Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
On January 27, 2020 (Updated September 27, 2024)
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If you’re in the mood for smoked chicken wings, why not make the best crispy smoked chicken wings ever? These wings combine the best of both worlds. You get all of that tasty smokehouse flavor but with extra delicious crispy skin!
Smoked Chicken Wings
I consider myself a connoisseur of smoked chicken wings, and the point of perfection has got to be how to achieve tender and juicy meat while getting that crispy crunchy skin on the outside. There are several methods I’ve tried and each produce the desired effect with a different cooking process.
I’ve cooked wings that require a drying time in the fridge and others that are smoked and then flash fried. Both give me crispy skin, but the first method takes a bit of planning ahead and deep frying can be quite messy. The smoked chicken wing recipe I’m showing you today is by far the easiest of the bunch in terms of prep time, and it requires the least steps. And the final result is awesome: you get the perfect doneness inside and mega crispy skin outside.
How to Smoke Chicken Wings
Scroll below for my full, printable recipe card on how to smoke chicken wings, then check out these tips below to help you make the best crispy smoked chicken wings ever:
- Start with super dry chicken wings. Pat down the chicken wings with paper towels to get all moisture off of the skin. You want these nice and dry.
- Toss the wings in baking power and salt. Please note, you need to use baking powder, NOT baking soda. The baking powder helps remove all the moisture from the skin of the wings so they can crisp.
- Smoke your wings at a lower temperature to start. You can really use any wood you like with wings. This step helps render the fat from under the skin, add in loads of smoky flavor, and dry out the skin.
- After smoking you will need to increase the heat to really crisp that skin. If you’re using a pellet smoker, you can simply turn up the temperature. If your smoker can’t jump up in temp quickly, your best bet may be to move the wings to a preheated oven. Place the wings on an elevated cooking rack above a baking sheet to catch drippings if you’re finishing these in the oven.
- Toss in your favorite sauce or serve plain. If you do decide to sauce, simply toss the wings in sauce that has been heated through to avoid cold sauce softening the crispy skin.
How Long to Smoke Chicken Wings
It takes less than a hour to smoke chicken wings with your smoker running at a consistent temperature. For this recipe, smoke the chicken wings for 30 minutes at 250 degrees F. Next, increase the heat to 425 degrees F until the wings reach 175 degrees F internal temperature.
Make sure to use a thermometer to check for doneness (this is my favorite instant read thermometer). Wings are actually best cooked to 175 degrees F, instead of the usually recommended 165 degrees F for chicken. The higher temperature breaks down some of the tight connective tissues in wings and makes them fall-off-the-bone tender. Plus, the wings are fatty enough to stay nice and juicy.
Best Sauce for Smoked Chicken Wings
I always recommend using flavors and sauces you like best, so when it comes to saucing up these wings, you can’t go wrong with anything you choose.
I’m a big fan of Buffalo sauce on my wings. To make awesome Buffalo sauce for wings, simply heat 1 cup of Buffalo sauce and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Warm the sauce and butter over medium heat and stir until combined. Don’t bring the sauce to a boil or the butter will separate from the sauce. If you like BBQ sauce on your wings, you’ve got to give my Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce a try!
More Smoked Chicken Wings Recipes
Looking for even more delicious smoked chicken wings recipes? You’ve come to the right place! Hey Grill Hey LOVES making chicken wings, and we have quite the variety to please any palate. Check out these smoked chicken wings recipes below for more wing goodness:
Smoked Then Fried Chicken Wings
Honey Heat Smoked Chicken Wings
Smoked Jerk Chicken Wings
Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe
Follow the recipe, and I’ll teach you the simple steps to making your own smoked chicken wings at home. Hey Grill Hey is dedicated to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. You can find more of my smoking and grilling recipes and videos on YouTube, Instagram, or our Facebook Page.
Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
Video
Equipment
- 1 Smoker I highly recommend this pellet grill!
Ingredients
- 5 pounds chicken wings flats and drumettes
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Dry your chicken wings thoroughly on all sides with a paper towel. Place them in a zip top bag.
- Add the baking powder and salt to the wings, close the bag, and toss to coat evenly.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F using your favorite wood. 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.
- Remove the wing from the grill and serve. You can serve plain, toss in your favorite BBQ seasoning, or hot sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published January 2019. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Do you take these out of the smoker while the temperature is being raised to 450 degrees?
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t! It works either way.
I ended up leaving the wings in my smoker while the temperature was heating up. They did get done quicker than expected, but I was monitoring them. They ended up great. My wife bragged about how good they were and she ate most of them. I used frozen wings and let them thaw out before putting the seasoning on them. I will have to get a bigger bag of wings the next time.
Thanks
Is 2.5 table spoon of baking powered enough for 5 pounds of chicken wings? Seems less
It’s plenty. You don’t want too much because you risk a powdery texture.
I’m getting ready to smoke my first batch of hot wings. I normally make them by marinating the wings in zesty Italian salad dressing and Louisiana hot sauce for 8 hours and cook them on my Weber charcoal grill basting the wings the last 20 minutes and when I pull them off the grill. 1 hour and 10 minutes total cooking time. Cook them over medium heat (375-400) and fire cools down due to fat and marinating sauce dripping on the charcoal.
I just purchased my first smoker for Thanksgiving Turkey and 1 trial run (Chicken breast) the week before. Both meals came out fabulous. My wings cooked on the Weber have always been the hit of my party, juicy, moist and crispy skin, usualy for football games (Packers) and everybody always loves them. So now I am excited to try something new on my smoker. I am planning on using the same marinating recipe with a bowl of water underneath them. They may or may not come out with crispy skin which is a must when make my hot wings. If they do not come out crispy, will remove the bowl of water when I turn the temperature up from 250 to 425.
Best wings I’ve ever made. I sauced them up with a sweet buffalo BBQ sauce. They were still crispy. fantastic!
Smoked 40 party wings using this recipe and method.
I ate 38 of them while watching football.
I will never ever buy pre made wings ever again.
My pellet smoker only goes to 350. Should I just transfer to the oven or will 350 get it done? Thinking they may not get crispy enough.
At that point in the cook your oven would work just as well! You’ll need the temperature for the crispy skin.
Whole wings or separated?
You can do them either way. I like to separate mine!
Could you use this very same method for smoking drumsticks instead of wings? I have a lot of drumsticks to smoke on the Traeger tomorrow and I’d like to try these tips (though I really want to try wings next!) Thanks for the great information!
Yes! Just remember to cook them to temp!
Crisp smoked chicken wings. Great recipe for some people an members of my family. Everyone said it tast great, but for me something was off. Not sure if it is the baking powder or what. Tastes great but then some kind of flavor I can not describe. It will make you not want to eat anything. An example is if you fixed a sprite to drink an upon drinking it. It tasted like sprite but the after taste was wasabi. It did not taste like wasabi that was an example.
My son likes dry rub on his wings, could I put a dry rub on the wings before I put them in the smoker?
Absolutely!