Perfectly Smoked Chicken Wings

By Christie Vanover | Published February 8, 2023 | Last Updated February 8, 2023

When it comes to making amazing crispy smoked chicken wings, it’s more about the technique than it is the chicken wings recipe.

The Secret to Perfectly Smoked Wings

When BBQ hall-of-famer Mike Mills had his Memphis Championship BBQ restaurants in Las Vegas, I always ordered his wings. They were perfectly smoky, with deliciously crispy skin.

Smoked and grilled chicken wings can either be really amazing like Mike’s or soggy and undesirable. It all depends on how you cook them.

Why are chicken wings soggy sometimes?

Chicken wings have quite a bit of fat under the skin. If you don’t allow that fat to render properly during the cooking process, the meat will cook too fast and the skin will remain rubbery.

There are a few ways to avoid this. The long method is to allow the wings to rest uncovered in a refrigerator overnight dusted with baking powder or cornstarch.

Visit my Crispy Grilled Chicken Wings to learn more about that process.

Another way to render the skin is to boil your wings before grilling them. The problem with this method is that fat is flavor. When you boil the wings, all the fat gets lost in the boiling water.

So I like to use Mike’s method, which is to smoke the wings over low heat for 60-90 minutes. This allows the fat to render. The rendered fat flavors the chicken. And the chicken absorbs great smoker flavor.

• Chicken Wings: You can smoke whole chicken wings or flats and drums. Both work with this recipe.
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic: I buy a pre-mixed blend of SPG from Spiceology, but you can also make this yourself, by combining equal parts of kosher salt, coarse-ground black pepper and granulated garlic.
• Chicken Rub: My award-winning Chicken Rub was designed for all things chicken.
• Sauce: You can either eat your delicious chicken wings with just rub or toss them in your favorite barbecue sauce or wing sauce.

How to cook smoked chicken wings

1. STEP ONE: Pat the wings dry with paper towels. Season the wings with a light coat of salt, pepper and garlic and Chicken Rub. Don’t overdo it.

STEP TWO: Place wings on the 225F-degree grill over indirect heat and smoke without flipping for 60-90 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 155F degrees.

Smaller wings like the flats will probably reach temp in an hour. Whereas, the drums or whole wings will likely take the full 90 minutes.

Either Hold the Wings or Grill Them

At this point, you have two options. You can either grill the wings over direct heat to eat them right away, or you can refrigerate or freeze them for another day.

This is a great restaurant tip that Mike and Amy Mills share in their cookbook Praise the Lard.

Smoking them ahead of time is a really smart idea if you’re prepping a bunch of dishes for a big party.

After they’re done smoking, the Mills’ recommend refrigerating them for up to 5 days or freezing them for up to 3 months. If you freeze them, be sure to thaw them in the fridge, before grilling them.

Once you’re ready, move onto the next step.

How to crisp up chicken wings

After your wings have been smoked to an internal temperature of 155F degrees, it’s time to make them crispy. To do this, you’re going to need direct heat, which means cooking straight over the coals or hot burner.

Charcoal Grill: With a kettle grill, add more coals if you need to. With a ceramic cooker, remove the diffuser plate.

Pellet Grill: Most pellet grills are always setup with an indirect heat zone, but you can crank the temperature up to 425F degrees to get the heat you need.

Gas Grill: Leave the one burner on. That’s the side you’ll use for the next step.

1. STEP ONE: Place the chicken wings over the direct heat and grill for 2-4 minutes per side, flipping once.

How to tell when chicken wings are done

To ensure your wings are juicy, the internal temperature of the wings should be about 165F degrees.

To check this, place an instant read digital meat thermometer into the thickest part of the meat without touching the bone.

How to serve smoked chicken wings

Once your wings are ready, give one a taste. If you think it needs a little more flavor, add another light dusting of rub.

You can also toss your wings in a large bowl with your favorite sauce. Or to make hot wings, make your own buffalo wing sauce by mixing 1 cup of Franks Hot Sauce with one stick of melted butter.

Serve on a platter with a side of ranch dressing, Blue Cheese Dip, celery and carrots.

Storage

Cooked chicken wings can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

You can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.