Smoked Jerk Chicken Wings
On October 12, 2021 (Updated April 15, 2022)
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Smoked jerk chicken wings are the wings you never knew you needed! Smoky, spicy, and incredibly tender, these finger-licking-good jerk chicken wings will disappear off of your party table FAST!
Jerk Chicken Wings
As we head into prime football watching season, I’m planning to hook you up with the best of the best tailgating recipes and tasty finger foods from here until the final whistle.
One of the first things that come to mind when I think of finger-licking food is chicken wings! Chicken wings are a bit of a BBQ art form. You gotta get them crisp, tender, and full of flavor. This recipe does just that. These wings are so much more than just shaking a bottle of jerk seasoning on wings.
Smoked Jerk Chicken Wings
These smoked jerk chicken wings are seasoned with a perfectly balanced blend of savory spice and cooked low and slow on the smoker to add an amazing depth of flavor. They’re seasoned in an awesome marinade before heading out to the smoker.
The secret ingredient in the marinade is the pickled peppers. Once you combine them with the fresh green onions, ginger, and garlic it creates a beautifully acidic and fresh sauce for the wings that will just blow your mind. The jerk seasoning adds in those vibrant flavors that really marry the whole sauce together. I like to use Caribeque’s Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, but you can sub with your favorite brand! I like to make 3 or 4 different types of wings every time I’m cooking a batch, and these fly off of the tray first every single time.
Quick note: Test your marinade for seasoning before adding it to your raw chicken wings. Each jerk seasoning blend has differing seasonings and amounts of salt included. A quick taste will let you know if you need to add more salt or heat before you get the wings in there.
How to Make Jerk Chicken Wings
These guys are pretty darn easy to make with a major payoff. If you have some time to dedicate to marinating the chicken, then you’ll be set.
- Make the marinade. Scroll below for the marinade recipe. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until well combined. Add water one tablespoon at a time until the marinade is a smooth consistency.
- Marinate the Wings. Place the wings in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or large glass bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag or cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. Marinate the wings for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Smoke. Preheat the smoker to 200 degrees F. I like using fruitwood with this recipe (cherry or apple are top-notch). Remove the chicken from the marinade and place them directly on the grates. Close the lid, and smoke for 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165-170 degrees F. Flip the wings every 30 minutes to ensure they cook evenly.
- Enjoy. These wings are full of flavor and don’t need any additional sauce or seasoning once they come off the grill. I do recommend serving them with something mild and creamy (like ranch or sour cream) to cool the heat a bit.
Go forth and enjoy, BBQ friends!
More Chicken Wings Recipes
Ready to showcase all your awesome chicken wings BBQ skills? Try out these other popular recipes from the site.
Jerk Chicken Wings Recipe
This recipe was one of the first to hit Hey Grill Hey when I began sharing BBQ recipes and knowledge. It was originally published in September 2015. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips, but the recipe remains the same.
Smoked Jerk Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken wings
Marinade
- 1 cup green onions roughly chopped
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos more if you like additional spice
- 1 1-inch knob fresh ginger peeled
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 Tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning
- 3 Tablespoons cooking oil
- 3 Tablespoons water
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Add all ingredients for the marinade in a blender or food processor. Process until fully combined. Add water one tablespoon at a time while the blender is on until the marinade reaches a smooth consistency. Test your marinade for seasoning before adding it to your raw chicken wings. Each jerk seasoning blend has differing seasonings and amounts of salt included. A quick taste will let you know if you need to add more salt or heat before you get the wings in there.
- Marinate the chicken wings. Place the chicken wings in a gallon-sized zip-top barg or large glass bowl. Pour the marinade directly over the chicken wings. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- Preheat. When you're ready to cook, start up your smoker (or oven) and try to keep the temperature around 200 degrees F.
- Smoke the wings. Once your smoker is up to temperature, place the wings directly on the grill grates or on a metal cooling rack over a cookie sheet. You don't want the wings to cook sitting in their own juices or the skin will be soggy instead of crisp. Shake on some additional jerk seasoning before closing the door, if you like.
- Finish smoking. Flip wings over every 30 minutes. Allow the wings to cook for a total of 1 1/2 hours. The wings will be brown and crispy and the internal temperature should read 165-170 degrees F.
- Serve immediately. Serve with a side of ranch dressing/sour cream/Greek yogurt to cool the heat a little and garnish with additional sliced green onions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My kids love them. I recommend serving with a white bbq sauce and finishing them on a high heat to provide a little crunch. Super easy recipe.
Sooo good!
Mine came out great on the Traeger at 225.
Question.. on you ranch dip, all 1 part of each?
I’m going to try these this weekend. I use a Webber smoker. What wood would you recommend?
Fruit woods are really good with chicken. I’d go cherry or apple.
Awesome recipe adding the jalapenos is the icing on the wing. If you don’t like this recipe you just don’t like jerk seasoning. I ramp up the heat at the end to get them crispy. My preferred jerk seasoning is walkerwood (with scotchbonets), or Graice’s (best hotsauce ever). I’m trying “the shizzle” today. I like the wetjerk seasoning over the dry. I’ve used peach, cherry and applewood. All with great results. Again, killer recipe.
There is something badly missing – marinade for smoking and no salt and sugar added? In fact, salt is not mentioned anywhere in the recipe. Overload of jalapenos too.
Disappointing.
I’m curious if you actually tried this recipe before giving a review. These are marinaded prior to smoking and there is plenty of salt in the jerk seasoning you shouldn’t need to add any additional unless you choose to. Also, if you aren’t a jalapeno fan, go with something else.
There are many brands of jerk seasoning and some are not good at all. I trust your judgement. Can you recommend one?
I seem to be having trouble getting a good texture on my wings,the skin is coming out rubbery ,I was cooking them at 240 for 2 and a half hrs, is my temp and length of cook time my problem? someone suggested thet I keep the wings uncovered in the fridge over night to draw the moisture out,it did not help.i am also cooking on a pellet smoker
Hey Joe- if you’re smoking wings and want a crispier texture, you can crank up the temperature the last 10 minutes to crisp the skin. Smoking for a long time tends to dry out the skin and make it rubbery, you need a higher temperature to get that crispiness.
Thanks I will try that
Joe, I will put them in the fridge on a cookie sheet for about 2 hours before smoking, it removes the excess moisture from the skin which is where the rubbery texture comes from
Hey Susie, the Jerk Chicken Wings are great! The recipe did not note whether the cooking method is direct or indirect. Cooking on a pellet grill (MAK) with indirect heat I found 200 degrees to be too low to brown. I ramped up the temp about halfway through, eventually reaching 325, and all was well. I’m assuming the recipe was intended for direct heat. Just thought I’d share my experience.
Thanks for your feedback Garry! I did cook them indirect on my pellet grill (Traeger) and they browned up like in the picture, but I’m glad you were able to increase the heat to get the crisp you wanted! I’m going to go edit the recipe to note my cooking method and your notes! Thanks again.