Never smoked wings before, or are new to smoking? That’s okay. Smoking wings couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is put them on the grill, let the smoker work its magic, and flip them as needed to avoid charring. Almost as simple as our smoked whole chicken, these wings are perfect every time. It’s our secret combo of baking powder and cornstarch that make these the best smoked hot wings ever with a perfect think of smoke for the grill!
This is the PERFECT Method for Smoking Chicken Wings
Smoked wings are made by smoking whole chicken wings or drums and flat that have been simply coated in a basic dry rub and air-dried before they are grilled. Wings are commonly fried, for that perfect golden brown crispy skin. But in this chicken wing recipe, we’re getting the crispy skin from the coating and a little patience on the grill, entirely omitting the need for any deep frying. This may just be your new best chicken wings recipe.
Ingredients for Smoked Wings
- Chicken Wings (we use completely thawed whole wings, but drums or flats would work here.)
- Baking powder
- Cornstarch
- Salt – we always use kosher salt
- Favorite bbq spice blend Turkey dry brine (we used Grill Dads Maple Chili dry brine)
- Cayenne chili powder
For serving:
- Hot sauce, buffalo sauce, garlic parm sauce, or bbq sauce
- Blue cheese sauce or dressing
How to Smoke Chicken Wings
Prep the wings
- Add the baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and bbq spices to a large resealable bag.
- Remove the wings from the package and pat wings dry with paper towels.
- Add wings to the bag, seal, and shake to coat.
Then, place chicken wings on a wire rack nestled on a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer. Chill, aka air dry, uncovered in the fridge for 3 hours.
Prep the smoker
- Prep the Traeger pellet grill for smoking. Add wood chips in a smoking tube or smoking box to the grill grates for a deeper smoked flavor, or add 1 mesquite wood chunk to the back corner of the smoker. If you’re using a charcoal grill, make a 2-zone fire and when the smoke is clean, add the chicken. Or if you are using a gas grill, use a smoker box as well over indirect heat to infuse good barbecue flavor.
- Place the chicken wings on the grill grates and close the lid.
smoke the wings
- Smoke 225 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Flip all of the wings and crank the heat up to sear.
- Crisp the wings for 20 minutes—rotate as needed to avoid charring.
Remove from grill & Serve
- Wings are done when they reach a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer—but we take them to 170 – 175 for an extra “fall off the bone” bite.
- Quickly toss in bbq, buffalo or hot sauce if desired. We love coating ours in Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce and serving them with garlic parmesan wing sauce for dipping.
- Serve hot with blue cheese dressing on the side, and enjoy your tasty Traeger wings!
How long to Smoke Chicken Wings
Smoke these wings until they reach 165 to 175 degrees F with a meat thermometer. Use the probe to check the flat for the easiest spot, making sure not to touch the bone. Depending on your grill this can take between 45 minutes to an hour.
Substitutions
Chicken wings: We use whole wings for this recipe. Drums or flats would also work. Check your labels to make sure the white meat isn’t enhanced with added water. We find any chicken that has been additionally plumped doesn’t have the best texture for this smokey wings recipe.
Tips for Smoking Chicken Wings
These wings are perfectly crispy right out of the pellet smoker. Once you sauce them, they will lose a little of that crispy wings texture. If you want added flavor, we recommend saucing and reheating the cooked wings back on the grill to set the sauce—making it tacky on the wings.
Storing Smoked Chicken Wings
Store in an airtight container and refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating will generally vary depending on how many wings you are warming up. You can reheat them in the oven or air fryer by preheating them to 350 degrees F and heating them anywhere from 10-15 minutes—until they are heated through.
What to serve with this Smoked Wings Recipe
Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe FAQs
For those Traeger smoked chicken wings, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour for the chicken to come to temp, then 20 minutes to crisp while rotating. The most important factor is the internal temperature of the wings cook to 165 degrees F per the USDA.
There are various methods to make your chicken wings crispy, like frying. But getting crispy chicken skin on a smoker is hard! We use a blend of cornstarch and baking soda and air drying to remove excess moisture and help the skin dry out and get extra crispy over the grill grates.
After the wings have smoked for the allotted time, you will then flip them so they become evenly crisped without charring. Do you have to flip them? No. But it does help to ensure even cooking and that you are moving and rotating the wings as needed some they cook evenly.
I hope your friends and family go crazy for these delicious chicken wings. Make them for Superbowl Sunday—or any time you feel like smoking chicken wings. Rate the recipe & let me know how yours turn out in the comments below!
Smoked Wings
Recommended Equipment
- pellet smoker or grill
Ingredients
For the crispy chicken wings
- 3 lbs Chicken Wings we use whole wings but drums and flats would work
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ cup Favorite bbq spice blend
- ¼ tsp Cayenne chili powder
For serving:
- Hot sauce buffalo sauce, garlic parm sauce, or bbq sauce
- Blue cheese dressing
Instructions
Season the wings
- Add the baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and bbq spices to a large resealable bag.
- Add the wings and seal the bag, working in batches if needed.
- Shake to coat.
- Place the wings on a clean wire rack on a clean baking sheet. Chill for 3 hours.
Pep the smoker
- Prep the Traeger pellet grill for smoking. Add wood chips in a smoking tube or smoking box to the grill grates for a deeper smoked flavor or add 1 mesquite wood chunk to the smoker.
- After the grill is holding heat, set it to maintain 225 degrees F.
- Arrange the chicken wings on the grill grates and close the lid.
Smoke the wings
- Allow the wings to smoke for 45 minutes to 1 hour, rotating if needed.
- Flip all of the wings and crank the heat up to sear.
- Crisp the wings for 20 minutes, rotating as needed to avoid charring.
Remove from grill
- Wings are done when they have reached a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees F, but we take them to 170 – 175 for an extra “fall off the bone” bite.
- Quickly toss in bbq, buffalo or hot sauce if desired.
Serve
- Serve hot with blue cheese dressing on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
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Love the color on the wings! I’ve tried the cornstarch and baking soda method with great success so I am eager to follow your added tips and seasoning.