Smoked Wings Discussion

GratefulJason · August 2016

A colleague asked me to smoke a couple butts for a party he's throwing this Saturday, and he hinted that he'd like to try my smoked wings as well.

Usually I rub with a spice blend a day ahead and let the wings dry out in the fridge. I put 'em on raised direct at 375° to get that crispy skin, then towards the end apply a glaze made with chipotle in adobo, lime, and agave nectar.

This time, though, they're going to have to sit on with the butts, so they'll be on indirect and closer to 250°. I could wait until the butts are done and raise the temp, but I'd like to work on having a good method that'll allow me serve wings as apps while butts finish (for future cooks). I just don't like the rubbery texture of smoked wings though, and SWMBO won't eat bird with flimsy skin. I'm considering doing the smoke/fry/glaze/back on the smoker method. Anyone have experience with that?

Any input is welcome!

Raymont · August 2016

How about finishing wings in oven at higher temp to crisp up skin?

GratefulJason · August 2016

Raymont said:

How about finishing wings in oven at higher temp to crisp up skin?

I considered this, but I was worried they'd overcook before the skin got crisp. I may just spend the next three days experimenting...

Thanks for the suggestion!

Darby_Crenshaw · August 2016

the skin always crisps for us at 250, when cooked for an extended time

Theophan · August 2016

I've never cooked wings, believe it or not. Partly it's because my wife's not a fan of chicken wings and I mostly cook for the two of us. But I'm curious. You said,

GratefulJason said:

... I put 'em on raised direct at 375° to get that crispy skin, then towards the end apply a glaze made with chipotle in adobo, lime, and agave nectar...

I get crispy skin, and I get glaze, but, never having done it, I would have thought putting a glaze on would moisten up the crispy skin and it wouldn't be crispy anymore. Can you tell me more about this? The adobo/lime/agave sounds great!

GratefulJason · August 2016

The glaze can take a little crunch out it, for sure. It's less crispy than before glazing. But just like fried buffalo wings, if the skin is firm enough it'll still crunch a bit under the sauce.

The adobo/lime/agave glaze is super easy. I just put a couple of chipotles and some adobo sauce in the food processor with some cumin, salt, and pepper, then add a hint of lime juice for some acid and some agave to balance the heat. If I have some on hand, I'll throw in cilantro, too. There's no recipe - make it as hot, sweet, and tangy as you like.

lousubcap · August 2016

Hitting a target finish-time with any large hunk of protein is always a crap-shoot for me, thus the FTC finish-line equalizer. Given that you are cooking two butts the odds of them finishing close to each other are quite small. That said, I don't see any down side to doing the wings with whatever process you want once the butts are FTC'd. But your cook so enjoy it.

500 · August 2016

I would agree with Lou. Cook the wings like you are accustom to doing, while the butts rest FTC. I rested my butts FTC for over two hours last time I did them. I feel the rest is important to moist and tender butts, and it gives you time to reset the Egg for the wings like how you like them.

SmokeyPitt · August 2016

If you can cook them on a raised grid above the butts I think that would help. You would have chicken juice dripping on the pork so I'm not sure if that would be a good or bad thing. As long as the chicken is cooked it should be safe. In other words, you wouldn't want to put on the chicken if the butts are almost ready to come off...but if the chicken is fully cooked then anything dripping on the butts is also cooked.

EggMcMic · August 2016

I tried doubling up a cook last night and cooked wings at about 275. They were OK but I wasn't thrilled with them. I prefer 350-375. Personally I would cook the butts, wrap them and throw them in a cooler, and start the wings at your preferred temperature. I always rest my butts anyway so it would work for me.

J-dubya · August 2016

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the skin always crisps for us at 250, when cooked for an extended time

If I want to pull the wings around 160IT, the only way I can get them crispy is dusting with corn starch, on the other hand, if I just leave them for say double the time with an IT around 200+ they crisp up just fine.

Does this fit with your experience? I typically don't over cook chicken (especially now with sous vide), but wings cooked to these high temps actually aren't that bad and people seem to enjoy them.

Theophan · August 2016

GratefulJason said:

The glaze can take a little crunch out it, for sure. It's less crispy than before glazing. But just like fried buffalo wings, if the skin is firm enough it'll still crunch a bit under the sauce.

The adobo/lime/agave glaze is super easy. I just put a couple of chipotles and some adobo sauce in the food processor with some cumin, salt, and pepper, then add a hint of lime juice for some acid and some agave to balance the heat. If I have some on hand, I'll throw in cilantro, too. There's no recipe - make it as hot, sweet, and tangy as you like.

Sounds great -- thanks!

Hans61 · August 2016

I've read about letting chicken with skin on sit over night uncovered in the fridge. Never tried myself interested in opinions for that method of getting crispy skin

lousubcap · August 2016

Whenever I have the foresight I always let the chix (wings, other pieces/parts, or the whole bird) go for at least the overnight fridge air dry exposure. It does enhance the crispy skin result. You can further enhance it with a dusting of corn starch before tossing on the BGE. Highly recommended. FWIW-

GratefulJason · August 2016

In the coming days, I'm going to try a dry brine and a 250° smoke to see if I can get crispy skin at low temperatures. I almost always dry brine poultry, I've just never seen how it reacts with a low and slow setup.

