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Plate of smoked chicken wings with a little bowl of ranch dressing on plate.

Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe(how to smoke chicken wings)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Erin Jensen
  • 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

Scale

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:

  • 1520 chicken wings and drummies

Instructions

  1. Set smoker temp to 250 degrees F. 
  2. Combine Dry Rub ingredients and set aside. 
  3. Pat chicken wings dry with clean paper towel. Season all over with the Dry Rub.
  4. Place chicken wings on smoker (directly on the grat), close the lid and let cook for 50-70 minutes or until the internal temperature reads approx. 160-162 degrees F. 
  5. 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. 
  6. Remove from grill and let rest 5 minutes.
  7. 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.