These smoked wings are brined in buttermilk to make them amazingly tender, marinated in my rub for amazing flavor and then finished with my very own sweet and spicy honey barbecue sauce.
Course Entree
Cuisine Hot Smoking
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 1 hourhour15 minutesminutes
Servings 4
Author Jeff Phillips
Ingredients
2-3lbsof chicken wingspieces or whole
Olive or Vegetable oil
Jeff's original rub
1quartof buttermilk
¼cupkosher salt
Jeff's barbecue sauce
Honey
Ziptop bag or plastic/glass bowl with lid
Instructions
Place a single layer of the wings in a disposable pan. Drizzle olive or vegetable oil over them and brush it on to coat all sides thoroughly.
Sprinkle a generous amount of Jeff's original rub onto the wings, then flip them over and apply rub to the other side as well. Place the wings into a ziptop bag and in the fridge for two hours.
Make the brine: Pour the quart of buttermilk into a pitcher and add ¼ cup of salt. Stir for about 20 seconds to make sure the salt is dissolved.
Pour the brine into the bag with the marinated chicken making sure that all of the chicken is submerged in the brine. Place the bag of chicken back into the fridge for another two hours. After brining, remove the chicken wings from the fridge and pour them into a disposable aluminum pan for seasoning. Note: The wings do NOT need to be rinsed off.
Add more rub to the chicken wings by placing the wings in a single layer and reapplying the rub just as you did in the beginning. Leave the wings sitting for a few minutes while you get the smoker ready!
Set up your smoker for cooking at about 250°F using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up.
Once the smoker is ready, place the chicken wings directly on the grate and let them smoke cook for about one hour.
Just before the wings are finished cooking, turn on the broiler in your oven, so it’s ready to caramelize the sauce just as soon as they are finished in the smoker.
You will also need to get the sauce ready by mixing 2 parts Jeff's barbecue sauce with 1 part honey. To make a cup of the honey barbecue sauce, mix ⅔ cup of Jeff's barbecue sauce with ⅓ cup of honey.
When they reach 165°F (74°C) as measured by a meat thermometer, bring the finished wings into the house and brush the sauce onto the top of the chicken wings as generously as you dare.
Place them into a pan and under the broiler for about a minute or until the sauce starts to bubble furiously (WATCH THEM CAREFULLY).
Now, flip them over, sauce the bottom side and broil that side for about a minute once again.
Holler, “done!” and watch them evaporate from before your eyes.