Follow this recipe to make some of the best dang chicken wings you’ve ever had. No joke. I decided to enter a local chicken wing cooking competition recently and spent several weekends testing out methods, sauces and rubs. I got some great advice from a handful of folks online. After LOTS of practice, I finally found the method that worked best for me (and for the rules of our competition). The end result was simply amazing. Fall off the bone tenderness A generous kiss of smoke. Creamy, sweet and tangy with a hint of heat. They’re so good I actually won the competition, earning the title of “Lord of the Wings.”
A Few Notes About my Chicken Wings
- The Grill: I cooked these wings on a Traeger pellet grill. They could easily be done on a charcoal grill, Big Green Egg or maybe even an offset smoker. But you need to have quick and easy temperature control. We roll low-temp smoke on these wings for thirty minutes and then crank it all the way up to 400F to finish them off. Total cook time for me is around an hour plus a little bit of resting time. Just know that if you’re not using a pellet grill, the cook time may vary. Indirect heat is very important for this method.
- The Texture: The desired texture of chicken wings varies from person to person. Some like them super crispy, maybe even slightly charred or burnt. Some like them buttery to the point that they almost taste braised. I like them to be balanced. I like well-cooked skin. I like the meat to have a little bit of tooth to it but still have easy bone separation. These are seasoned twice. Once with a dry rub before they go on the grill and then again with the secret weapon: Alabama “White” BBQ sauce.
- The Wood: Again, something that we can go back and forth on forever and ever. For me, I’ve found that I like a 1:1:1 ratio of Hickory, Pecan and Mesquite pellets. I’m sure I can find a signature blend or whatever that’s already mixed, but this has been my go to for the past few months and I don’t see any need to change. There’s enough Mesquite to give it that signature Texas flavor, but it’s never overpowering.
- Alabama “White” BBQ Sauce: For a sauce that’s been around since 1925, it’s crazy to me that this is just now starting to take off in the BBQ world. We first tried making this sauce a few years ago whenever Duke’s Mayonnaise mentioned something about it on their bottle label. I think we did a beer can chicken and finished it with their recipe and it was jaw-dropping good. We had never tasted anything like it. I will say that it was hard to explain to people what was in the sauce at the competition. Some people can get very offended when they find out they’re eating a mayo-based sauce. I used to HATE mayo. I mean I never understood it. Until Lauren got me to try Duke’s and I finally saw the light.
- Temperature: I got lots of tips/tricks from the online BBQ community. Lots of folks suggest pulling wings at or around 175F, but during my test batches, they just weren’t quite done. I found that the meat really starts to pull effortlessly from the bone when the internal temp reaches 190-195F. But at the end of the day, just keep an eye on the wings. When you start to barely see that WHITE bone (not gray bone, or ivory bone, but WHITE-colored bone) and the meat is starting to pull back on its own, you should be good.
Recipe(s)
Award Winning Chicken Wings
Follow this recipe to recreate some incredible chicken wings. They're so good, they actually won me a huge trophy.
Ingredients
- *** For the Rub ***
- 1/4 Cup Kosher Salt
- 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Allepo Pepper Flakes
- 1.5 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 Tbsp (Baking Powder)
- *** For the Sauce ***
- 1 Cup Duke's Mayonnaise
- 1/4 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Spicy Brown Mustard
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp Creamy Horseradish
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp FRESHLY GROUND Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- *** For the Wings ***
- 4 lbs Fresh Chicken Wings, drums & flats separated
Directions
- Step 1 *** Make the Dry Rub ***
- Step 2 Combine all ingredients for the dry rub into a mixing bowl and mix together until all ingredients are well combined.
- Step 3 Next, pat the wings dry….very dry. Using paper towels, thoroughly dry the wings as best you can, the drier the better. This is easiest to do in large foil pans if you have them.
- Step 4 Once the wings are dry, thoroughly season them with your dry rub. Feel free to be liberal with the seasoning. We’re not trying to cover every square millimeter, but they should be evenly coated.
- Step 5 You can season the wings for up to 24-hours ahead of time, but even just an hour or two makes a huge difference. You should have plenty of rub leftover to use for your next batch. We just store it in a mason jar. Refrigerate the wings while you let them dry brine.
- Step 6 *** Make the Sauce ***
- Step 7 Combine all the ingredients for the sauce into a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to thoroughly combine everything.
- Step 8 Transfer contents into large quart containers or Tupperware, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Step 9 Seriously, it’s that easy.
- Step 10 *** Make the Wings ***
- Step 11 Set your pellet grill to the “Smoke” setting. If you don’t have the smoke setting, try going for the lowest possible temperature setting. My Traeger sat between 165-180F during this process.
- Step 12 Brush the grate of your grill down so that you have a nice, clean surface to work with.
- Step 13 Add the chicken wings to the grill and smoke for 30 minutes.
- Step 14 After 30 minutes have passed, crank the grill to HIGH or approximately 400F. Continue to cook the wings on High, flipping every 10 minutes until an internal temperature of 190-195F is achieved. Flats will probably cook faster than the drums and can be pulled earlier if need be.
- Step 15 Pull wings and let rest for 5-10 minutes before saucing. If you aren’t serving all the wings at the same time, you can open the grill and turn the heat back down to the lowest setting and let the wings rest on the grill. They’ll stay nice and hot and actually continue to crisp. Leave them on the grill in this manner for a maximum of 20 minutes before removing.
- Step 16 To sauce, add 8-10 wings to a mixing bowl and drizzle with enough sauce to cover about half of the surface area. Toss well with tongs to combine.
- Step 17 Serve with celery, carrots, ranch, blue cheese, or whatever tickles your fancy. These things are so damn good, you may not even need a side dish!
About the Author
Cameron is a co-founder of Whisk & Shake. His journey in the food & beverage world began as a delivery driver for a small mom & pop Italian restaurant in Dallas at the age of 18. He quickly became intrigued by the inner workings of restaurant life and enrolled in the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University. Since graduating with degrees in Foodservice Management and Culinary Arts, he’s held management position in both front and back of house ranging from Executive Chef to General Manager. In 2019, he successfully passed the Certified Sommelier exam administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers. He has been a professional wine buyer for over 10 years and picked up his craft cocktail knowledge while tending bar at one of the premier cocktail bars in DFW. In his free time, Cameron loves to golf, fish, paddle, hike and run.
