Smoked Chicken Wings (how to smoke chicken wings) – perfect for game day, an easy weeknight dinner or a fun weekend meal! This smoked chicken wing recipe results in a crispness on the outside while keeping it nice and juicy on the inside! Serve with some homemade Blue Cheese Dressing or Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing!
Table of Contents
You all know I looooove a good smoked meat recipe (find all of ours here) and these smoked chicken wings are no exception. Really quite easy to make, they don’t take too long and the result is just chicken wing perfection! Serve with Smoked Corn on the Cob and some carrots, celery and homemade blue cheese dressing!
Pellet Grill – we tested this on a Traeger grill, but any smoker will do! You can even make them on the gas or charcoal grill if you use a smoking box or you can make our Grilled Chicken Wings!
Key Ingredients
- chicken wings and drummies: you can really use as many or as few as you want.
- 1 batch Smoked Chicken Dry rub OR kosher salt and ground black pepper : the dry rub is amazing, but feel free to just use classic kosher salt and pepper if you want.
- meat thermometer or probe: you will want a thermometer or probe to track the internal temp of your chicken wings.
Erin’s Pro Tip
How do You Smoke Chicken Wings Without Rubbery Skin: To avoid rubbery skin we recommend searing your chicken after you smoke it (similar to a reverse-sear steak). This can be done directly on your smoker by turning up the heat all the way (take the wings off during this process) OR you can sear them on a regular gas grill (which is my preferred method).
How to Cut Up Chicken Wings
Just in case you can only find whole chicken wings, here is a quick breakdown of how you cut them apart to make your more classic wing. Find the first joint closest to the wing tip and cut at the joint. You will then have a drummy and flat wing connected (you can discard the wingtip or keep and freeze to use to make chicken broth).
Find the joint between the drummy and the flat wing and cut. Now you have a drummy and a flat wing, ready to smoke!
How to Smoke Chicken Wings
Pat your chicken dry with a clean paper towel.
Cover in dry rub or season generously with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Smoke at 250 degrees F. until the internal temp ALMOST reaches fully cooked (which is 165 degrees F. internal temp) – so pull around 158-160 degrees F. They will finish cooking during the quick sear + resting time.
Sear on either a gas grill (preferred method) or on your smoker – this is how we get them extra crispy!
Let rest before serving.
Testing: Adding a Sauce (Buffalo, BBQ, etc.)
We did toss some of the wings in BBQ sauce .. just to see what we thought. They are amazing, BUT the sauce definitely over-powers a lot of the smokiness – fyi! You could also toss them in buffalo sauce!
Recipe FAQs
- What temperature should I smoke wings at: I like to smoke them at 225 degrees F. since this cooks them quick enough, but still provides a good amount of smoke.
- How long should I smoke chicken wings for: if you are smoking your wings at 225 degrees F. it will take close to an hour and half to reach an internal temp of 165, but we like to pull ours before they are fully cooked so we can do a sear on a hot grill!
- Should I brine first: you can definitely do a smoked chicken brine on your wings first – it adds a little more prep, but can increase the juiciness!
- Internal temp of chicken wings: chicken is fully cooked when it reaches 165 degrees F.
- Can I smoked frozen chicken wings: do not cook or smoke your wings straight from frozen – they need to be fully thawed first.
- Should I flip them: There is no need to flip them when you are smoking them – the grates allow the smoke and heat to circulate around them just fine.
- Should I sauce them: you can definitely sauce them if you want, just know the sauce flavor may overpower the smokiness.
- Recommended Dipping Sauces: popular sauce include buffalo sauce, teriyaki sauce or bbq sauce!
- Making ahead of time: if you want to batch make these ahead of time you can reheat them 1) in the oven at 350-375 degrees F. on a baking sheet + wire rack for 1 0-15 minutes or until heated through 2) in the air fryer at 375 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until heated through.
Other Chicken Wing Recipes You Might Like
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Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe(how to smoke chicken wings)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 15–20 wings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Appetizer
- Method: Smoker
- Cuisine: American
Description
Smoked Chicken Wings (+ dry rub) – crispy on the outside and delicious on the inside! This smoked chicken wing recipe is SO GOOD!
Ingredients
Smoked Chicken Wing Dry Rub:
- 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt*
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
Chicken Wings:
- 20 chicken wings and drummies
Instructions
- Prep Smoker: Set smoker temp to 250 degrees F. and ensure grill grates are clean.
