Akio Stribling
TVWBB Member
Since a few of my last batch of bbq wings came out burnt, I made a sauce-free attempt this weekend.
I placed three big lumps of hardwood charcoal in the chimney, topped it off with Rancher briquettes, and lit some newspaper underneath. After about half-an-hour, most of the coals were ashey, so I dumped them into the WSM. I added my Big Green Egg grill extender to the top rack, covered, and let it torque up to 325. I layered a couple dozen wings dressed only with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. After 40 minutes, the smoker was spiked up to 350, so I flipped them once, shut down 2 vents completely, and waited another 40 minutes, then pulled.
I tossed on a little more salt and pepper and let them cool. The texture of the meat was like a chicken wing that has been properly deepfried at high temperature; crackling crips and light but not greasy. The skin reminded me of a cross between Grandma Utz' Kettle Fried Potato Chips (the kind that's deep fried in lard) and fresh pork rinds. HIGHLY addictive and like potato chips, impossible to eat just one. The wings were fairly meaty, so the flesh wasn't dried out, but I will probably do a basic brine next time to see if I can get them a bit more juicy. The lump charcoal added just the right amount of smokiness without becoming overpowering. But the real star here is the skin; it's almost as if the wings were a delivery vector for the intense poultry-ness of the skin.
"Frying" wings on the WSM
I placed three big lumps of hardwood charcoal in the chimney, topped it off with Rancher briquettes, and lit some newspaper underneath. After about half-an-hour, most of the coals were ashey, so I dumped them into the WSM. I added my Big Green Egg grill extender to the top rack, covered, and let it torque up to 325. I layered a couple dozen wings dressed only with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. After 40 minutes, the smoker was spiked up to 350, so I flipped them once, shut down 2 vents completely, and waited another 40 minutes, then pulled.
I tossed on a little more salt and pepper and let them cool. The texture of the meat was like a chicken wing that has been properly deepfried at high temperature; crackling crips and light but not greasy. The skin reminded me of a cross between Grandma Utz' Kettle Fried Potato Chips (the kind that's deep fried in lard) and fresh pork rinds. HIGHLY addictive and like potato chips, impossible to eat just one. The wings were fairly meaty, so the flesh wasn't dried out, but I will probably do a basic brine next time to see if I can get them a bit more juicy. The lump charcoal added just the right amount of smokiness without becoming overpowering. But the real star here is the skin; it's almost as if the wings were a delivery vector for the intense poultry-ness of the skin.
"Frying" wings on the WSM