On the day of the smoke, though, I'll probably FTC and adjust the egg as others have recommended. I kinda figured it would come to that, but for those days that you spend an early afternoon drinking with friends and letting butts or brisket finish, I wanted to have a technique on hand to make wings happen hours in advance of the main event.

I''ll also try to the smoke>fry>glaze>smoke routine. Mainly because it seems like it'll be labor intensive, over the top, and a ton of nerdy fun.

I'll report back.

Focker · August 2016

Hans61 said:

I've read about letting chicken with skin on sit over night uncovered in the fridge. Never tried myself interested in opinions for that method of getting crispy skin

It is IMO, one of the best things you can do to poultry. Injection brining is another, which speeds up the brining process, and doesn't waterlog the skin like a traditional gradient brine.

theyolksonyou · August 2016

You just need another egg, problem solved.

stevez · August 2016

I've smoked wings at the 250 temp for an hour and half and close to two hours if needed. I then toss them on a very hot gas grill to crisp up and I've gotten very high/rave reviews. I then toss with my buffalo sauce and they have always been great. I don't keep them on the gas grill more than 5 or 10 minutes tops.

Hub · August 2016

I recently did a batch where I rubbed them down smoked them at 250 until they hit internal of 160. (no corn starch) Then I flash fried them in my cast iron dutch over filled with peanut oil for about five minutes at 350. They were some of best wings I've ever eaten. Smoky and moist on the inside, crispy and clean on the outside.

stevez · October 2016

I'm a very recent convert to the BGE; having used the Weber Smokey Mountain for years. There is a recipe over on that site that I've followed for years and I get huge raves all the time. Smoke for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 225 - 250 and then I finish on a hot gas grill to get crispy. I use different rubs honestly. I love new ideas, but have a hard time leaving that one alone. Especially the low and slow part.

Focker · October 2016

It's pretty hard to f up a wing, always fun switching things up, smoked, grilled, raised direct, fried, smofried, all good. Along with Roadside Chicken, this kettle cook is in my HOF.

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?32141-Dougherty-s-Wings

I use 2T Old Bay, roasted granulated onion instead of powder, swap Red Stripe for the Fosters. I don't pile and try to spread them out, start at a lower temp, letting it rise into the cook, then finish quickly shovelling over the coals with a large dedicated wing spatula. Like Roadside, it's a fun, interactive, cook gunking up the kettle building flavor with no worries.

northGAcock · October 2016

GratefulJason said:

Good to have you on the forum. Enjoy the ride.

fusionhq · October 2016

Not sure if someone said it, but smoke till you have nice color then flash fry them.

GrateEggspectations · October 2016

J-dubya said:

Darby_Crenshaw said:

the skin always crisps for us at 250, when cooked for an extended time

If I want to pull the wings around 160IT, the only way I can get them crispy is dusting with corn starch, on the other hand, if I just leave them for say double the time with an IT around 200+ they crisp up just fine.

Does this fit with your experience? I typically don't over cook chicken (especially now with sous vide), but wings cooked to these high temps actually aren't that bad and people seem to enjoy them.

For me, corn starch is the way to go for crispy wings.

tikigriller · October 2016

stevez said:

I'm a very recent convert to the BGE; having used the Weber Smokey Mountain for years. There is a recipe over on that site that I've followed for years and I get huge raves all the time. Smoke for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 225 - 250 and then I finish on a hot gas grill to get crispy. I use different rubs honestly. I love new ideas, but have a hard time leaving that one alone. Especially the low and slow part.

Oh my....if it ever took me this long to make wings, my wife would make me sell the egg! That being said, now I have to try it this way as well!

I now leave my chicken out in the fridge over night, as it really really does make a difference.....

minniemoh · October 2016

If you can dry the wings in the fridge overnight, you can go indirect at 400-425 and get a nice smoked flavor by adding a handful of wood chips right before putting the wings on. Typically only takes about 45-50 minutes and they come out very tender with crispy skin. They only really need a little touch of smoke and the wood chips will get the job done.

If I can't dry them in the fridge, they take about 1:15. I don't sauce until I get crisp skin and then when I sauce, I keep them on until they are nearly dry again. I have a batch of partially frozen ones going on in a few minutes. I can post pics of my process if you want.

minniemoh · October 2016

@GratefulJason - I'm not sure if you're interested in my method for wings but I posted a separate thread for my process. The thread makes it look like more work than it is. We make them this way about once per week.

stevez · October 2016

Thanks for the suggestions/feedback. Jason, yes, I'd love to see your method would like to try different ways. Today for a party I smoked two large packs of wings. 1 1/2 hours at 300 temp at dome. Used the process and recipe from the Virtual Weber website called Wild Willey's rub. Use it frequently. After 1 1/2 hours I removed platesetter and opened vents to get it hot and then grilled direct for about 10 minutes. I used a mix of Franks hot sauce (2/3 cup) and melted butter (1 cup) and the wings were excellent. Big hit.

Smoked Wings Discussion

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