- Prep Chicken: Combine Dry Rub ingredients and set aside. Pat chicken wings dry with clean paper towel. Season all over with the Dry Rub.
- Initial Smoke: Place chicken wings on smoker (directly on the grate), close the lid and let cook for 50-70 minutes or until the internal temperature reads approx. 160 degrees F.
- Sear: Remove from smoker and turn smoker temp up as high as it will go OR turn your grill on to high heat. When smoker or grill is hot, sear chicken wings on both sides for about a minute each.
- Rest + Serve: Remove from grill and let rest 5 minutes. Serve with some carrot sticks, celery and blue cheese dressing (or ranch).
Notes
- Kosher Salt: make sure you are using kosher salt and not table salt. Also, if you like things less seasoned, feel free to halve the salt.
- Dry Rub: totally up to you whether you want to do a dry rub on your wings or if you want to stick with a classic kosher salt + ground black pepper seasoning! They are good both ways!
- Crispy Outside: the way we get those nice grill marks and char on our smoked chicken wings is to sear them after cooking. We smoke them until they are just about done (160 degree F internal temp, while fully cooked is 165 degrees F.). Then we sear them withe on the smoker OR on a grill (I prefer the grill here so I can heat it up and take the wings directly to the grill after smoking).
- Do I Have to Sear Them: NO! You can keep them on the smoker until they hit 165 degree F. internal temp. Then remove and let rest 5 minutes.
- Total Cook Time: as with any smoking recipe, the ultimate amount of time it will take for the meat to reach temp depends upon a lot of variables (wind, humidity, hot spots on smoker, etc.) – so while I provide general cook times and cook times that I have gotten as a result of multiple recipe tests, the best way to track when your meat will be done is to use an internal meat thermometer or probe. Every smoker and smoking conditions are a little different!
- What to serve them with: we love this homemade ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.
- Wood Chips/Wood Pellets: really any will work fine, but I like using hickory or cherry.
Originally published September 8, 2021.
Cluster Rush Play says
These smoked chicken wings look absolutely delicious! I love the idea of using a dry rub for extra flavor. Can’t wait to try this recipe for my next gathering. Thanks for sharing!
Bridget Montag says
Great – so glad that you loved them! Thank you for writing a review!
YMusic Official says
These smoked chicken wings look absolutely delicious! I love the idea of using a dry rub for extra flavor. Can’t wait to try this recipe for my next game day gathering!
Casey says
I just tried your recipe yesterday and I loved the results. My method was slightly different. I patted the wings dry and onto a rack in the fridge for a couple hours while my kamado smoker came up to temperature. I added about a tablespoon of baking powder to your rub mix and tossed in the wings. Indirect heat for about 45 minutes and then over the coals to crisp them up. I really enjoyed the taste. I will be using this recipe again!!
Erin says
Love it, Casey!! Glad you enjoyed it!
NARUTO senki APP says
Just made these for a little get together and they were a huge hit! The dry rub really added so much flavor. Definitely making these again soon!
Alyssa Engelman says
First time smoker! Such an easy recipe to follow and came out perfect! 🤩
Erin says
Love to hear that!!!
Rhonda says
First made these when hosting the neighborhood chili cook off. They went so fast that I didn’t get a single one! I did get lots of rave reviews. These are now my go-to and have made them a number of times since. Wooden Skillet has never led me wrong with a smoked recipe, and this one does not disappoint!
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Rhonda!
Sandy says
First let me say that the rub is AMAZING! Only issue was rubbery skin. My husband followed the recipe exactly. It took almost an hour and a half though for 2lbs of wings. Definitely will try again, maybe searing it longer? He seated on grill.
Erin says
Hi Sandy! So glad you enjoyed the rub! As for the smoke time – there are SO many variables that go into how long it ultimately take to smoked something to temp (wind, humidity, hot spots, etc), the best way to is just watch that internal temp. As for the skin, you can definitely sear it longer on the grill to really crisp it up – yes!
EH says
These turned out perfectly!
Michael says
Loved this recipe and I thought the balance of salt and flavor was spot on. Definitely making these my go-to wings!
Erin says
Love hearing that!
Mark says
Recipe was amazing! Only critique was with the rub. Need to cut the salt in half. Other than that, it was money!!
Erin says
Glad you enjoyed it!