How To Smoke Chicken Wings - And A Delicious Dry Rub Recipe Too! (2024)

FAQs

Do you add dry rub before or after cooking wings? ›

I definitely highly recommend that you do because this helps air circulate around the wings so they get crispier. Do you add dry rub before or after cooking chicken wings? Before! This allows the flavor of the spices to adhere to the wings.

Place the wings directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for 30 minutes. Increase the heat in your smoker to 425 degrees until the internal temperature of the wing reads 175 degrees F. You can rotate or flip the wings as needed to maintain even cooking and avoid any hot spots on the grill.

How do you make dry rub stick to wings? You'll use avocado oil or olive oil to coat the keto chicken wings so the dry rub sticks nicely! Don't skip this step!

Olive oil helps the dry rub adhere to the meat so it's less likely to fall off while you're cooking it. Put a coin-sized amount of olive oil on the chicken and spread it evenly across the sides of the chicken.

The best way to apply a rub to your chicken wings is the night before cooking. This allows much more time for the spices to blend into the chicken. We also recommend adding the spices by hand, rubbing the rub on all sides of the wings.

The Secret to Crispy Smoked Chicken Wing Skin

Add 2 Tbsp of the rub you used in the brine and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Seal the bag and flip it a few times to get all of the wings coated and then throw them in your smoker at 150 degrees.

Smoke the wings over indirect low heat—over the empty side of the charcoal grill or the unlit burners—for 1 hour, with the grill lid on, flipping once. Note: I got 28 to 34 chicken wings in 5 pounds. If your chicken wings are large, with less than 28 wings, smoke them for 15 minutes longer.

The best time to spritz your meat while smoking is just after the bark has formed. The bark on meat generally forms about 1:30 to 2 hours into your cook. It is important to spritz the meat every half hour to 45 minutes to prevent it from drying out.

It is best to smoke the chicken wings uncut – with the three sections intact. I find when smoking cut-up chicken wings they tend to dry out. I also smoke them above a water pan, the steam helps cook the wings and allows for moist, juicy wings when finished smoking.

Can you overcook wings on a smoker? ›

Smoke the wings for 2 hours. By this time the wings should have reached an internal temperature of 165°F. If they're slightly over 165, that's fine. Any internal temp up to 180°F means the wings will still be juicy and tender when cooked low and slow on the smoker.

The ideal temperature to cook your chicken should be around 275 °F – 320 °F (135 °C – 160 °C). As you start to decrease temperature beyond this threshold, the skin will become rubbery. The chicken fat needs to be cooked into the meat, and that cannot happen when your temperature is very low.

Toss the wings in a few tablespoons of neutral cooking oil (like canola or vegetable oil), then season with salt and pepper before adding them to the grill. The oil will prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill.

Saute your food on the stove with 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 mL) of water, vegetable broth, cooking vinegar, or wine to help your seasoning stick without oil. Spritz your food with water or cooking vinegar before seasoning it, then place it in the oven to roast. Or, dry roast your veggies and season them afterward.

The less moisture left in the skin, the more crispy your wings will be! Use Baking Powder. Baking powder will help ensure that your wings brown nicely and it also helps create that desired crispy coating.

If you miss your time window when the wings are hot enough to have seasoning stick, I know of two other options: Spray the wings with a spray oil like olive or coconut oil and tumble them with or in the seasoning. Rub the wings with mustard, which is like a glue and then tumble them with or in the seasoning.

Be sure to let the rub sit for 30 minutes or up to 1½ hours to allow the salt and spices to penetrate the meat before cooking. Another great use of dry rubs when it comes to roasts and steaks is to make a compound butter. This is so much easier than you think. You only need two ingredients: a great dry rub and butter.

You dip the wings into your seasoning, which can be any mixture of sweet, savory, spicy or umami spices. That step yields better flavor: A dry seasoning sticks a whole lot better to chicken wings than any marinade or sauce can. It's baked (or fried!) right in.

So how long do you leave dry rub on steak, chicken, turkey, or pork? That's up to you: The longer you allow it to sink in, the deeper the flavor will be. Allow the BBQ rub to rest on the food 15 minutes to 2 hours (and up to several hours if you've got time) before tossing the meat on the grill or in the smoker.