I do love me some fried hot wings. They aren’t the healthiest version of hot wings that you could make. You can bake them, grill them, or my favorite smoke them! I love tender smoked hot wings, and they are pretty healthy as well. As you have probably figured out by my website, I enjoy smoking meat over any other method. If not, keep browsing recipes on my site.
The Smoker
I am using my Pitboss 820 Pro today for this recipe with some Pitboss competition blend pellets. Let’s get started by preheating your smoker. I know I’m using a smoker today, but you can use a gas or charcoal grill, the idea is to use indirect heat. The smoker or grill needs to heat up to about 225 degrees. While the smoker is preheating, let’s jump into preparing the chicken wings to get a smoke bath.
Prepare the Chicken Wings
I have two packages of chicken drumettes—roughly about 30 pieces. You want to wash and dry the chicken and then put them in a gallon zip lock bag. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to coat them evenly. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of your favorite chicken spice. For this recipe, I am using Salt Licks Garlic Dry Rub. This rub is my goto rub for chicken and pork because it only has one gram of carbohydrates and zero grams of sugar. It’s also great for folks with diabetes, zero sugars! Now close up the zip lock bag and shack it up to coat the chicken wings with the rub.
Time to Cook
When the smoker is at 225 degrees, it’s time to put the chicken wings on the smoker. You want to smoke these until they reach 165 degrees of internal temperature. It typically takes about an hour to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
The Hot Sauce
I know your thinking the title of this is Amazing Smoked Hot Wings. So, where is the heat going to come from on these wings? I like Franks Red Hot Wings Buffalo sauce. I mix 1.5 cups of this sauce with a whole stick of butter in a saucepan on the stovetop. Just bring the sauce and butter to a simmer. Now lets put it in a large bowl to toss the wings in when they are ready.
Toss and Eat!
Around 45 minutes into the smoke bath, I check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer, which is usually about 145-155 degrees. If you are wondering, I use the Ink Bird Quick Read Thermometer. Now I put some wings in the bowl, don’t put too many in the bowl it won’t be easy to toss the sauce around on the wings. After tossing the sauce on the wings, I put them back on the smoker to finish cooking to 165 degrees. Repeat until all the wings you want are sauced and back on the smoker.
Pull them off when they are finished cooking and serve up the tender smoked hot wings immediately. Do you need a side dish to go with this dish? My family loves the cool refreshing crunchy taste of my cucumber salad.
Print
Amazing Smoked Hot Wings
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Smoked
- Cuisine: BBQ
Description
I do love me some fried hot wings. They aren’t the healthiest version of hot wings that you could make. You can bake them, grill them, or my favorite smoke them!
Ingredients
- 30 Chicken Drummettes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 cup Franks Red Hot Wings Sauce
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon favorite chicken rub
Instructions
- Pre-heat the smoker to 225 degrees
- Wash and pat dry chicken wings.
- Place them in a 1 gallon zip lock bag
- Add the olive oil and your favorite chicken spice rub into the zip lock bag and toss the chicken to coat.
- Place chicken wings on the smoker when it’s at 225 degrees.
- Now lets make the sauce, combine the hot sauce and butter to a saucepan and simmer until butter is melted.
- Put the sauce in a bowl to toss the wings in.
- When the wings are around 45 min cooked or 145-150 degrees it’s time to toss them in the sauce and place back on the smoker to finish cooking to 165 degrees.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Keywords: Chicken, Smoked, BBQ, Hot Wings
