Wings

1-Put them in the smoker at 225* for about 1.5 hrs. and then on a hot grill for about 4 minutes/side to crisp up the skin. The lower temp and longer smoker time will let them get more smoke flavor. I often use the broiler instead of the grill. 2-I've also run them at 275-300* for an hour then to the grill. 3-You could also run them at the higher temp and then eat right from the smoker. The skin will be edible but not crispy. Method #1 is your best bet for a good product.

If you're confused, then the list of Wing Recipes provided by Smokin will add to it. Try and figure the one you want out of this list of 100+. Pick the one you like and apply it to your smoker.

I did the wings - used mesquite (sp) wood and followed pags suggest somewhat - I cam home at 1 pm from work put the wings on around 1:45 at 195 degrees since I was going back to work and the party wasn't til 6pm. At 4pm I cam home and notch temnp to 225 took off at 5 pm and put on the grill. What I noticed when I open the door at 4 pm was that the wings black almost black. I used 2 chunks of wood for 26 wingsthat had been cut in sections. They tasted fine and were almost all gone but still wonder about th black color not brown like I thought. What dd I do wrong or what caused this?

Dang it Pags, I knew ya shouldn't have told him to use Mesquite on chicken. It is just to strong of a wood to use on chicken ,IMHO and NEVER that much wood on little wings. Dark/bitter chicken is usually a sign of too much wood.

When your smoker gets good and seasoned, you might not even need wood on some products.

I didn't and wouldn't suggest Mesquite for chicken. Alder, Apple or even hickory. They were in the smoker for a long time at a lower temp and may account for the dark color since they smoked for so long. Mine have always been brown, golden brown. Sounds like they went down well so not all was lost.

Pags - thanks for the comments. How much wood do you use and which wood is your favorite. I will be doing wings again in 2 weeks and will be able to do this on an off work day so I will follow your notes from above.

Sorry to take so long to respond. We're in Monterey today. I like Alder. Popular out west. Milder. Try the hickory. I think you'll like it if you can't find Alder near you. Use 2-3 oz.

I've heard Maple is good for chicken too. I want to do some wings this week and am going to try that with the method #1 above!

By the way, the best method I've seen to make wings at home (other than deep frying) is to steam them for about 20 minutes to render the fat out, then bake. It really works, they come out nice and crispy. This was Alton Brown's method. I'm thinking smoking them low will also render that fat out, and impart some flavor (which I guess also could be done during steaming) and then the grilling will crisp them up.

I usually use hickory but maple sounds like worth trying.

Also try putting in some green chili's in your favorite marinade, I like hatches green chili which is readily available here. Is yummy....

quote:

Originally posted by cal:
...Dark/bitter chicken is usually a sign of too much wood.
...

Agree

I use a Minnesota mix Maple, cherry and oak. fantastic

I'm doing the wings today. Soon in fact. My drumstick experience makes me remember to preheat the smoker before throwing in the poultry but I wonder if I should put the wood in when I fire up the AQ or do I wait to put the wood in when I put the wings in? I don't want them "smoke black" and with a strong smoke flavor so I am leaning towards putting the wood in when I start the AQ.

10 whole wings rubbed with a little Jack's Old South, will hit the smoke for 90 mins then on the grill to crisp them up. After that a swim in sauce (honey, butter, Frank's Red Hot).

Pags - did the wings as you suggested using hickory.. While I did have a problem getting the temp to 225 (seperate issue) the wings looked and turned out great - no remained after the party. Thanks for your help.

Congrats. Glad they turned out.

Thinking about some for dinner this week. I haven't smoked anything in a week, and I'm getting smoker's withdrawal.

I foresee a batch of salt and pepper wings in my near future!!

52 salt & pepper wings, 1.5 hours, 225 degrees, 1 oz. alder, 3 minutes each side on the grill, party with 20 people, gone in 5 minutes!! I didn't even get 1

Next time when you do 52 wings, throw a couple into aluminum foil and into the fridge. The cook has to get at least two, even if reheated the next day.

I did 56 wings, Greek style (from Dr. BBQ's recipe book, slightly adjusted). I only grilled them, but they were delicious. I brought appetizers to a friend's barbecue Saturday. They went fast also.