SMOKE,
SEAR,
SAUCE,
AND
TOSS!
SMOKED^
Chicken
Wings
WHAT’S NOT TO like about
cooking chicken wings—one of
America’s favorite finger foods—on
the grill over plumes of aromatic,
intensely flavored woodsmoke?
Plenty, as I quickly discovered
when I made a collection of what
I thought were promising recipes.
The resulting wings shared a host
of disappointing pitfalls such as
tough, rubbery skin; an acrid, ashy
smokiness; dried-out meat; and
overpowering, unbalanced spice
rubs and sauces.
I knew I could do better. I set out
to make wings that featured fully
rendered skin; juicy, tender meat;
and a balanced, lip-smacking combi-
nation of spice and smoke.
With chicken wings, the key is
cooking them just enough to render
their copious subcutaneous fat,
crisp the skin, and not overcook the
meat. To do this, you need the right
combination of heat and time. Wings
that I cooked over direct heat gottoo dark before the fat melted out;
plus, the chicken didn’t have enough
time to soak up smoke. But wings
that I cooked low and slow with lots
of smoke and indirect heat lacked a
flavorful char and dried out if I left
them on a few minutes too long.
The solution, it turned out, was
to combine the two cooking setups.
After several days of experimenting,
I perfected the method and timing
by setting up a hot fire on just half
the grill, starting the wings on the
cooler side (with plenty of smoke
rolling over them) to render and
cook through and then finishing
them right over the heat for color
and char.
With this method, the fat was
rendered out and the wings absorbed
just the right amount of flavorful
smoke. But I wasn’t all the way home
yet, as some batches were a little dry.
I knew from experience that I
had to cook the wings to an internal
temperature of 180 to 200 degreesfor them to
be perfectly
tender. But
doing so meant
cooking out a lot of
their moisture. Luckily, brining
the wings for 1 hour before they
hit the grill allowed them to
stay moist and juicy as they
cooked to doneness.
These wings were excel-
lent; all that was left for me to do
was put on the finishing touches of
flavor. A barbecue-inspired spice
rub of paprika, chili powder, dried
oregano, and cayenne gave the wings
a harmonious blend of heat and
aromatic complexity. And to make
the wings literally shine, I mixed
melted butter with cider vinegar and
ketchup to create an irresistibly sa-
vory sauce that gave the char-kissed
wings a beautiful sheen. Not that
you’ll have much time to stand
around and admire them—these
wings disappear fast!Don’t just wing it—follow our method for perfectly
tender, juicy, char-kissed smoked chicken bliss.
by Matthew Fairman
12 COOK’S COUNTRY • JUNE/JULY 2019