Jerk Chicken Wings on the 14.5 WSM


 
R

Robert McGee

TVWBB Gold Member
We recently took a rather long trip to visit with my son and his family in North Carolina where we did a full load of ribs (six half racks of ribs) on his Mini-Joe Gold. They were well received. I prefer my ribs a bit more tender than competition ribs and that's how we did them.

On the way home, we stopped for a couple of days in Virginia to visit a VERY good friend. We got a little pistol range time in but no grilling.

When we returned home we were both kind of tuckered out from the trip. After a few days, I was ready to grill again!

After the time change, it's pitch dark around here at 6:00 P.M.:(. Hoping to beat the light, I lit the chimney at 4:30 P.M. with the gas starter on my Performer. Again, I planned on doing the jerk chicken wings on my 14.5 WSM. NO water pan, and using the top grate, only. This time, we used 1/2 Walkerswood Mild Jerk Seasoning and 1/2 Walkerswood Traditional and enough EVOO to make a slurry to marinate the wings. We marinated the wings in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

I dumped the lit coals in the base of the 14.5 WSM and assembled it. In a very short time it was hitting 350 degrees with all vents wide open. I left all vents open the duration of the cook.

Here's the wings after the first flip:



I grilled these for thirty minutes before the first flip. Ten minutes after the flip I sauced them with Sweet Baby Rays (the sweetness is a good counterpoint to the heat). Five more minutes, I flipped them again to set the sauce. Then, I pulled them.



I have to tell you, that these were some of the best wings I have ever done. The skin was crisp and the flavor was outstanding. My wife suggested that we might try the Jerk Seasoning using just the Traditional Seasoning next time. Yeah, she is becoming a fan of a bit of heat, too:cool:.

Here are details of the method of "grilling" courtesy of Chris:

http://virtualweberbullet.com/chicken4.html

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
that's a Work of Art! I might have to copy your technique (adding oil) and see how it works for me
 
Clint;
Thanks for the kind words. I got the "adding oil" from the Walkerswood Web site.

I also forgot to mention that while I was in North Carolina we did jerk chicken pieces on my son's Mini-Joe (his top grate is right at the top of his middle section so has about the same distance from the coals as my 14.5. It worked just as well, too. I will not be cooking chicken any other way in the future. I'll change seasonings from time to time but I really like "Hot and Fast" chicken.

FWIW
Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Robert McG.
Those chook parts look bloody gorgeous!
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Thanks for the kind words, folks! This is THE method for cooking chicken, IMO. I LOVE it!! Just flat out G-O-O-O-O-O-D!!!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Robert-R;
I just used a full chimney of lit. After the cook, I closed all of the vents. When I opened it up the next day it looked like over half of the coals remained for the next cook. Very little fuel use, seems to me. I ran about 350 degrees for the duration of the cook and had just left all of the vents opened.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Nice looking wings. I loved the color before the sauce. We like spicy, so I would probably skip the sauce.
 
Robert, a fine batch of wings you have done sir! I never cook chicken low and slow anymore either.
 
Thoey;
Maybe you should try them both ways. I believe that the caramelized sauce adds a good bit to the final flavors. I happened to meet up with a couple of Jamaican women at the Caribbean section of Jungle Jim's today while picking up another container of Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning. They agreed that a good sauce at the end was their way of doing Jerk, too.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Robert, I was talking about the SBR sauce. I think they would be fine spicy without the sweet sauce.
 
THoey said:
Robert, I was talking about the SBR sauce. I think they would be fine spicy without the sweet sauce.
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Actually, I HAVE tried them both ways. They are undeniably good without the sauce but my preference is with the sauce cooked on. Great combination of flavors.

One of the great things about BBQ is we can do exactly like WE like it and... IT'S ALL GOOD!!;)

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
I need to add oil to my WW also to loosen it up a bit. Glad you were able to make a trip to here in NC.
 
NeilH said:
I need to add oil to my WW also to loosen it up a bit. Glad you were able to make a trip to here in NC.
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Like Harry Soo says, "Just spreading the love";).

Right now wouldn't be a bad time to be in N.C. We got 6" of snow today and the temps are going to drop to about 8 degrees by morning (with the wind chill below zero Br-r-r-r-r:p).

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
It was a bit "cool" this evening. I was just under freezing at 5:00 P.M. and heading quickly to DARK. My wife, Marilyn, had brined some chicken wings (14 pieces) about an hour and then marinated them in Walkerswood Original Hot and Spicy for several hours. I dumped one full chimney of lit, used, charcoal (from the smoker) into the 14.5" WSM and in five minutes it hit 350 degrees. I cleaned and oiled the top grate and put 14 pieces of wings on. I flipped at thirty minutes, sauced after another 10-15 minutes, and after the sauce was set, took them off.

Prior to marinating, Marilyn perforated the skin and down into the meat a bit with the "meat tenderizer":

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004UE7Y/tvwb-20

This allows the skin to drain the fat quickly, leading to VERY crisp skin. I took no more pictures as they looked just like the pictures above. The wings were only WONDERFUL! Understand, I am NOT trying to compliment me but the METHOD. This is such an easy way to near perfection with Jerk Chicken, that I want others to try it. All of the pieces finish together. Further, any leftovers can be refrigerated and heated up on a toaster oven and they are at least as good the second time around (makes for a NICE lunch without a lot of work). Again, thanks to Chris for his method...

Happy New Year, ALL!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
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