Name: Huge Smoked Wings
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 lb chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes; 1 tbsp baking powder (aluminum-free); 1.5 tsp kosher salt; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp black pepper; 2 tsp light brown sugar; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper; 1/2 cup your favorite hot sauce (for tossing, optional); 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (for tossing, optional)

Huge Smoked Wings

Prep

15m

Cook

120m

Total

135m

Bigly says

Wings. WINGS! We're doing wings. HUGE wings. Smoked wings. The greatest smoked wings in the history of smoked wings — and there's been a LOT of wings, more wings than any single appetizer in human civilization, the cavemen had wings, probably, they had birds, they had fire, you do the math — and these wings beat every single one of them. Every one. It's not even close. It's a slaughter.

Now, the so-called wing experts on TV — you know the ones, you've seen them, they smile too much, something's off — those people will tell you to deep fry your wings. Deep fry. In oil. Like a sad little county fair. No. NO. We're SMOKING these wings. Low and slow. Then we crank the heat at the end and the skin goes CRISPY. Crispy like glass. Crispy like the edge of a freshly minted coin. Tough guys, with the tears in the eyes, they bite into these wings and forget their own names. I've seen it happen. At a tailgate. Three times.

The secret is BAKING POWDER. Baking powder on the skin before the smoke. Scientists — and I've talked to scientists, very smart people, the smartest — they explain that the baking powder dries out the surface AND raises the pH, the proteins denature differently, the skin gets SHATTERINGLY crisp at the end. Statisticians have run the numbers. The science people figured this out, and then I came along and made it better. That's what I do. Trust me.

Ingredients

3 lbchicken wings, split into flats and drumettes(pat them dry, dry as the desert, dry as a popup-free website)
1 tbspbaking powder (aluminum-free)(NOT baking soda, never baking soda)
1.5 tspkosher salt
2 tspsmoked paprika
1 tspgarlic powder
1 tsponion powder
1 tspblack pepper
2 tsplight brown sugar
1/2 tspcayenne pepper(more if you're brave)
1/2 cupyour favorite hot sauce (for tossing, optional)
3 tbspunsalted butter, melted (for tossing, optional)

Steps

1
Pat the wings thoroughly dry with paper towels. Lay them on a wire rack set over a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour (or up to 12 hours) to dry out the skin.
2
Combine baking powder, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, brown sugar, and cayenne in a small bowl.
3
Toss the wings in the dry rub until evenly coated. Return them to the wire rack, skin side up.
4
Preheat a smoker to 225 F using fruit wood like apple or cherry. Maintain steady temperature.
5
Smoke the wings for 60-75 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 165 F and the skin is dry to the touch.
6
Increase the smoker or grill temperature to 425 F (or transfer the wings to a hot oven at 425 F). Cook another 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until the skin is deeply golden and crisp.
7
Optional: whisk hot sauce with melted butter and toss the wings in the sauce, or serve dry with the rub intact.
8
Serve immediately with celery, blue cheese, or ranch.

One more thing

That's the play. Two hours of low and slow, twenty minutes of crispifying, and you've got wings that will make your guests forget every other wing they've ever had. Their entire wing history — wiped. Erased. Gone. They'll look at you differently. They'll respect you. Their kids will respect you. Their dogs will respect you. The neighbors will smell the smoke and they'll come over, uninvited, asking for wings, and you can decide — generosity, or power. Both are correct. Now go eat.