciAggie said:

@YukonRon Thanks for sharing your experience. That’s part of the fun around here. Folks try things - then share the success (or failure) and we all learn. 

I’m curious since you were already cooking indirect what the pan and rack brought to the cook? 

Do you feel it was extra indirect protection - allowing the 90 minute cook?
The way you dried in the fridge is interesting. We’re the paper towels wet/moist when you took them out?

@SciAggie

When I have not used the pan and the rack, indirect, I failed to get the crispness of the skin that one would get while frying. This method seemed to deliver that pseudo fried taste without the oil while providing the steamy juicy meat contained just beneath the very crispy exterior.

I think the pan actually increased the crispness, and the rack allowing the convection flow aided the faster locking in of the juice. I wish I had taken a picture of the pan afterwards, as there was literally no fat accumulation in the pan, maybe  less than 10 spots where dripping occured, and not much of that.

The towels on the bottom after 24 hours were damp, but not wet, and the towel covering the surface was only damp where the towel made contact with the wing pieces.

Our son, who has forever been my biggest critic on cooking wings, flat out said these were the best he had ever had. (College kid, wings and ramen as well as beer are his only 3 food groups.)

I got a few ideas, along with a couple of suggestions on trying something new, but for now I think I have found my vertical limit on cooking these.

I hope this helps, let me know.

YukonRon

frazzdaddy said:

Ron, you are an inspiration. On the to do list!

@frazzdaddy

Thank you...but hardly inspirational....you would think someone in any sort of engineering would have figured this out long ago. DUH. I amaze myself several times a day on how stupid I am.

It is worth the try.....hope you enjoy them when you do.

thetrim

@YukonRon that's high praise from your son.  Not sure if he has a Hooter's or Wing House near campus???...

SciAggie

@YukonRon Thanks for the detailed reply. I learn something new here all the time. I may try wings on a rack in the wood oven. They have shown promise before, but not exactly the right outcome. This might be the adjustment I need to make. 

YukonRon

Legume said:

Funny Ron, I’ve always felt I “overcook” wings compared to what I see posted here most of the time.  I like them crispy, rendered and well done.  They’re really hard to dry out overall.  I too cook hot and long, raised high indirect, most of the time drip pan and no stone.  I’ve never tried the foil pan.  I fridge dry maybe 10% of the time, only when I plan ahead for it.  Going long and hot like this, I’ve never noticed it making a difference.

@Legume

I get it and will agree about long and hot the traditional way

I have done it both ways on fridge drying, and with this method it made a difference. Or to all that eat the wings I have cooked, this method has become the preferred result.

The foil pan is part of it ....but the rack inside was what I think to be the key. In the pan if there is any rub at all, and it has any sugars.....it will stick to the bottom and you lose a bit on the crispness being pretty equal on the surface area.

If you try this use the rack, and I hope you enjoy them as we have.

YukonRon

ColtsFan said:

Great looking wings!

Thank you for looking in....appreciate the feed back.

YukonRon

thetrim said:

they look awesome

Thank you for looking in....means a lot...

YukonRon

HendersonTRKing said:

That sure looks like a winner to me!  Time 1002 will have to be stacked trays with enough space between them to get that good convection effect working to crisp them up. 

I’ve been craving wings and they seem to be the only thing I didn’t stock up on before this virus curtailed my frequent trips to the store. At least I was smart enough to lay in sufficient bourbon for slushies and other applications. Need to find out just how good a slushy will taste with this wing method! (Altho I have a pretty good idea.)

@HendersonTRKing

I am working on that now, but I am trying to find another rack, exactly like the one I used for this cook.

Thank you for the kind words.

YukonRon

mEGG_My_Day said:

Those wings look fantastic- thanks for posting the method. (And enjoy your second XL 😂😂😂)

@mEGG_My_Day
It never ends, the wreckless spending....  Thank you for the kind words.
I hope you enjoy it should you try it.

YukonRon

@Lit

I have a weber.....use it to store stuff. Will try it out.
Thank you for the heads up.

YukonRon

ColbyLang said:

Nice looking cook @YukonRon. Love wings. Wife and kids not so much. May have to try and win them over with these. Any sauce post cooking?

@ColbyLang

Typically all have sriracha in them in some manner. Dipping sauces are good, but you could go without them.

1) Honey Sriracha (occasionally add bourbon)
2) Ranch Sriracha
3) Bleu Cheese Sriracha

I grab them off the grid without it using sauce, the rub I use adds enough flavor for me and the juiciness of the wings.

Thank you for the kind words, and aporeciate you looking in.

YukonRon

1voyager said:

Those look fantastic. I'll give your method a try next time.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we have.