Chicken Wings - Smoked or Baked

Want to make chicken wings for a party? I've got you! This recipe can either be smoked or baked and can do a bunch of different flavoring, I'll explain below. Plan for a few days of Brining.

Ingredients

~3lbs Chicken Wings, Split into drumsticks and flats (No Wing tips)

Half Gallon of Brine (Brining Meat)

~1/4 Cup of Rub (See Below for an example)

1/2 cup of Sauce (Optional)

BBQ Rub:

1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

2 TBSP Garlic Powder

2 TBSP Onion Powder

1 TBSP Kosher Salt

1 TBSP Paprika

1 TBSP Ground Black Pepper

1 TSP Mustard Powder

Lemon Pepper Rub:

3 TBSP Dried Lemon Peel

3 TBSP Black Pepper

1 TBSP Kosher Salt

1 TSP Garlic Powder

1 TSP Onion Powder

Tools

Smoker (Optional)

So for the chicken wings, you don't have to, but if you want the proper wing experience, split them up or buy them pre-split (Most grocery stores will sell them pre-cut for a little more money). It can be a pain to do but its also cheaper. Just save the wing tips to make chicken stock!

For the brine, I like the poultry brine (Veggie Stock Based) based on Alton Brown's thanksgiving brine. It just has a really nice flavor, but you don't have to. You can just use the salt/sugar mix.

There are a ton of different rubs you can do. Either buy something pre-mixed that you like, or make it yourself. Look around online. You can also check my pork bbq recipe for a suggestion. I include a mix of Lemon Pepper I did and liked, though the amount might not be right for 3 lbs of wings.

For the sauce, you want something with a reasonably high sugar content so it bakes and sticks to the wings. Things like my Cheerwine BBQ Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, or Korean BBQ Sauce. See my recommended.

Rub/Sauce Pairings

BBQ Rub and Cheerwin Sauce

Lemon Pepper (No sauce, you monster)

Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Onion and Teriyaki

Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Onion and Korean BBQ

Instructions

1. Add your chicken wings to the brine and sit in the fridge for 2 days (You can do 1 day in a pinch). I would not go longer than 3 days.

2. Preheat your oven or smoker to 250F-275F

3. Once you are ready to cook, take the wings out of the brine, rinse them off under cold water and pat try.

4. Toss your wings in your rub. Make sure it gets a nice coat on them.

5. Lay the wings out on a single layer on an baking rack on top of a baking tray.

6. Put wings into oven or smoker for 2-3 hours, until your biggest wing is 165F inside

7. If you are going to prep them for later stop here and resume later. You can freeze the wings (Defrost before use proceeding, and add 15 min if they are starting cold).

8. Preheat your oven to 250F

9. Toss wings in Sauce, then layer it again on the baking rack and tray.

10. Cook 30 min at 250F in the oven, then serve!

Freezing For Later

Note where I say to stop, and just freeze it, and defrost it and toss with sauce to eat.