Smoking Buffalo Wings
Everyone loves a good Buffalo wing. That crispy exterior combined with that tangy, spicy sauce makes for a flavor unmatched by anything else, let alone another type of wing.
Servings: 4
Calories: 890kcal
Equipment
- Charcoal grill
- Natural chunk charcoal
- Apple and hickory wood chunks or chips
- Large mixing bowl
- Paper towels
- meat thermometer
- Plastic spray bottle
Ingredients
- 24
Chicken wings - 1/2
Cup
Olive oil - 1/4
Cup Dark brown sugar - 1
tbsp
Kosher salt - 1/2
tbsp Garlic powder - 1/2
tbsp Onion powder - 1/2
tbsp Cumin - 1/2
tbsp Cayenne pepper - 1/2
tbsp Sweet paprika - 1/2
tbsp Mustard powder - 1/2
tbsp Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2
Cup
Water and white vinegar solution (1:1 ratio) - Buffalo sauce or clarified butter
Instructions
- If you've bought whole chicken wings, you'll need to take a minute to cut each of them into pieces.
- Using a sharp knife, cut between the drumette and the flat, then the flat and the tip.
- They should snap apart easily in these places.
- Both the flat and drumette are edible meat, but the tip can still be reserved for things like making stock.
- After doing any necessary breaking down of the wings, you can start to season them.
- First, dry off any moisture on the surface of the wings with paper towels.
- While you're there, use this as a chance to pluck out any stray feathers that the butcher may not have removed from the chicken skin.
- Once dried, immediately toss the wings in olive oil.
- This will help them stay moist while they cook and make it easier for the spices to adhere to the surface.
- Combine the seasonings listed in the ingredients in a large bowl and drop the wings in, tossing them to coat thoroughly on all sides with Buffalo dry rub seasoning.
- If hot wings are more to your taste, you can also add to your spice rub chili powder, ground mustard or hot cayenne pepper.
- Instead of a smoker, this recipe works best when using a regular charcoal grill.
- This is because, to properly smoke the wings without overcooking them, you'll want to more easily create a two zone fire.
- Pile up charcoal on one side of the grill and light it.
- Once the fire has had a chance to burn down a bit, place on your wood.
- If you used wood chips instead of chunks, remember to pre-soak them in hot water at least half an hour out from when they'll be going on the fire to keep them from burning up too quickly.
- Place on your grill grate and put down the lid to give the smoke and heat a chance to build up.
- Shoot for a temperature around 225 degrees Fahrenheit before you even think about putting on your wings.
- After your fire is sufficiently hot and your wood is sufficiently smoky, you're ready to cook.
- Place your wings onto the colder half of your grill (the side not above direct flames) and close the lid.
- As they cook, pay attention to the charcoal and wood levels of the grill and add more as needed, though this will likely be unnecessary given the short cooking time.
- If you do, remember to adjust your air vents to keep the temperature consistent.
- In total, the cook time for your wings will likely be around two hours or so.
- Every ten minutes, spray your wings down with a 50/50 mixture of water and white vinegar to help give them some of that signature Buffalo flavor and keep them moist.
- Near the end of cooking, start checking the internal temperature of the wings.
- When they hit 160 degrees Fahrenheit, you know they're almost done.
- At this point, move them to direct flame to char the outsides a bit.
- Finish them like this for about five minutes before taking them off the heat, flipping once halfway through to hit both sides evenly.
- Like all meat, you'll need to rest your wings before you start eating them.
- This gives them a chance to finish cooking and climb those last five degrees.
- They'll have to sit for around ten minutes to preserve the maximum amount of flavor and juiciness.
- Rather than just wait, though, you can use this as an opportunity to sauce them if you desire.
- While you've already seasoned up the wings with Buffalo-style rub, you can go all the way and toss them in some delicious Buffalo sauce once they're off the grill, too.
- Another common saucing idea is to toss them with clarified butter to let the rub's flavors come through more prominently.
- To make clarified butter, all you need to do is melt a stick of butter and strain out the milk solid, the liquid that remains being your butter.
- After a not at all long but still quite excruciating wait, you'll be ready to eat.
- Serve them up next to some hot sauce, blue cheese dressing, and celery sticks for that sports bar authenticity.
Nutrition
Serving: 354g | Calories: 890kcal