Crispy, smoky wings with a homemade chipotle sauce.
Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
This recipe for Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings uses a unique method of coating the wings in a spice rub and baking powder, then refrigerating them overnight to dry out the skin. This results in incredibly crispy wings when smoked. The wings are then served with a homemade chipotle sauce that adds a spicy kick.
Ingredients
- 1 tbs Bad Byron’s Butt Rub
- 1-1.5 tbs baking powder per pound of wings
- 1 cup pepper hot sauce (Franks or Texas Pete)
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp white (distilled) vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 7oz can of Chipotle adabo (the pureed salsa one)
Directions
- Coat the wings liberally with the spice rub and baking powder, then rub it in well. Lay them out on a drying rack and refrigerate overnight.
- Set up your grill for indirect heat. If using a Weber Vortex, place it in the center of the grill. Fill a chimney with charcoal and heat until it’s super hot and all ashed over. Dump the hot charcoal directly into the vortex, open the vents completely on the grill, and preheat for 15 minutes.
- Arrange the wings around the hot center of the grill. Smoke them with 3/4 parts cherry and 1/4 parts hickory, placing the wood on the grate, not the fire. Position the vent over any section, smoke for 10-15 minutes, re-position the vent 90 degrees, smoke for another 10-15 minutes, flip the wings, re-position the vent 90 degrees, and smoke for a final 15-20 minutes.
- While the wings are smoking, make the chipotle sauce. Combine the hot sauce, butter, both vinegars, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, celery salt, thyme, salt, and pepper in a saucepan. Stir in the strained chipotle adabo. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Serve the smoked wings with the chipotle sauce.
- Make sure to refrigerate the wings overnight to ensure the skin gets crispy when smoked. The chipotle sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.