Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings

Grab some ranch dressing and prepare to get those fingers covered in delicious wing sauce because we are smoking up some crazy good chicken wings. Ditch the fatty frying oil and grab some wood, let's roll some smoke!

Jump to:

• Video - Step by step
• Smoking chicken wings?
• Choose the right chicken
• Choosing a smoker or grill
• Chicken wings Recipe - Seasoning
• Serving chicken wings
• FAQ
• Old pro tips
• Try smoking these dishes too
• Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings

Video - Step by step

Smoking chicken wings?

Yes Oh YES, this IS the way to make chicken wings. Cranking up the temp gives these a nice crispy crunch along with that nice smoke flavor that excites your taste buds. Either leave em' naked or brush with your favorite wing sauce, you won't be disappointed.

Choose the right chicken

There are going to be several options when buying chicken wings at the store. You will either have a package of:

• Wingettes (flat) only
• Drumettes only (small ones, not big drum sticks)
• Wingette & drumette (already separated)
• Wingette & drumette (together, not separated)

I bought the flat & drumette together which I like to cut apart before cooking. You can leave them together, but you don't get the traditional wing experience that way!

Separating wing from drumstick

Don't worry, separating these is extremely easy and all you need is a pair of scissors or poultry shears. First cut off the tip which has almost no meat and I don't bother smoking, then separating the flat from the drumette at the joint.

Once you separate these, rinse the chicken with cold fresh water and then pat dry with paper towels. Make sure to get the chicken as dry as possible, this will help the skin crisp up when smoked.

Choosing a smoker or grill

Let's start by choosing a smoker or barbecue grill for making these delicious chicken wings.

These smokers and grills will churn out nice crisp wingettes and drummets, you really can't go wrong with either method you choose to use.

Pellet Smokers

I'm smoking this chicken on my wood pellet grill, just like the Camp Chef 36 smoker or Traeger 780. Wood pellet smokers are an easy and great way to impart fantastic smoke flavor and are extremely easy to use.

They operate on wood pellets and hold a very steady temperature just like an oven. No worrying about temp spikes or dips with one of these bad boys.

Offset Smokers

A traditional offset smoker is another great smoker to use. These can get very hot (which is great for cooking chicken) and are normally less expensive than a pellet smoker.

A traditional offset smoker, like this Oklahoma Joe's Smoker is a great option to use. Though it takes a little more attention than a pellet smoker, this produces amazing flavored meat.

BBQ Grills

Using a charcoal grill or propane grill are also great ways to cook chicken. These are another great option when needing to achieve a very high heat and most people already own one in most cases.

I'm a Weber fan and love grilling over charcoal on the Weber Kettle grills. These are very inexpensive and are great for cooking all types of meats, especially chicken.

Best wood to use

My favorite type of wood to use when it comes to chicken is hickory, pecan, mesquite, and fruit woods such as apple & cherry. Using competition or trophy blend pellets are also a great choice when smoking chicken.

Chicken wings Recipe - Seasoning

Salt and pepper the chicken liberally on both sides. You can also do more of a dry rub by sprinkling on a little garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika giving it another depth of flavor.

Were going to make these smoked chicken wings just like we smoked our spatchcock chicken, low and then really HOT!

Smoker Temperature

Pre-heat the smoker to 200°F, place your chicken flats and drumettes directly on the smoker rack / grate and smoke for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the grill and place back on a tray while you increase the temperature to 425°F.

If using a barbecue grill, skip the 30 minutes at 200 degrees F and heat the grill to 425° - 475°F before putting on the chicken. You won't achieve that nice smoky flavor when using a grill, but the wings will still turn out tasting fantastic!

You can leave the chicken on the smoker while increasing the temperature, but the skin won't be as crisp as it would if you remove it while heating. Once it hits 425°F, throw that chicken back on the grill for another 10-15 minutes until an internal temperature of 170-180°F is reached.

Use a instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature. It is safe to eat at 165°F, but chicken wings can handle a little more heat and are great a little warmer than the safe temp.

Wing sauce / BBQ sauce

If you like your wings like I do, with wing sauce, the best time to add this is about 5 minutes before the chicken is finished cooking. Simply brush on some wing sauce or barbecue sauce about 5 minutes after placing the chicken back on the smoker and let it bake on.

Like more of a messy wing? You can always dip your chicken wings in warm wing sauce or toss to coat after you have finished cooking them. This will give it a more saucy and sticky feel. It's up to you!

Serving chicken wings

There are a couple must have sides when it comes to serving chicken wings. these include:

• Celery sticks
• Carrot sticks
• Ranch dressing
• Blue Cheese dressing
• Extra wing sauce
• Ice cold beer!

FAQ

Old pro tips

• Buying chicken wings in one piece instead of already separated into drumettes and flats will be cheaper
• Watching calories? Remove the skin for a healthier chicken wing
• Use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature

Try smoking these dishes too