Succcess with Wings (Not How I Expected)

I smoke wings for 1.5 to 2 hours and always finish wings off in a hot 450 degrees preheated oven (on non-stick foil in a half sheet pan) for 10-15 minutes to crisp the skin.

I have tried similar with the grill after the smoker. Maybe the oven will be different, but I found that once the skin is rubber, it stays rubber - sort of like crispy rubber. I think it's about the skin losing all fat before it gets to the high temp.

Jay:

Have you tried doing the smoking in the AQ, and then do a reverse sear on the grill?  I do this with spatchcocked turkey and the skin comes out great.

Mike, I find that I can only make that work when I smoke for only a short period of time, so the skin doesn't have a chance to get rubbery - if it does, it's too late to rescue on the grill, in my experience. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive to even slightly rubbery chicken skin, but a hot grill after even just one hour in the smoker still leaves the wings tasting rubbery to me. Maybe it is also the ratio of skin to meat, which is pretty high on wings. I really like the degree of smoke, and the controllability of the A-Maz-N tube smoker on the grill.

However I like your idea of spatchcocked turkey. Would you share your technique?

Jay:  I actually do this a little different than the recipe calls for.  I do the turkey in the AQ at 300 degrees.  Bring it the house and let it rest for 15 or 20 minutes, and then stick just the bird on the grill to crisp up.  I have really been looking at getting PG 1000 just for things like this.

The recipe is from "The Kitchen" on Food Network:   

Sweet and Spicy Smoked Turkey with Smoked Gravy

Ingredients

1/2 cup Sweet BBQ Rub, recipe follows

One 10- to 12-pound turkey, untrussed and spatchcocked 

12 medium carrots, peeled 

12 ounces mini bell peppers or sweet Melrose peppers 

2 cups turkey or chicken stock 

2 tablespoons butter 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

Sweet BBQ Rub:

1 cup turbinado sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 cup kosher salt 

3 tablespoons chili powder 

3 tablespoons smoked paprika 

2 tablespoons granulated garlic 

1 tablespoon onion powder 

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne 

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 

Directions:

1. Rub the Sweet BBQ Rub all over both sides of the turkey. Transfer to a disposable aluminum pan breast-side up and refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to dry brine.
2. The day of roasting, let the turkey sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Add the carrots and peppers to the pan and put the turkey on a wire rack above the vegetables.
3. Preheat a gas grill, charcoal grill or smoker to 350 degrees F. If using a gas or charcoal grill, set up a smoke box or small disposable aluminum pan with fruit wood chips. Once the smoke is rolling, put the turkey and vegetables on the grill in the pan, close the lid and smoke for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour, rotate the turkey and add the stock to the pan to deglaze. Continue smoking until the breast meat registers 160 degrees F and the thighs hit 165 degrees F, another 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
5. Let the turkey rest 45 minutes to an hour while you make the gravy. Remove the carrots and peppers from the pan and set aside. Strain the drippings from the pan using a fat separator.
6. To make the gravy, melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to make a roux. Slowly add the strained drippings and whisk. Let simmer to reduce to the desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
7. Slice the turkey and serve over a medley of the smoked carrots and peppers with the gravy on the side.

Sweet BBQ Rub:

1. Combine the turbinado sugar, granulated sugar, salt, chili powder, paprika, granulated garlic, onion powder, cayenne, cumin and pepper in a bowl. Store in an airtight container.

Thanks Mike! Sorry for the delay in replying - it was a busy week. We have a frozen turkey "languishing" in the freezer for just such an experiment. I'm thinking as the weather gets cooler, this will be on my short list. Just to be clear, you do the vegies and stock in your AQ? Then just the bird on the grill, then the gravy?